Barnstable City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Personal Wireless Communication
§ 240-106 Purpose and intent.
It is the intent of this article to provide for the location and siting of wireless service communication facilities and their accessory structures in accordance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, to provide for the orderly provision of facilities; ensure public safety; and to minimize adverse visual impacts upon both residential and nonresidential areas.
§ 240-107 Requirements for all personal wireless facilities in all zoning districts.
A.
Installation and construction of all personal wireless service facilities, including but not limited to antennas, mounts, equipment shelters and structures, shall be subject to Article IX Site Plan Review, and shall require issuance of a building permit.
B.
The applicant shall provide site plan review with evidence that they are a licensed carrier, authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to construct and operate personal wireless services, and that the proposed transmitters are FCC regulated and approved.
C.
The structure to which any mount or antenna is attached is a legally built structure under zoning, or a preexisting, legal nonconforming structure.
D.
If the location is within a designated historic district, the applicant shall secure a certificate of appropriateness, to the extent required.
E.
Structural components including guy wire anchors and equipment shelters shall comply with all required setbacks of the zoning district.
F.
Any equipment or base receiver station, not located within an existing building or underground vault, shall be designed to fit in with traditional Cape Cod architecture styles and materials, or shall be screened from view.
§ 240-108 Antennas permitted by special permit in all zoning districts.
[Amended 8-1-2013 by Order No. 2013-126]
Except where permitted as of right in § 240-109 below, in all zoning districts, an antenna mounted or located on any existing building, structure or communications tower may be permitted by special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals, provided that no antenna exceeds the height of the existing structure by more than 12 feet, unless the Board finds that additional height is necessary to provide coverage, and the additional height will not be visually intrusive upon the surrounding area.
§ 240-109 Antennas permitted as of right in all zoning districts.
[Amended 8-1-2013 by Order No. 2013-126]
Antennas permitted as of right in all zoning districts shall be as follows:
A.
Co-location of antennas and customary appurtenant equipment on an existing communications tower lawfully permitted for the purpose of supporting FCC-licensed antennas, subject to compliance with § 240-107 and the following standards:
(1)
The antenna shall not increase the height of the communications tower.
(2)
The antenna shall not extend out from the tower more than technically necessary for proper operation.
(3)
The applicant shall submit a structural analysis, prepared and stamped by a registered professional engineer licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, demonstrating that the communications tower has sufficient structural capacity for the installation. The analysis shall include information about all antenna installations on the tower.
B.
An antenna and/or tower used in accordance with the terms of an amateur radio service license issued by the Federal Communications Commission provided that any facility tower is not licensed or used for any commercial use, subject to all the requirements of § 240-8, Exempt uses.
C.
Television and radio antennas, including satellite dishes not exceeding a diameter of four feet, for personal use, accessory to a residential use, or to provide entertainment for a single business such as a restaurant.
D.
An antenna completely enclosed within an existing structure other than a communications tower, provided that the associated equipment or base transceiver station is located within an underground vault, or within an existing building or addition thereto, other than an equipment or base receiver shelter.
E.
An antenna located upon the roof of an existing building or structure other than a communications tower, provided that the antenna does not exceed a height of 12 feet, and provided that the equipment shelter is set back from the roof edge a distance equal to the height of the equipment shelter
F.
An antenna located on a water tower belonging to a public water supply utility, by permission of the water utility, not to exceed the height of the water tower by more than 12 feet, except that the Zoning Board of Appeals may by special permit increase the height of the antenna up to 20 feet where the location of the water tower and design of the antenna is such that it will not be visually intrusive upon the surrounding area.
G.
Antennas located on existing utility stanchions, not to exceed a height of 12 feet above the utility stanchions, located within a Commonwealth Electric Company easement, with permission of the landowner to location and maintenance of an equipment or base receiver station shelter, or submission of recorded easement language demonstrating the right to install an equipment or base receiver station for a wireless communication facility.