[Added 3-12-2001 by Ord. No. 1-2001]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Any structure or device used for the purpose of collecting
or transmitting electromagnetic waves including, but not limited to,
directional antennas such as panels, microwave dishes and satellite
dishes, and omnidirectional antennas, such as whip antennas.
A telecommunication facility consists of equipment, buildings
and structures involved in transmitting and receiving electromagnetic
waves.
The building in which electronic receiving and relay equipment
for a telecommunications tower is housed.
Any ground-mounted structure that is designed and constructed
primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas for telephone,
radio and similar communication purposes, including self-supporting
lattice towers or monopole towers; and includes radio and television
transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, and
cellular telephone towers. The term includes the structure and any
support thereto. Not included are towers and supportive structures
on residential dwellings for private noncommercial, amateur purposes
including but not limited to ham radios and citizen band radios that
are regulated by the regulations in each respective residential district.
In addition to the general goals of zoning listed in § 220-2, it is the purpose of this article to achieve the following:
A.
To provide a competitive and wide range of telecommunications services
while minimizing the impacts of the telecommunications infrastructure
in populated areas.
B.
To encourage and maximize the shared use of existing telecommunication
towers, buildings and structures.
C.
To ensure that new towers will be safe, placed in suitable locations
and blend into the environment where located.
A.
All applications for the location, subdivision, lease and licensing
of sites for all new telecommunications facility buildings and towers
are subject to the requirements of the County's Subdivision and Land
Development Ordinance and the Township's Zoning Ordinance and are
subject to review by the Planning Commission and approval by the Board
of Supervisors.
B.
Telecommunications facilities that cease to operate or have not operated
for 12 consecutive months shall be determined to have terminated operation
and been abandoned and must be removed within 90 days at the expense
of the owner of the facility/tower and/or property owners.
C.
Legally preexisting towers and antennas will not be required to meet
the following requirements unless specifically indicated.
B.
The maximum height of telecommunications towers shall be 250 feet,
measured from the average natural grade of the approved facility area
to the top point of the tower or antenna, whichever is greater.
C.
The minimum setback of telecommunications towers shall be as required
in the applicable zoning district, except for the following: No telecommunications
tower shall be located closer than 200 feet or 110% of the proposed
telecommunications tower height, whichever is greater, from any existing
residence or residential lot line, regardless of the zoning district
in which the tower and associated buildings are located.
D.
Minimum lease area and/or license area size of telecommunications facilities. No minimum lease area and/or license area size is required for a telecommunications facility; however, as required in the applicable zoning district and Subsection C above, the setbacks of the parent tract perimeter boundaries shall apply.
E.
Evidence of need for towers.
(1)
It is required that the applicant for the placement of a telecommunications
tower shall submit to the Township evidence of the need for the telecommunications
tower in the proposed location and that the applicant has exhausted
all alternatives to locate on an existing tower or structure.
(2)
In addition, the applicant must demonstrate via written evidence
or testimony from a qualified, licensed and professional engineer
that, in terms of location and construction, there are not existing
towers, telecommunications towers, buildings, structures, elevated
tanks or similar uses able to provide the platform for the telecommunications
antenna within a one-mile radius of the chosen location. Co-location is not possible if:
(a)
Coverage diagrams and technical reports demonstrate that co-location
on existing telecommunications towers is not technically possible
in order to serve the need; and planned equipment would exceed the
structural capacity of existing telecommunications towers within the
municipality, considering existing and planned use of those telecommunications
towers, and existing telecommunications towers cannot be reinforced
to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment as a reasonable cost;
(b)
Planned equipment will cause radio frequency (RF) interference
with other existing or planned equipment for that telecommunications
tower, and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost;
(c)
Existing or approved telecommunications towers do not have the
space on which planned equipment can be placed so it can function
effectively and at least in parity with other similar equipment in
place or planned; or
(d)
Other reasons make it impractical to place the equipment planned
by the applicant on existing and approved telecommunications towers.
F.
Telecommunications antennas (shared use). Telecommunications antennas
may be attached to any building or structure in all zoning districts,
including but not limited to a church, a municipal or governmental
building or facility, an agricultural building, a building owned by
a utility, telecommunications tower, water tank and major electrical
transmission lines, pursuant to the following:
(1)
Antennas shall not be permitted on single-family homes, town
homes and duplexes.
