A. General Standards:
1. Lights:
a. Small wireless facilities shall not include any lights that would be visible from publicly accessible areas, except as may be required by the Federal Aviation Administration, FCC, or other applicable regulations for health and safety.
b. All equipment with lights (such as indicator or status lights) must be installed in locations and within enclosures that mitigate illumination impacts visible from publicly accessible areas.
2. Landscape Features: Small wireless facilities shall not displace any existing landscape features unless:
a. Such displaced landscaping is replaced with native plants, trees or other landscape features approved by the Director; and
b. The applicant submits and adheres to a landscape maintenance plan.
3. Site Security Measures:
a. Small wireless facilities may incorporate reasonable and appropriate site security measures, such as locks and anti- climbing devices, to prevent unauthorized access, theft or vandalism.
b. The Director will not approve any barbed wire, razor ribbon, electrified fences or any similarly dangerous security measures.
c. All exterior surfaces on small wireless facilities shall be constructed from or coated with graffiti-resistant materials.
4. Signage; Advertisements:
a. All small wireless facilities must include signage that accurately identifies the site owner/operator, the owner/operator's site name or identification number and a toll- free number to the owner/operator's network operations center.
b. Small wireless facilities may not bear any other signage or advertisements unless expressly approved by the City, required by law, or recommended under FCC, OSHA or other United States governmental agencies for compliance with radiofrequency emissions regulations.
5. Compliance With Health And Safety Regulations: All small wireless facilities shall be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in compliance with all generally applicable health and safety regulations, which includes without limitation all applicable regulations for human exposure to radiofrequency emissions, the Americans With Disabilities Act, Montana Building Code, and this Code.
B. Small Wireless Facilities In The Public Right-Of-Way:
1. Overall Height:
a. Small wireless facilities may not exceed either:
(1) The minimum separation from electrical lines required by the applicable safety regulations plus four feet (4'); or
(2) Four feet (4') above the existing support structure.
b. In no case shall an existing support structure be increased by more than ten feet (10') above existing height.
2. Antennas:
a. Concealment: All antennas and associated mounting equipment, hardware, cables or other connecters must be completely concealed within an opaque antenna shroud or radome that is graffiti- resistant and painted a flat, non-reflective color to match the underlying support structure.
b. Volume: Each individual antenna may not exceed three (3) cubic feet in volume and all antennas may not exceed six (6) cubic feet in volume.
3. Accessory Equipment:
a. Installation Preferences:
(1) All non-antenna accessory equipment shall be installed in accordance with the following preferences, ordered from most preferred to least preferred:
(A) Underground in any area in which the existing utilities are primarily located underground;
(B) On the pole or support structure; or
(C) Integrated into the base of the pole or support structure.
(2) Applications that involve lesser-preferred installation locations may be approved so long as the applicant demonstrates that no more preferred installation location would be technically infeasible as supported by clear and convincing evidence in the written record.
b. Pole-Mounted Accessory Equipment:
(1) All pole-mounted accessory equipment must be installed at least ten feet (10') above grade and flush to the pole to minimize the overall visual profile.
(2) If any applicable health and safety regulations prohibit flush mounted equipment, the maximum separation permitted between the accessory equipment and the pole shall be the minimum separation required by such regulations.
(3) All pole-mounted equipment and required or permitted signage must be placed and oriented away from adjacent sidewalks and structures.
(4) Pole-mounted equipment may be installed behind street, traffic or other signs to the extent that the installation complies with applicable public health and safety regulations.
(5) All cables, wires and other connectors must be routed through conduits within the pole, and all conduit attachments, cables, wires and other connectors must be concealed from public view.
(6) To the extent that cables, wires and other connectors cannot be routed through the pole, they must be routed through a single external conduit or shroud that has been finished to match the underlying support structure.
c. Base-Mounted Accessory Equipment:
(1) All base-mounted accessory equipment must be installed within a shroud, enclosure or pedestal integrated into the base of the support structure.
(2) All cables, wires and other connectors routed between the antenna and base-mounted equipment must be concealed from public view.
d. Ground-Mounted Accessory Equipment: The Director will not approve any ground-mounted accessory equipment including, but not limited to, any utility or transmission equipment, pedestals, cabinets, panels or electric meters.
e. Accessory Equipment Volume:
(1) All accessory equipment associated with a small wireless facility installed above ground level shall not cumulatively exceed:
(A) Nine (9) cubic feet in volume if installed in a Residential District or within five hundred feet (500') from any structure approved for a residential use; or;
(B) Seventeen (17) cubic feet in volume if installed in a Non-Residential District.
(2) The volume calculation shall include any shroud, cabinet or other concealment device used in connection with the non-antenna accessory equipment.
(3) The volume calculation shall not include any equipment or other improvements placed underground.
