Section 175-110.4 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR WIRELESS TELEPHONE (CELL PHONE) COMMUNICATIONS TOWERS.
A. The
following sites shall be considered by
applicants as the preferred order of location of proposed broadcasting
or
communication facilities:
1. Existing
broadcasting or communications towers.
2.
Public structures, such as water towers,
utility structures, fire stations, bridges, and other public buildings
within
all zoning districts not utilized primarily for residential uses.
3. New structures.
B.
No new tower shall be permitted unless the applicant
demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of Town Council that no
other
existing tower or structure can reasonably accommodate the applicant's
proposed
antenna.
C.
The maximum height of any wireless telephone (cell phone)
communications tower shall be made a condition of the special permit,
but in no
event shall exceed one hundred fifty feet (150') above finished grade
of the
property upon which it stands.
D.
Wireless telephone (cell phone) communications towers shall
conform to each of the following minimum setback requirements:
1.
Towers shall have a minimum front, side and
rear yard setback equal to the height of the tower.
2.
Towers guys and
accessory structures shall satisfy the minimum setback requirements of
the
underlying zoning district.
3. Towers shall not be located
between the principal structure and a
public street.
E.
All towers shall be designed, structurally, electrically and
in other respects, to accommodate both the applicant's antennas and
comparable
antennas for at least two (2) additional users.
F.
Towers shall be illuminated as required by the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) and/or the Federal Aviation
Administration
(FAA), but no lighting shall be incorporated if not required by the FCC
and/or
FAA, other than essential security lighting. Site lighting shall not be
directed toward adjacent properties.
G.
The use of any portion of a tower for signs other than
warning or equipment information signs is prohibited.
H.
Before activating the facility into service the
applicant/developer shall provide the Town with a certificate by a
qualified
consultant that the radio frequencies used by the facility shall not
interfere
with any other pre-existing radio frequencies in use within the
coverage area
of the facility including, but not limited to, public safety
communication
frequencies.
I.
For any proposed tower, photographs shall be taken of a
balloon test, which shall be conducted as follows:
1.
The applicant shall provide the
Administrator with at least seven (7) days prior notice of the
conducting of
the test; provided that this deadline may be extended due to inclement
weather
or by the agreement of the applicant and the Administrator.
3.
The balloons shall be of a color or
material that provides maximum visibility.
J.
If antennas are proposed to be added to an existing
structure, all existing antennas and other equipment on the structure,
as well
as all ground equipment, shall be identified by owner, type and size.
The
method(s) by which the antennas will be attached to the mounting
structure
shall be depicted.
K.
The Town shall require the review of the application by a
third-party consultant retained by the Town at the expense of the
applicant.
L.
The applicant shall execute a letter of intent to allow other
parties to share space (co-locate) on their tower and negotiate in good
faith
with other interested parties, including the Town Council and the Board
of
Supervisors of Warren County for emergency services radio and telephone
facilities.
M.
The tower construction shall be of a design that minimizes
the visual impact of the tower and related facilities shall be
camouflaged
and/or screened from view from adjacent properties and rights-of-way to
the
greatest extent practicable. To this end, the application must provide
for the
retention of existing stands of trees and the installation of screening
where
existing trees do not mitigate the visual impact of the facility. Such
screening shall, at a minimum, include a double row of evergreen trees
at least
two inches (2") in diameter at breast height separated by not further
than
ten feet (10') on center. The Planning Commission may recommend and the
Council
may require additional trees and screening when the minimum provisions
do not
mitigate adverse visual impacts of the facility.
N.
The electromagnetic fields produced by the facility and any
attachments to the tower do not exceed the radio frequency emissions
standards
established by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
O. The tower shall be inspected annually and certified as safe
by a private firm acceptable to the Town and contracted for by the
applicant. A
copy of the inspection report with a certification that the tower is
structurally safe and all microwave equipment is in proper working
condition
shall be provided to the Town Manager.
P.
The tower shall be demolished and removed within ninety (90)
days after abandonment. In order to ensure the demolition and removal
of the
tower, the applicant shall post and keep in place a renewable letter of
credit
or other security with adequate surety in a form acceptable to the Town
Attorney and in an amount reasonably determined by the Town to be
sufficient to
pay for the costs of demolition and removal.
Q.
Any equipment cabinet not located within an existing building
shall be fenced only with the approval of the Administrator upon
finding that
the fence: (i) would protect the facility from trespass in areas of
high
volumes of vehicular or pedestrian traffic or in rural areas, to
protect the
facility from livestock or wildlife; (ii) would not be detrimental to
the
character of the area; (iii) would not be detrimental to the public
health,
safety or general welfare; and (iv) shall assist in the effective
screening of
the facility.
R.
Each tower shall be constructed so that all cables, wiring
and similar attachments that run vertically from the ground equipment
to the
antennas are place on the pole to face the interior of the property and
away
from public view, as determined by the Administrator, or so that
vertical
cables, wiring and similar attachments are contained within the tower's
structure.
S.
The following shall be submitted to the Administrator after
installation of the tower is completed and prior to issuance of a
certificate
of occupancy: (i) certification by a registered surveyor stating the
height of
the tower, measured both in feet above ground level and in elevation
above mean
sea level, using the benchmarks or reference datum identified in the
application; and (ii) certification stating that any lightning rod's
height
does not exceed two (2) feet above the top of the tower and width does
not exceed
a diameter of one (1) inch.
(Ord.
No. 23-05 Added Entire Section
9-26-05-Effective Upon Passage)