(A) Purpose and intent. In order to accommodate the communication needs of residents and businesses while protecting the public health, safety and general welfare of the community, the Council finds that these regulations are necessary to:
(1) Minimize adverse visual effects of towers through careful design, siting standards and zoning restrictions;
(2) Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through structural standards and setback requirements; and
(3) Maximize the use of existing and approved towers and buildings to accommodate new personal communications services antennas in order to reduce the number of towers needed to serve the community.
(B) Personal communications services tower. All persons proposing to erect, construct or locate a tower within the city, shall apply for and obtain a conditional use permit according to the provisions in this chapter. An application for a conditional use permit for a personal communications services tower shall not be approved unless it can be documented by the applicant that the telecommunications equipment planned for the proposed tower cannot be accommodated on an existing or approved tower or building within a one-half mile radius of the proposed tower due to one or more of the following reasons:
(1) The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of the existing or approved tower or building, as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer, and the existing or approved tower cannot be reinforced, modified or replaced to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment at a reasonable cost;
(2) The planned equipment would cause interference materially impacting the usability of other existing or planned equipment at the tower or building as documented by a competent radio frequency engineer and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost; and/or
(3) Existing or approved towers and buildings within the one-half mile radius cannot accommodate the planned equipment at a height necessary to function reasonably as documented by a competent radio frequency engineer.
(C) Co-location requirements for existing towers. Owners of existing towers and buildings shall provide rates, terms and conditions that are just, reasonable and non-discriminatory for physical co-location of equipment.
(D) Construction. All persons proposing to erect, construct or locate antennas within the city shall apply for and obtain a building permit according to the provisions in the city code. Antenna towers and antennas shall comply with the following requirements.
(1) All applicable provisions of the city code.
(2) Towers shall be certified by a qualified and licensed professional engineer indicating that towers conform to the structural standards of the International Building Code.
(3) Any proposed personal communications services tower shall be designed, structurally, electrically and in all respects to accommodate both the applicant’s antennas and comparable antennas for at least two additional users, with antenna ports located at ten foot intervals.
(4) No part of any antenna or tower nor any lines, cable, equipment or wires or braces in connection with either shall at any time extend across or over any part of the right-of-way, public street, highway, sidewalk or property line, unless approved by the City Council.
(5) Antennas and metal towers shall be grounded for protection against a direct strike by lightning and shall comply as to electrical wiring and connections with all applicable local statutes, regulations and standards.
(6) Towers with antennas shall be designed to withstand a uniform wind loading as prescribed by the International Building Code.
(E) Design.
(1) Towers and antennas shall be designed to blend into the surrounding environment through the use of color and architectural treatment, except in instances where the color is dictated by federal or state authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration.
(2) Towers shall be of a monopole design unless the City Council determines that an alternative design would better blend into the surrounding environment or better facilitate co-location.
(3) Towers, poles, antennas and related structures must be screened by security fencing to prevent unauthorized entry. The base of the tower and any accessory structures shall be landscaped with vegetation or in a manner that is compatible with the surrounding character, buildings or landscape.
(F) Location of towers and antennas.
(1) Location of towers. A conditional use permit may be granted for antenna towers only in the following zoning districts:
(a) B Districts;
(b) I Districts;
(c) C Districts; and
(d) Any R District provided it is in an area designated as public/semipublic or parks and recreation on the city land use plan map.
(2) Location of antennas. A building permit may be granted for antennas only on the following structures, and provided they do not extend more than 20 feet above the existing structure:
(a) Water towers;
(b) Existing telecommunication towers;
(c) Sides or roofs of buildings over three stories;
(d) Church steeples; and
(e) Existing power or telephone pole structures.
(G) Setback requirements. All towers must be designed so that the upper portion will fold or collapse against the tower so that no part of the tower will fall on neighboring property should the structure collapse. Towers must be setback a distance at least equal to the required setback of the underlying zoning district. In addition, the following requirements must be met:
(1) Towers must be setback a minimum of 150 feet from Robert Street; and
(2) Towers must be setback a minimum of 75 feet from the property line of any residential use.
