[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Mansfield 5-10-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-03. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
A.
The Township of Mansfield recognizes the need to permit
cellular/wireless telecommunications equipment and facilities in appropriate
locations within the Township.
B.
The intent of this chapter is to allow these facilities
and towers as permitted uses on municipally owned property in all
zones and as conditional uses in industrial and B-1 or B-2 commercial
zones. Cellular/wireless telecommunications equipment and facilities
or towers are expressly prohibited on privately held property in any
residential zone.
C.
The purpose of this chapter is to set forth conditions
for the siting of telecommunications towers and antenna within the
Township of Mansfield. The goals of this chapter are to:
(1)
Protect residential zones and uses from the potential
adverse impacts of towers and antenna.
(2)
Require the location of new towers in specific locations
within the Township.
(3)
Minimize the number of towers in the Township.
(4)
Encourage co-location on existing towers; and
(5)
Require the use of monopoles and stealth technology
for all new towers or antenna locations through innovative design,
siting and camouflaging techniques.
B.
Permitted uses in all zones.
(1)
Antennas of towers located on property owned, leased
or otherwise controlled by the Township of Mansfield located in any
zone, provided a license and lease authorizing the tower or antenna
has been approved by Township Committee upon consultation with and
favorable report of the Mansfield Township Planning Board. As a condition
of any lease or license to be issued under this section, site plan
approval shall be required from the Mansfield Township Planning Board
at the applicant's sole cost and expense.
(2)
The Township of Mansfield reserves the express right
to deny all uses of its property for antenna or towers, notwithstanding
the inclusion of this section in the Code of the Township of Mansfield.
The standards contained in this chapter for setbacks, separation,
co-location, on-site location, camouflaging and other details shall
be applicable to any telecommunications towers, facilities or antenna,
notwithstanding the use may be permitted on municipally owned property.
C.
Conditional uses in I, B-1 and B-2 zones. The following
conditions shall be met for approval of any conditional use for the
items set forth herein:
(1)
Antennas on existing towers. An antenna may be attached
to any existing tower in a residential or nonresidential zone, and
shall be the preferred tower sighting priority. To minimize the visual
impact associated with the proliferation and clustering of towers,
co-location of one or more providers antenna on an existing tower
shall take precedence over the construction of new towers, subject
to the following collocation requirements:
(a)
A tower which is modified or reconstructed to
accommodate the co-location of additional antennas shall be of the
same type as the existing tower; provided, however, that the height
of the modified or reconstructed tower shall not exceed the height
the existing tower. Any reconstructed tower shall be on a monopole
unless a demonstration is made to the reviewing authority that the
use of a monopole would not be feasible because of particular visual
and or aesthetic impacts at the particular site.
(b)
Any new tower or reconstructed tower approval
shall provide for future co-location as set forth herein. Co-location
by two or more providers shall be permitted on one tower provided
that by co-locating, all conditions of this chapter are satisfied.
(c)
In the event a proposed tower for an existing
or future co-location cannot be constructed within the permitted height
limitations, then such collocation is prohibited and an alternate
site or method shall be used.
(d)
No tower may be designed or built to co-locate
with another provider at a height greater than the maximum permitted
by this chapter.
(e)
In the event any co-location is proposed, a
letter of commitment shall be filed by the applicant to lease excess
space on the tower to other potential users at prevailing market rates
and conditions. The letter of commitment shall be recorded with the
Warren County Clerk as a deed prior to the issuance of a building
permit and shall be binding upon the tower owner, property owner and
successors in interest.
(f)
A tower which is rebuilt or modified to accommodate
co-location may be moved on-site within 50 feet of its existing location
provided the new location complies with all setback requirements set
forth herein.
(g)
A relocated on-site tower shall continue to
be measured from the original tower location for purposes calculating
separation distances between towers pursuant to this chapter.
(2)
New tower construction. A provider apply for approval
to construct a new tower if none of the above priorities can be facilitated.
Such new tower shall only be located in a nonresidential zone, as
hereinabove provided, on a lot not less then five acres, subject to
all conditions contained in this chapter.
The following are the conditional use requirements
for all new tower applications:
A.