(2)
Building and zoning permits shall be required.
(3)
Antennas shall be no taller than 15 feet above the existing
structure, except for towers. For towers, antennas shall not exceed
the height of the tower.
(4)
Antennas shall be architecturally compatible with the existing
structure.
A.
Any proposed telecommunications tower shall be designed, structurally,
electrically and in all respects, to accommodate both the applicant's
antennas and comparable antennas for at least three additional users.
Towers must be designed to allow for future rearrangement of antennas
upon the tower and to accept antennas mounted at varying heights,
including antennas for all.
B.
The telecommunications tower shall be designed and constructed to
all applicable standards of the American National Standards Institute,
ANSI/EIA-222-F Manual, as amended.
C.
A soil report complying with the standards of the Geotechnical Investigations,
ANSI/EIA-222-E Manual, as amended, shall be submitted to the municipality
to document and verify design specifications of the foundation for
the telecommunications tower.
D.
Telecommunications towers shall be designed and constructed to withstand
wind gusts of at least 100 miles per hour.
E.
The applicant shall present proof that the telecommunications tower
is designed in accordance with all applicable state and federal regulations.
F.
No guy wires shall be used in construction.
G.
The applicant shall annually present a certificate of insurance evidencing
general liability coverage in the minimum amount of $1,000,000 per
occurrence and property damage coverage in a minimum of $1,000,000
per occurrence covering both tower and antennas.
H.
The applicant shall provide, upon request, a statement from a qualified,
licensed professional engineer that the NIER (Nonionizing Electromagnetic
Radiation) emitted from the telecommunications tower, when measured
in conjunction with the emissions from all communication facilities
on the tower, does not result in an exposure at any point on or outside
such facility which exceeds the lowest applicable exposure standards
established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the
American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
I.
Except as required by the Federal Aviation Administration, no telecommunications
tower may use artificial lighting or strobe lighting at night.
J.
Upon request, the applicant shall provide to the municipality, not
more than once per year, information indicating that the approved
telecommunications tower or antenna remains structurally sound. The
applicant shall bear the costs of any inspection necessary to determine
the structural soundness of a telecommunication tower or antenna.
K.
All federal, state and municipal environmental regulations regarding
the placement of telecommunications facilities must be followed in
the design, review and construction processes.
L.
Telecommunications facilities shall be fully automated and unattended
on a daily basis. The site shall be visited only for necessary maintenance,
repairs or attachment of antennas.
A.
A security fence (including security wiring) of eight feet in height
shall completely enclose the telecommunications facility.
B.
The applicant shall submit a landscaping plan. Sites in which telecommunications
towers are located shall be required to comply with the following
landscaping requirements:
(1)
Landscaping and planting shall be provided for a minimum depth
of 15 feet along all public rights-of-way abutting the lot where the
telecommunications tower is located.
(2)
Landscaping, consisting of sight-obscuring trees and shrubs,
shall be required at the perimeter of the security fences and the
telecommunications facility. Existing wooded areas, tree lines and
hedgerows adjacent to the facility shall be preserved as much as possible
and used to substitute or meet a portion of the buffer yard requirements.
A.
The applicant must demonstrate on the land development plan that
parked vehicles at the facility will not impede traffic on the adjoining
cartways.
B.
Internal access to the telecommunications tower shall be provided by a minimum twelve-foot-wide cartway and shall be a mud-free gravel surface. The vehicular access to the telecommunications tower and telecommunications facility building shall meet the applicable street standards of Chapter 177 for private streets and/or driveways.
Signs for telecommunications facilities shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 163, Signs. In addition, the following requirements shall apply:
A.
No advertising shall be permitted on towers and/or fence.
B.
An emergency information sign of no more than two square feet in
sign area and bearing no commercial advertising shall be mounted on
the gate of any fenced facility area and shall include emergency telephone
numbers.
C.
A sign indicating "Restricted Area — Keep Out" shall be mounted
on the gate or entrance of any fenced facility and on all other sides.
