The following establishes the order of priorities for locating new communications facilities.
(A) Place antennas and towers on public property.
(B) Place antennas and towers in districts zoned C and M.
(C) Place antennas and towers in districts zoned C and M which do not adjoin or adversely impact residential neighborhoods.
(D) Place antennas on appropriate existing structures, such as buildings, communications towers, water towers, and smokestacks, in other zoned districts.
(E) Place antennas and towers on other private, non-residential property.
(F) Place antennas and towers in:
(1) Other Residential Districts only if locations for which a need has been demonstrated are not available on existing structures or in non-residential districts; and
(2) Only on, or in, existing churches, parks, schools, utility facilities or other public facilities.
(G) An applicant for a new antenna support structure to be located in a Residential Zoning District shall demonstrate that a diligent effort has been made to locate the proposed communications facilities on a government structure, a private institutional structure, or other appropriate existing structures within a Non-Residential Zoning District, and that, due to valid considerations, including physical constraints, and economic or technological feasibility, no appropriate location is available. The telecommunications company is required to demonstrate that it contacted the owners of tall structures within a one-mile radius of the site proposed, asked for permission to install the antenna on those structures, and was denied for reasons other than economic ones. The information submitted by the applicant shall include a map of the area to be served by the tower, its relationship to other antenna sites in the applicant’s network, and an evaluation of existing buildings taller than 20 feet, communications towers, and water tanks within one mile of the proposed tower.
(H) Not withstanding any of the foregoing, no tower may be located within a one-mile radius to another tower until supporting documentation is supplied by an independent consultant stating that co-location will create a hardship. However, if a master cell site plan is presented by industry representatives and approved by the Planning Commission and City Council, the one-mile radius does not apply.
(1) Priority for the use of city-owned land for antennas and towers will be given to the following entities in descending order:
(a) The city;
(b) Public safety agencies, including law enforcement, fire, and ambulance services, which are not part of the city; and private entities with a public safety agreement;
(c) Other governmental agencies for uses which are not related to public safety; and
(d) Entities providing licensed commercial wireless telecommunication services, including cellular, personal communications services (PCS), specialized mobilized radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobilized radio (ESMR), paging, and similar services that are marketed to the general public.
(2) The placement of antennas or towers on city-owned property must comply with the following minimum requirements.
(a) The antennas or tower will not interfere with the purpose for which the city-owned property is intended.
(b) The antennas or tower will have no adverse impact on surrounding private property.
(c) The applicant is willing to obtain adequate liability insurance and commit to a lease agreement which includes equitable compensation for the use of public land, and other necessary provisions and safeguards. The fees shall be established by the City Council after considering comparable rates in other cities, potential expenses, risks to the city, and other appropriate factors.
(d) The applicant will submit a letter of credit, performance bond, or other security acceptable to the city to cover the costs of the antenna or tower’s removal.
(e) The antennas or tower will not interfere with other users who have a higher priority, as discussed in § 157.925.
(f) Upon reasonable notice, the antennas or tower may be required to be removed at the user’s expense.
(g) The applicant must reimburse the city for any costs which it incurs because of the presence of the applicant’s antennas or tower.
(h) The user must obtain all necessary land use approvals.
(i) The applicant will cooperate with the city’s objective to promote co-locations, and thus limit the number of separate antenna sites requested.
(3) The use of certain city-owned property, such as water tower sites and parks, for antennas or towers brings with it special concerns due to the unique nature of these sites. The placement of antennas or towers on these special city-owned sites will be allowed only when the following additional requirements are met.
(a) The city’s water towers and reservoirs represent a large public investment in water pressure stabilization and peak capacity reserves. Protection of the equality of the city’s water supply is of prime importance to the city. As access to the city’s water storage systems increases, so too increased the potential for contamination of the public water supply. For these reasons, the placement of antennas or towers on water tower or reservoir sites will be allowed only when the city is fully satisfied that the following requirements are met.
1. The applicant’s access to the facility will not increase the risks of contamination to the city’s water supply.
2. There is sufficient room on the structure and/or on the grounds to accommodate the applicant’s facility.
3. The presence of the facility will not increase the water tower or reservoir maintenance cost to the city.
4. The presence of the facility will not be harmful to the health of workers maintaining the water tower or reservoir.
(b) The presence of certain antennas or towers represents a potential conflict with the purpose of some city-owned parks. In no case shall towers be allowed in designated conservation areas unless they are to be installed in areas which currently contain tower facilities. Antennas or towers will be considered only in the following parks after the recommendation of the Parks, Recreation, and Arts Commission and approval of the City Council:
1. Public parks of a sufficient scale and character that are adjacent to an existing commercial or industrial use;
2. Commercial recreation areas and major play fields; and
3. Park maintenance facilities.
(4) All applicants who wish to locate an antenna or tower on city-owned property must submit to the Mayor a completed application and detailed plan that complies with the submittal requirements of this subchapter, the zoning ordinance, subdivision ordinance, comprehensive master plan, and other regulations and ordinances of the city, along with other pertinent information requested by the city.
(5) The City Council may terminate any lease if it determines that any one of the following conditions exist:
(a) A potential user with a higher priority cannot find another adequate location, and the potential use would be incompatible with the existing use;
(b) A user’s frequency broadcast unreasonably interferes with other users of higher priority, regardless of whether or not this interference was adequately predicted in the technical analysis; or
(c) A user violates any of the standards in this subchapter, or the conditions attached to the city’s lease or other authorization. Before taking action, the city will provide notice to the user of the intended termination and the reasons for it, and provide an opportunity for the user to address the City Council regarding the proposed action. This procedure need not be followed in emergency situations.
(6) Notwithstanding the above, the City Council reserves the right to deny, for any reason, the use of any or all city-owned property by any one or all applicants.
(Prior Code, § 70.12) (Ord. 2-92, passed - -1992; Ord. 15-99, passed 12-1-1999)