Setbacks. Towers must be set back at lease 120% of
total tower height from any lot line, nonappurtenant structure or
public or private road right-of-way line. All accessory tower buildings
shall comply with all applicable ordinances. No tower may be located
within a conservation easement if adjacent to a residential zone.
B.
Separation distances. All distance shall be measured
from the base of the tower to the lot line of the off-site use or
zone:
(1)
For vacant residentially zoned land, residential uses,
zones, or municipal property (unless the tower is located on a municipal
site), libraries, schools, or houses of worship, the separation distance
shall be 300 feet or 300% of the tower's height, whichever is greater.
(2)
For nonresidential lands or nonresidential uses, the
separation distance shall be at least 120% of the height of the tower
from any adjoining lot line, nonappurtenant building, structure or
street rights-of-way.
(3)
Separation distances between towers, regardless of
tower height, shall be 5,000 feet from another lattice tower or a
monopole 100 feet or greater in height.
C.
Maximum tower height. The maximum height of all new
towers shall be 140 feet or 25 feet above the mean tree canopy, whichever
is less. "Mean tree canopy" shall be derived from marking all trees
12 feet in diameter or greater measured 4.5 feet above grade within
a two-acre area surrounding the tower site. The height of the trees
shall be calculated by a professional licensed surveyor in the State
of New Jersey. Absence of a suitable stand of trees for concealment
shall render the site unacceptable. No tower shall have a height or
location which require Federal Aviation Administration lighting. Lightning
rods are excluded from tower or antenna height calculations; however,
any antennas shall be included within the height calculations.
A.
Monopole tower construction shall be encouraged in
all new tower construction. Additionally, applicants shall be required
to use the latest stealth or camouflaging techniques. All towers shall
be fitted with anticlimbing devices.
B.
Permitted accessory structures or uses:
(1)
Accessory equipment sheds.
(a)
Maximum height: 16 feet or one story; eave height,
10 feet.
(b)
Maximum area: 600 square feet.
(c)
Fencing: all equipment sheds shall be located
immediately adjacent to the tower it services. All equipment sheds
and tower bases shall be enclosed with a solid wood fence of at least
six feet in height, but no higher than eight feet unless otherwise
approved by the Township Engineer. All fences shall include a locking
security gate. A key to the gate shall be supplied to each of the
fire companies serving the Township of Mansfield.
C.
Other conditions applying to all towers and antennas.
(1)
Noise levels. All noise generated by a tower and/or the equipment shed shall meet the minimum standards contained in Chapter 363, Zoning, and all state, federal or local noise regulations, whichever is most stringent.
(2)
Annual report. Upon the issuance of a building permit
for a wireless telecommunications tower site, the owner or operator
of the site shall provide to the Township Engineer and the Township
Committee an initial report signed and sealed by a licensed professional
engineer, certifying the estimated useful structural life of the tower
as well as providing an initial inventory of all equipment and antennas
on the site. After 50% of the useful structural life has lapsed, annual
recertification reports as to the structural integrity of the tower
shall be required. An updated report shall also be provided whenever
antenna arrays are modified and shall include a detail listing of
all antennas and equipment. All vendors, operators and lessees shall
also be required to notify the Township Committee when the use of
any such antennas of equipment is discontinued. If any of the reports
disclose that a condition of any tower presents an imminent hazard
to the public health, safety or welfare, or that the tower antennas
and equipment are no longer in use, the owner shall, and the Township
Engineer may order in his discretion, the tower or site upon which
it is located, to take appropriate corrective action including, if
necessary, the removal of the tower to protect the public health,
safety and welfare. Wireless telecommunication towers and sites shall
be maintained to insure continued structure integrity. The owner of
the tower shall also perform such other maintenance of the structure
and of the site so as to assure that it does not create a visual nuisance.
(3)
Abandonment and removal. Any antenna or tower that
is not operated for a continuous period of six months shall be considered
abandoned, and the owner of such antenna or tower shall remove the
same within 90 days of receipt of notice from the Township of Mansfield
notifying the owner of such abandonment. Towers that are rendered
obsolete or outdated by advances in technology shall be removed or
modified. Failure to remove an obsolete, outdated or abandoned antenna
or tower within 90 days shall be grounds for the Township of Mansfield
to require removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's, operator's
or property owner's expense. If there are two or more users of a single
tower, then this provision shall not become effective until all users
cease using the tower or same is deemed obsolete or outdated by the
Township of Mansfield. The Township may condition the issuance of
any permit to construct a tower or antenna on the posting of an appropriate
performance bond or other suitable guarantee in a face amount of not
less than 120% of the cost to remove the tower and restore the property
as determined by the Township Engineer for such construction as required
under all state and local codes and ordinances.
