HomeMy WebLinkAbout[06b-11] Ordinance 58:00 Telecommunications CHAPTER V — BUILDING, LAND USE & REGULATIONS
ORDINANCE 58 TELECOMMUNICATION FREE STANDING TOWER REGULATION
AND ANTENNA ORDINANCE
Section 58.01: PURPOSE. The purpose of this ordinance is to accommodate the
communication needs of residents and businesses while protecting public health, safety and
general welfare of the community. The City finds that these regulations are necessary in order
to:
Subd. 1: Facilitate the provision of wireless communication services to residents and
businesses;
Subd. 2: Minimize adverse visual effects of towers through careful design and site
standards;
Subd. 3: Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through
structural standards and setback requirements; and
Subd. 4: Maximize the use of existing and approved towers and buildings to
accommodate new wireless communication antennas in order to reduce the number of towers
needed to serve the community.
Section 58.02: DEFINITIONS. The following words and terms shall have the following
meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Subd. 1: Antenna. Any structure or device used for the purpose of collecting or
transmitting electrical magnetic waves, including but not limited to directional antennas, such as
panels, microwave dishes and satellite dishes, and omni - directional antennas, such as whip
antennas.
Subd. 2: Commercial Wireless Telecommunication Services. Licensed commercial
wireless telecommunication services, including cellular, personal communication services (PCS),
specialized mobilized radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobilized radio (ESMR), paging, and
similar services that are marketed to the general public.
Subd. 3: Public Utility. Persons, corporations, or governments supplying gas, electric,
transportation, water, sewer or land lying telephone service to the general public. For the
purpose of this ordinance, commercial wireless communication service facilities shall not be
considered public utility uses, and are defined separately.
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Subd. 4: Tower. Any free - standing ground or roof - mounted pole, spire, structure or a
combination thereof taller than 15 feet, including supporting lines, cables, wires, braces, and
masks, not wholly contained within a building or other structure, intended primarily for the
purpose of mounting an antenna, meteorologic device, or similar apparatus above grade.
Subd 5: Multi -User Towers. A tower to which is attached the antennas of more than one
commercial wireless telecommunications service provider or governmental entity.
Subd. 6: Single -User Towers. A tower to which is attached only the antennas of a single
user, although the tower may be designed to accommodate antennas of multiple users as required
by this ordinance.
Subd. 7: Amateur Radio and Television Towers. A tower used exclusively for
transmission and reception by an amateur radio operator, which is located on the same property
as the radio or for residential television reception, and does not exceed 40 feet in height.
Subd. 8: Exempted Dish. A satellite or microwave dish that is two meters or less in
diameter and used for reception of signals exclusively for the occupants of the property on which
it is located.
Subd. 9: Accessory Utility Buildings. All utility buildings and structures accessory to a
tower.
Subd. 10: Building Mounted Antenna. A wireless communications antenna mounted on
or attached to the roof or wall of an existing building.
Subd. 11: Commercial Towers. A tower designed or used for commercial wireless
telecommunications services, public radio transmission or commercial television transmission.
Section 58.03: PERMITTED ZONING DISTRICTS. The construction and maintenance
of a commercial tower or antenna shall be permitted within the following zoning classifications,
pursuant to a conditional use permit granted in accordance with the Zoning Ordinance. Amateur
radio, television towers and exempted dishes shall not require a conditional use permit.
Subd. 1: Industrial Districts. All permitted towers and antennas.
Subd. 2: Agricultural Districts. All permitted towers and antennas.
Subd. 3: Public Districts. All permitted towers and antennas.
Subd. 4: General Business. Building Mounted Antennas, Exempted Dishes and antennas
not attached to a tower.
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Section 58.04: GENERAL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. All towers shall meet the
following performance standards.
Subd. 1: Multi -User Requirements. A proposal for a new commercial wireless
communication tower shall not be approved unless the City finds that the telecommunications
equipment plans for the proposed tower cannot be accommodated by an existing or approved
tower or building within a one -half mile search radius of the proposed tower due to one or more
of the following reasons:
a) The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of the existing or
approved tower, as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer,
and the existing or approved tower cannot be re- enforced, modified, or replaced to
accommodate planned or equivalent equipment at a reasonable cost.
b) The planned equipment would cause interference materially impacting the
useability of other existing or planned equipment at the tower as documented by a
qualified and licensed professional engineer, and the interference cannot be
prevented at a reasonable cost.
c) Existing or approved towers and buildings within the search radius cannot
accommodate the planned equipment at a height necessary to function reasonably
as documented by a qualified and licensed professional engineer.
d) Other unforeseen reasons that make it infeasible to locate the planned
telecommunications equipment upon an existing or approved tower or building.
Any proposed commercial wireless telecommunication service tower shall be
designed (structurally and electronically) in all respects, to accommodate both the
applicant's antennas and comparable antennas for at least two additional users.
The tower must be designed to allow for future re- arrangement of antennas upon
the tower and to accept antennas mounted at various heights.
Subd. 2: Tower and Antenna Design Requirements. Towers and antennas shall be
designed to blend into the surrounding environment through the use of color and camouflaging
architectural treatment except in instances where the color is dictated by federal or state
authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration. Commercial wireless
telecommunication service towers shall be of a monopole design unless the City determines that
an alternative design would better blend in the surrounding environment or allow for greater
future multi -use.
