(a) The following standards shall apply to telecommunications facilities, attachments, antennae, and related appurtenances regardless of location:
Telecommunications facilities shall meet the following standards, regardless of location:
(1) Aesthetics. Telecommunications facilities must be aesthetically compatible with their surroundings and/or environs as technically feasible and practicable under the circumstances.
(2) Landscaping. Existing vegetation shall be preserved so much as practicable under the circumstances. Security fencing or barriers related to telecommunications facilities shall be landscaped by a surrounding and continuous row of hardy, evergreen hedges or trees of sufficient height and depth to adequately screen such fencing or barrier. Such landscaping shall be continuously maintained and promptly restored, if necessary.
(3) Lighting. Lights, beacons or strobes attached to or illuminating telecommunications facilities shall be permitted only to the extent necessary to ensure safety or to comply with applicable law or regulation, and shall be designed to minimize direct light or glare onto surrounding properties. All such lighting adjacent to residential zoned areas of the Village of Whitehouse shall be approved in writing by the chief zoning official, prior to installation.
(4) Signage. Signage on or on the site of telecommunications facilities shall be permitted only as may be required by applicable local law or regulation or as specifically required or approved by the chief zoning officer; provided however, that installation of "No Trespassing" signs with a telephone number of whom to contact in the event of an emergency shall be required.
(5) Upkeep and storage. The telecommunications provider is responsible for the weed and trash removal related to, and general upkeep of, its telecommunications facilities and their sites, and for ensuring that the surfaces of such facilities are maintained in good condition, free from flaking or peeling paint and rust. Outdoor storage of equipment, supplies and vehicles related to telecommunications facilities is prohibited, except to supply emergency power to such facilities during a power outage.
(6) Lot Usage. Subject to the requirements for setbacks set forth herein, where telecommunications facilities are to be the sole use on a lot, the minimum lot size shall be the minimum lot size allowable for the applicable land use district in the Village of Whitehouse. Where telecommunications facilities are to be placed on a lot with an existing use, approval under the Codified Ordinances, Parts 11
and 12
shall be required. Any minimum lot size determination shall accommodate any and all guy wires, any security fencing, any buffer plantings, and the like, in conjunction with such existing use. In no case shall a telecommunications facility be located in front of the principal building on a lot.
(7) Automation. Where telecommunications facilities are to be placed on a lot with an existing use, such facilities must be fully automated and operationally unattended, with visits only for construction, emergencies, and periodic and necessary maintenance.
(8) Service equipment. All equipment and devices (including but not limited to cables, wires, pipes and conduits) that service telecommunications facilities shall be located underground or within such telecommunications facilities, if technically feasible and unless otherwise required by the Ohio Basic Building Code, the National Electric Code, and/or other applicable law.
Telecommunications towers and telecommunications attachments must meet the following standards, regardless of location:
(9) Co-location. Telecommunications towers and telecommunications attachments shall be designed to be buildable up to the maximum height permitted by this chapter and shall be constructed in such a way as to permit other telecommunications providers to co-locate their telecommunications facilities thereon when and if built to the maximum height permitted by Ordinance.
(10) Setbacks. Unless otherwise specified in this legislation, the setback requirements for all telecommunications towers and telecommunications attachments shall be the greater of:
A. Twenty-five (25) feet; or
B. The setback requirements for the applicable land use district.
Any related fencing, screening, or other barriers shall be located behind the applicable setback lines. Notwithstanding the first sentence of this section and unless otherwise specified in this chapter or permitted by the Village of Whitehouse, telecommunications towers and telecommunications attachments shall be located not less than;
A. 50 feet from the nearest public right-of-way; and
B. 500 feet from the lot line of any school.
Telecommunications towers must meet the following standards, regardless of location:
(11) Height. The height of a telecommunications tower (including antenna and approved lightning rods, if any) may not exceed 150 feet above the average grade plane of the telecommunications tower's base.
(12) Color. The color of telecommunications towers shall be non-contrasting gray or that color which best camouflages them as against their surroundings, unless another color is required by applicable law or regulation.
(13) To the extent technically feasible, a proposed telecommunications tower be located at least 2500 feet from the nearest existing telecommunications tower.
Telecommunications attachments must meet the following standards, regardless of location:
(14) Height. The height of telecommunications attachments may not exceed the greater of 20 feet above or 20% of the height of the top of the building or structure to which it is attached.
(15) Color. The color of telecommunications attachments shall be that which best camouflages them as against their surroundings, unless another color is required by applicable law or regulation.
Telecommunications equipment shelters must meet the following standards, regardless of location:
(16) Size. The maximum size of a telecommunications equipment shelter shall be 300 square feet for one shelter on a given plot, and 750 total square feet if there is more than one such shelter on a given plot.
(17) Height. The maximum height of a telecommunications equipment shelter shall be the maximum building height for the applicable land use district where located. In the event that technological necessity shall require location within residential zoning, then in that event said equipment shelters shall be placed underground to the greatest extent possible.
(18) Setbacks. The setback requirements for all telecommunications equipment shelters shall be the setback requirements for the applicable land use district where located. Any related fencing, screening, or other barriers shall be located behind the applicable setback lines.
(19) Access. Where telecommunications facilities are to be placed on a lot with an existing use, the service access to any telecommunications equipment shelter shall be provided by way of the circulation driveways associated with the existing use to the extent practicable.
(20) Use. Telecommunications equipment shelters shall not be used for offices or long-term vehicle storage.
(21) Co-location. If telecommunications equipment shelters are initially constructed to accommodate only one user, space shall be reserved on- site to accommodate other telecommunications equipment shelters in the event of co-location.
(b) Additional Standards Applicable to Non-Residential Districts. In addition to all standards that apply independent of location, the following standards also apply to telecommunications facilities located in non-residential districts:
(1) Setbacks. Notwithstanding any provision of this legislation to the contrary, the minimum distance from any telecommunications tower or telecommunications attachment to any residential use/district lot line shall be 300 feet.
(2) Lot. Notwithstanding any provision of this legislation to the contrary, if telecommunications towers are to be located in an agricultural area, the minimum lot size shall be five (5) acres.
(c) Additional Standards Applicable to Residential Districts. In addition to all standards that apply independent of location, the following standards also apply to telecommunications facilities located in residential districts.
(1) Automation. Where telecommunications facilities are to be placed in a residential district, they must be fully automated and unattended on a daily basis, with visits only for construction, emergencies, and periodic and necessary maintenance.
(2) Non-residential use property. Where telecommunications towers or telecommunications attachments are to be placed or constructed on property with a non-residential use within a residential land use district including, but not limited to: government buildings, agricultural buildings, churches, utility buildings, hospitals, and schools; such telecommunications towers or telecommunications attachments shall be set back from all neighboring residential use/district lot lines by at least 300 feet.
(Ord. 15-99. Passed 9-7-99.)