(4)
Signs prohibited. No signs shall be permitted on either
the tower or equipment building, except for those signs required by
law or containing such information as owner contact information, warnings,
equipment information and safety instructions. These signs shall not
exceed two square feet in total area. Absolutely no commercial advertising
shall be permitted on any equipment, antenna, building or tower.
(5)
Lighting. No lighting is permitted except as follows:
(a)
The equipment building and compound may have
security and safety lighting at the entrance, provided the lighting
is attached to the facility, is focused downward and is wired with
a timing device and/or sensor so that the light is turned off when
not needed for safety or security purposes.
(b)
No lighting is permitted on the wireless communication
tower.
[1]
Generators. Any generator located on site shall
be enclosed within a portion of the electronic equipment building.
Any fuel storage shall be done in compliance with federal and state
regulations and shall be limited to fuel stored within the primary
fuel tank provided by the manufacturer of the generator. No auxiliary
or supplementary fuel storage shall be permitted.
[2]
Multiple towers and uses. Any prohibition contained
in any ordinance restricting the number of principal uses per lot
shall not apply to the construction of wireless telecommunications
towers and facilities when the conditions contained in this chapter
are met.
[3]
Site location analysis. Every application for
a wireless telecommunications tower or antennas shall include a site
location alternative analysis including an analysis of the location
priorities describing the location of other sites considered, the
availability of those sites, the extent to which other sites do or
do not meet the provider's service or engineering needs and the reason
why the subject site was chosen. The analysis shall address the following
issues:
[a]
How the proposed location of the wireless telecommunications
tower or antennas relates to the objective of providing full wireless
communication services within the Township of Mansfield area at the
time full service is provided by the applicant and by other providers
within the Township area.
[b]
How the proposed location of the wireless telecommunications
tower/facility relates to the location of any existing antennas or
towers within or near the Township area.
[c]
How the proposed location of the wireless telecommunications
tower/facility relates to the anticipated need for additional antennas
or towers within and near the Township area by the applicant, and
by other providers of wireless services within the Mansfield Township
area.
[d]
How the proposed location of the wireless tower/facility
relates to the objective and goal of retaining concealed or reduced
tower height with groups of towers within close proximity to one another
rather than isolated taller towers with many users or greater tower
heights at random locations throughout the Township.
[4]
Additional municipal experts. The Mansfield
Township Planning Board reserves the right to retain, at the applicant's
expense, any technical consultants as it deems necessary to provide
assistance in the review of site location alternatives analysis and
specifications. By submitting an application for a wireless telecommunications
tower or facility, the applicant is deemed to have consented to this
procedure.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Any exterior transmitting or receiving device mounted on
a tower, building or structure, and use the communications that radiate
or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analogue signals,
radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications
signals or other communications signals. Excepted from this definition
are antennas used exclusively by ham radio operators or other residential
uses.
The use of a common wireless telecommunications tower or
a common structure, by two or more wireless license holders or unlicensed
holders nevertheless regulated by the Federal Communications Commission
or by one wireless license holder for more than one type of communications
technology and/or the placement of a wireless telecommunications tower
on a structure owned or operated by a public utility or other public
utility or other public entity.
Man-made trees, clock tower, bell steeples, light poles and
similar alternative design mounting structures that camouflage or
conceal the presence of antennas or towers.
The enclosed area in which the tower and its appurtenances
are located.
An antenna that transmits or receives radio frequency signals
for wireless telecommunication towers and the users of towers or other
structures for the purposes of delivering a low-power wireless radio
communication through a network.
The accessory structures or uses serving the tower site as
equipment sheds, telecommunications antennas and fences.
A freestanding, vertical structure designed to support one
or more wireless telecommunications antennas. The height of the tower
shall not include a lightning rod. This definition shall not apply
to amateur or ham radio towers.