4. Streetlights:
a. Applicants that propose to install a small wireless facility on an existing decorative streetlight must either provide proof by engineer certification that the streetlight is structurally equipped to support the facility or must remove and replace the existing decorative streetlight with one substantially similar to the City's standards and specifications but designed to accommodate wireless antennas and accessory equipment.
b. To mitigate any material changes in the streetlighting patterns, any replacement streetlight pole must:
(1) Be located as close to the removed pole as possible;
(2) Be aligned with the other existing streetlights;
(3) Include a luminaire at substantially the same height and distance from the pole as the luminaire on the removed pole; and
(4) Use LED lighting.
c. All antennas must be installed above the pole within a single, canister style shroud or radome that tapers to the pole and matches the pole's color.
5. Wood Utility Poles:
a. Applicants that propose to install small wireless facilities on an existing wood utility pole must install all antennas above the pole unless the applicant demonstrates that mounting the antennas above the pole would be technically infeasible as supported by clear and convincing evidence in the written record.
b. Side-mounted antennas on a stand-off bracket or extension arm must be concealed within a shroud.
c. All cables, wires and other connectors must be concealed within the side-arm mount or extension arm.
d. The maximum horizontal separation between the antenna and the pole shall be the minimum separation required by applicable health and safety regulations.
6. New, Non-Replacement Stand Alone Poles:
a. Applicants that propose to install small wireless facilities on a new, non-replacement standalone pole must demonstrate that any existing structures within five hundred feet (500') from the proposed site would be technically infeasible as supported by clear and convincing evidence in the written record.
b. The applicant must install a metal or composite pole capable of concealing all the accessory equipment either within the pole or within an integrated enclosure located at the base of the pole that substantially matches the aesthetics of existing poles and structures installed adjacent to the pole.
c. The pole diameter shall not exceed twelve inches (12") and any base enclosure diameter shall not exceed sixteen inches (16").
d. All antennas, whether on a new streetlight or other new pole, must be installed above the pole within a single, canister style shroud or radome.
7. Encroachments Over Private Property: Small wireless facilities may not encroach onto or over any private or other property outside the public rights-of-way without the property owner's express written consent.
8. Backup Power Sources: Fossil-fuel based backup power sources shall not be permitted within the public rights-of-way; provided, however, that connectors or receptacles may be installed for temporary backup power generators used in an emergency declared by Federal, State or local officials.
9. Obstructions; Public Safety: Small wireless facilities and any associated equipment or improvements shall not physically interfere with:
a. Worker access to any above-ground or underground infrastructure for traffic control, streetlight or public transportation, including without limitation any curb control sign, parking meter, vehicular traffic sign or signal, pedestrian traffic sign or signal, or barricade reflectors;
b. Access to any public transportation vehicles, shelters, street furniture or other improvements at any public transportation stop;
c. Worker access to above-ground or underground infrastructure owned or operated by any public or private utility agency;
d. Access to fire hydrants or water valves;
e. Access to any doors, gates, sidewalk doors, passage doors, stoops or other ingress and egress points to any building appurtenant to the rights-of-way; or
f. Access to any fire escape.
10. Electric Meters: Small wireless facilities shall use flat- rate electric service or other method that obviates the need for a separate above-grade electric meter. If flat-rate service is not available, applicants may install a shrouded smart meter. The Director shall not approve a separate ground-mounted electric meter pedestal.
11. Street Trees: To preserve existing landscaping in the public rights-of-way, all work performed in connection with small wireless facilities shall not cause any street trees to be trimmed, damaged or displaced. If any street trees are damaged or displaced, the applicant shall be responsible, at its sole cost and expense, to plant and maintain replacement trees, consistent with the City's list of pre-approved street trees, at the site for the duration of the permit term.
C. Small Wireless Facilities Outside The Public Right-Of-Way:
1. Overall Height: Small wireless facilities on private property must comply with all applicable zoning regulations.
2. Stand Alone Poles:
a. All new standalone poles must be made from a metal or composite material capable of concealing all the accessory equipment either within the support structure or within an integrated enclosure located at the base of the support structure.
b. All antennas must be installed above the pole in a single, canister-style shroud or radome.
c. The support structure and all accessory equipment must be painted with flat/neutral colors.
d. The pole height shall not exceed the height limit for the applicable zoning district or overlay zone.
e. The pole diameter shall not exceed twelve inches (12") and any base enclosure diameter shall not exceed sixteen inches (16").
3. Building-Mounted Small Wireless Facilities:
a. All applicants must propose new non-pole small wireless facilities that are completely concealed and architecturally integrated into the existing facade or rooftop features with no visible impacts from any publicly accessible areas at ground level (examples include, but are not limited to, antennas behind existing parapet walls or facades).
b. If the applicant demonstrates with clear and convincing evidence that integration with a building's existing features is technically infeasible, the applicant may propose completely concealed new structures or appurtenances designed to mimic the support structure's original architecture and proportions (examples include, but are not limited to, steeples and chimneys).
c. Building-mounted small wireless facilities in Industrial and Commercial Zones require approval of the Architectural Review Committee.
d. Building-mounted small wireless facilities may require building permits or other City permits. (Ord. 19-09, 5-20-2019)