To preserve the authority of the Town to regulate the siting of telecommunication facilities in order to provide effective and efficient wireless telecommunication services to the residents and businesses of the municipality;

To minimize the adverse impacts of wireless telecommunication facilities, including, but not limited to, impacts on aesthetics, environmentally sensitive areas, the character of existing neighborhoods, historic areas, scenic viewsheds, flight corridors, public health and safety by injurious accidents to persons and property, and adverse impacts to property values;

To minimize adverse impacts of wireless telecommunication facilities by requiring a thorough assessment of all siting and design options for proposed facilities, including a review of proposed technology, current and future location options, innovative siting techniques, and the use of stealth techniques to screen antennas and equipment to the maximum extent possible;

To permit the construction of new commercial ground-mounted facilities only where all other reasonable opportunities have been exhausted;

To encourage the placement of new ground-mounted facilities in the commercial districts and along the Town’s major thoroughfares;

To require co-location and cooperation to the greatest extent possible between wireless telecommunication competitors in order to reduce the cumulative impact of multiple towers in Town; and

To provide for the safe and prompt removal of abandoned facilities and for the upgrading of facilities that are technologically outdated.

Signage. No advertising signage of any type shall be permitted on wireless telecommunications structures or facilities, including logos, banners, flags, or combinations of paint colors associated with corporate identification.

Location. Wireless telecommunications facilities shall be permitted in all zoning districts.

Transfer to noncommercial entity. Any wireless structure that ceases to provide service for a commercial use cannot be transferred, sold or donated to a noncommercial entity. In addition, the structure cannot be used for noncommercial use after ceasing to provide commercial service.

Annual declaration. The owner of a wireless telecommunications facility shall file on or before January 1 of each year, a declaration with the Zoning Administrator on a form that may be obtained from the Town offices as to the continuing operation of every facility installed subject to these regulations. Failure to do so shall be determined to mean that the facility is no longer in use and considered abandoned, thus subject to the provisions of § 275-45. Should the ownership of the facility change, the Town shall be notified of the new ownership and mailing address.

Roofs mounts. When a wireless telecommunications facility exceeds six feet in height, it must be of stealth design such as a chimney, steeple, or cupola. Issuance of a building permit from the Bedford Building Code Official is required for all roof mounts.

Side mounts. Wireless telecommunications facilities that are side-mounted shall not extend more than six feet above the roofline without being of stealth design. Issuance of a building permit form the Bedford Building Code Official is required for all side mounts.

Historic District.

Burden of proof. The applicant shall have the burden of proving that there are no existing structures that are suitable to locate its wireless telecommunications facility; that the proposed facility will fill an existing significant gap in the ability of remote users to access the national telephone network; that the manner in which the applicant proposes to fill the significant gap in service is the least intrusive manner with respect to visual impact, environmental impact and safety. This will require a showing that a good-faith effort has been made to identify and evaluate less intrusive alternatives, including that the provider has considered less sensitive sites, alternative system designs, alternative tower designs or placement of antennas on existing structures. To meet that burden, all applications made to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a special exception must be accompanied by the following:

Master plan. A master plan of the applicant's ultimate transmission proposal for the Town of Bedford, including the number of facilities that will be needed to provide uninterrupted service within Bedford and general locations for any necessary future facilities to effectuate the applicant's master plan.

Radio frequency coverage analysis. A coverage analysis for the proposed site shall include, at a minimum, two antenna heights with a minimum 10 feet of separation. In addition, the applicant shall provide a composite map showing all proposed and existing sites within a ten-mile radius from the proposed site as well as a summary sheet identifying the following for each site propagated.

Viewshed analysis. A viewshed analysis, including photographs of a crane or a balloon moored at the site indicating the visibility of the proposed structure from all abutting streets and other key locations as determined by the Zoning Administrator. The use of a crane or balloon shall be at the choice of the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Public notification is required seven days in advance in the local daily newspaper of wide circulation.

Aesthetic impact mitigation proposal. An aesthetic impact mitigation proposal which should include existing and proposed landscaping, proposed site grading, proposed limits of clearing, siting considerations relative to surrounding topography, color, camouflage, disguise mechanisms (i.e., disguising a monopole as a pine tree or a light pole), or other mitigation techniques.

Radio frequency radiation emission. The applicant shall provide appropriate documentation calculating the radio frequency radiation emission per current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations taking into account all current users of the structure. A copy of the document must be forwarded to the Building Code Official at time of building permit application;

Co-location.

All applications made to the Bedford Planning Board for a site plan approval must be accompanied by the following:

In the case of antennas mounted on roofs, walls, or other structures, such as a water tank/tower, the applicant shall also be required to submit the following additional information to the Planning Board for review:

Height.

Stealth design. Towers and antennas shall be designed to blend into the surrounding environment through the use of architectural treatment, stealth design, and use of color except in instances where the color is dictated by federal and state authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration. Disguise mechanisms are require unless the applicant proves to the Zoning Board that natural conditions surrounding the facility mitigate visual impacts to the Board's satisfaction.

Equipment shelters. All equipment for new commercial ground-mounted facilities, including but not limited to generators and cabinets, must be housed within an equipment shelter. The equipment shelter shall be designed in accordance with one of the following requirements:

Landscaping requirements. All ground-mounted wireless telecommunications facilities shall require a landscaping plan that provides for screening the base of the facility and all equipment with existing vegetation and new plantings.

Fall zone. A new ground wireless telecommunication facility must comply with the setback requirements for the zoning district in which it is located, or be set back 100% of its height from all property lines, habitable dwellings, businesses, institutional or public facilities, whichever is greater. Exceptions: In all districts, except the Residential Agricultural District and the General Residential District, the setback may be reduced by the Zoning Board of Adjustment upon a showing by the applicant that the facility is designed to collapse in a manner that will not harm other property. In the Residential Agricultural District and the General Residential District, all wireless telecommunication facilities must be set back at least 750 feet from the nearest residentially zoned property.

Minimum lot size. In the Residential and Agricultural District and the General Residential District, the minimum lot size for commercial ground-mounted facilities shall be five acres.

Maintenance. The owner shall maintain the wireless telecommunications facility in good condition. Such maintenance shall include, but not be limited to, painting, structural integrity of the mount and security barrier, and maintenance of the buffer areas and replacement of dead and dying landscaping.

Security for removal.

At such time that a carrier plans to cease wireless telecommunications use, such carrier will notify the Town by certified United States mail of the proposed date of cessation of wireless telecommunications use. The Zoning Administrator shall notify the owner of the land by certified mail of the planned cessation of use and order the removal of the facility within 90 days of receipt of the written notice.

If the wireless telecommunications facility is not removed within this time period, the Planning Board shall, after holding a public hearing with notice to the owner and abutters, issue of declaration of abandonment. At such time, the municipality may remove the wireless telecommunications facility and return the site to its pre-construction condition by utilizing the funds posted by financial surety to the Town previously mentioned.