(H) Tower height. Towers are not to exceed 170 feet in height, including antenna attachments.
(I) Lighting. Towers shall not be illuminated by artificial means and shall not display strobe lights unless the lighting is specifically required by the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal or state authority. When incorporated into the approved design of the tower, light fixtures used to illuminate ball fields, parking lots or similar areas may be attached to the tower.
(J) Attachments. No signs, pictures or messages shall be attached to the antenna tower or its antennas or appurtenances.
(K) Accessory buildings. Accessory equipment associated with the antenna tower shall be located within a Building or on the ground within a screen designed and landscaped to be compatible with the proposed structure and surrounding environment. All utility buildings and accessory buildings or structures shall be architecturally designed to blend in with the surrounding environment and shall meet the minimum setback requirements pursuant to § 153.397(G). Ground mounted equipment shall be screened from view by suitable vegetation, except where a design of non-vegetative screening better reflects and complements the architectural character of the surrounding neighborhood.
(L) Existing towers and antennas. Antennas and towers in existence as of the date of this chapter, which do not conform or comply with this section may continue in use for the purpose now used and as now existing but may not be replaced or structurally altered without complying in all respects with this section.
(M) Abandoned or unused towers. Abandoned or unused towers shall be removed within six months of the cessation of operations and the site shall be restored to its original state, unless a time extension is approved by the City Council. Cessation of operations shall be communicated to the City Building Official by the landowner who owns the property on which the tower is located. To ensure the removal of obsolete and unused towers, the applicant shall, before the issuance of a building permit, provide security in the form of one of the following: an unconditional bond; a letter of credit in an amount sufficient to cover the removal costs of the tower and its accessory facilities; or other form of financial assurance as will satisfy the City Council.
(N) Additional submittal requirements. In addition to the information required in the application for the conditional use permit, the following supplemental information must be included in the application:
(1) A report from a qualified and licensed professional engineer which does the following:
(a) Describes the tower height and design, including a cross section and elevation;
(b) Documents the height above grade for all potential mounting positions for co-located antennas and the minimum separation distances between antennas;
(c) Describes the tower’s capacity, including the number and type of antennas that it can accommodate;
(d) Documents that the tower and proposed associated antennas conform with accepted electrical engineering methods and practices;
(e) Includes an engineer’s stamp and registration number;
(f) Includes a map showing the location of the applicant’s proposed or approved antennas or towers within the city and within two miles of the boundaries of the city; and
(g) Includes other information necessary to evaluate the request.
(2) For all personal communications services towers, a letter of intent committing the tower owner and his or her successors to allow the shared use of the tower if an additional user agrees in writing to meet reasonable terms and conditions for shared use.
(3) Before attaching additional antennas or modifying any existing antenna tower, a qualified professional must evaluate and determine that each additional antenna or modification will not interfere with the existing antennas; and the antenna tower can support the additional antennas or modification. Proof of this evaluation must be filed with the Building Official prior to the attachment of additional antennas or any modifications are made.
(O) Inspections and violations.
(1) Any violation of this section is a violation of this chapter and shall be deemed a misdemeanor.
(2) Notice of violations will be sent by registered mail to the owner and the owner will have 30 days from the date the notification is issued to make modifications. The owner will notify the Building Official that the modifications have been made, and as soon as possible thereafter, another inspection will be made and the owner notified of the results. If modifications are not made, the city may require removal of the tower and/or associated antennas.
(P) Exceptions to conditional use permit. Conditional use permits are not required for:
(1) Any antenna or combination of antenna and tower rigidly attached to a building provided that the combination of antenna and tower does not exceed a total height of 20 feet above the highest point of attachment;
(2) Antennas and towers used by the city for city purposes;
(3) The adjustment or replacement of the elements of an antenna array affixed to a tower or antenna, provided that replacement does not reduce the safety factor; or
(4) Antennas and/or towers erected temporarily for test purposes, for emergency communication, or for broadcast remote pick-up operations, provided that all construction and height requirements in this section are met. Temporary antennas shall be removed within 72 hours following installation, unless a time extension is granted by the Building Official.
(Ord. 09-13, passed - -; Ord. passed 10-11-1963)