Subd. 3: Landscaping and Screening. The City shall establish, as a condition of approval
of a commercial tower, reasonable requirements relating to landscaping and screening to
improve the aesthetic appearance of the base of the tower and accessory buildings. Existing on-
site vegetation should be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
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Subd. 4: Fencing. All commercial towers and accessory buildings shall be enclosed
within an aesthetically acceptable fence with a locked gate to prevent unauthorized entry. The
fence shall be at least eight feet, but not greater than ten feet, in height.
Subd. 5: Construction Standards. All towers shall be constructed and maintained in
accordance with the Electronic Industry Association Standards and all applicable building codes.
Subd. 6: Minimum Spacing. Minimum spacing between commercial tower locations is
one -fourth mile; except antennas wholly contained with a building or other structure and not
visible to the general public shall be exempt from this spacing regulation.
Section 58.05: TOWER SETBACKS. All towers shall confirm with the following
minimum setback requirements.
Subd. 1: All towers shall be set back from property lines a minimum of 125% of the
height of the tower, including all antennas and attachments. The height of the tower shall be
measured from the average grade of the property on which it is located or the actual tower
height, whichever is greater.
Subd. 2: Buildings accessory to a tower shall comply with the setback requirements of
the zone in which the tower is located.
Subd. 3: Commercial towers shall be set back a minimum of 1,000 feet from schools or
structures used as dwellings and a minimum of 600 feet from property zoned for residential use.
Subd. 4: A tower setback may be reduced or varied, at the sole discretion of the City, if
the variance will facilitate the integration of the tower into an existing or proposed structure,
such as a church steeple, light standards, power line support device or similar structure.
Section 58.06: TOWER LIGHTING. A tower shall not be illuminated by artificial
means and shall not display strobe lights unless such lighting is specifically required by the
Federal Aviation Administration or other state or federal authority for a particular tower. When
incorporated into the design standards of the tower, light fixtures to illuminate ball fields,
parking lots or similar areas may be attached to the tower.
Section 58.07: SIGNS AND ADVERTISING. The use of any portion of a tower for
signs other than a warning or equipment informational signs is prohibited.
Section 58.08: ABANDONED OR UNUSED TELECOMMUNICATION TOWERS.
Abandoned, unused telecommunications towers or portions of telecommunications towers shall
be removed as follows:
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Subd. 1: All abandoned, unused towers and associated facilities shall be removed within
12 months of the cession of operations at the site unless a time extension is approved by the City.
In the event the tower is not removed within 12 months of cession of operations at the site, the
tower and the associated facilities may be removed by the City and the cost of removal assessed
against the property.
Subd. 2: Any unused portions of towers above a manufactured connection shall be
removed within six (6) months of the time of antenna relocation. The replacement of portions of
a tower previously removed requires the issuance of a new conditional use permit.
Section 58.09: INTERFERENCE OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS. No
new or existing telecommunication service shall interfere with public safety communications.
All applications for a conditional use permit for new service shall be accompanied by an
intermodulation study which provides the technical evaluation of existing and proposed
transmissions and indicates all potential interference problems. Before the introduction of a new
service or change in existing service, telecommunication providers shall notify the City at least
ten (10) calendar days in advance of such changes and allow the City to monitor interference
levels during the testing process.
Section 58.10: CONDITIONAL USE APPLICATION SUBMITTAL. In addition to the
information generally required to accompany a request for a conditional use permit as found in
the Zoning Ordinance, applications for towers shall include the following supplemental
information:
a) A report from a qualified and licensed engineer which:
1. Describes the tower height and design, including a cross section and
elevation.
2. Documents the height above grade for all potential mounting positions for
collocated antennas and the minimum separation distance between
antennas;
3. Describes the towers capacity, including the number and type of antennas
it can accommodate.
4. Describes how the applicant will take to avoid interference with
established public safety communication.
5. Includes the engineer's stamp and registration number.
6. Includes other information necessary to evaluate the request.
b) Letter of intent committing the tower owner, and successors, to allow the shared
use of the tower if any additional user agrees in writing to meet reasonable terms
and conditions for shared use.
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c) Proof that the proposed tower complies with regulations administered by the
Federal Aviation Administration.
d) A report from a qualified and licensed professional engineer which demonstrates
the tower compliance with all applicable structural and electrical standards.
e) A site plan showing the boundaries of the property on which the tower is located,
adjacent land uses, the location of the tower and any accessory buildings within
the property, distance setbacks from property lines for the tower and accessory
buildings, fence locations, and proposed landscaping or screening.
Section 58.11: BUILDING MOUNTED ANTENNAS. The placement of a wireless
telecommunication antennas on roofs of walls of existing buildings or structures shall be
approved by the City as a conditional use provided that the antennas meet the requirements of
this ordinance, after submittal of a final site and building plan, and a report prepared by qualified
licensed professional engineer indicating the existing building structure suitability to accept the
antenna as well as a proposed method for affixing the antenna to the structure. Complete details
of all fixtures, couplings, and the precise point of attachment shall be indicated.
Section 58.12: AMATEUR RADIO TOWERS. Amateur Radio and Television Towers
and antennas are subject to the standards and conditions established by this ordinance, except for
those specific to commercial towers. The City may waive strict compliance with this ordinance
if it finds that the stated purpose of this ordinance is met.
Section 58.13: PENALTIES. A violation of this ordinance shall constitute a
misdemeanor. Each calendar day of a continued violation of the ordinance shall constitute an
individual misdemeanor or offense.
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