Brick Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXXI
Wireless Telecommunication Towers and Antennas
[Adopted 12-27-2002 by Ord. No. 1085-02]
§ 245-273 Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to establish general guidelines for the siting of wireless communication towers and antennas. The goals of this article are to:
Protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas;
Encourage the location of towers to nonresidential areas;
Minimize the total number of towers throughout the community;
Strongly encourage the colocation and multiplexing of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers;
Encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal;
Encourage users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers and antennas through careful design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques;
Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications service to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently;
Consider the public health and safety of communication towers;
Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures; and
Avoid potential negative impacts to surrounding property values.
In furtherance of these goals, the Township of Brick shall give due consideration to the Township's Master Plan, Zoning Ordinance and Map, existing land uses and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas.
§ 245-274 Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
Man-made trees, clock towers, bell steeples, light poles, and similar alternative-design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennas or towers.
Any exterior transmitting or receiving device mounted on a tower, building or structure and used in communications that radiate or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications signals, or other communication signals.
Allowing other cellular service providers to locate on existing poles owned by other providers or entities and allowing multiple users to utilize one cellular antenna array through the use of a duplexer or multiplexer technologies, provided that technology is available.
The area depicted on a map of the Township of Brick in which cellular phone users can receive service while located outdoors holding their cellular phone a minimum of five feet from the ground.
The Federal Aviation Administration.
The Federal Communications Commission.
When referring to a tower or other structure, the distance measured from the finished grade of the parcel to the highest point on the tower or other structure, including the base pad and any antenna.
Any tower or antenna for which a building permit or special use permit has been properly issued prior to the effective date of this article, including permitted towers or antennas that have not yet been constructed so long as such approval is current and not expired.
Any 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, guyed towers or monopole towers. The term includes radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures, and the like. The term includes the structure and any support thereto.
§ 245-275 Cellular towers and antennas as conditional use in certain zones.
Cellular towers and antennas are hereby determined to be a conditionally permitted use in any B-2, B-3, B-4, M-1 and HS Zones in the Township of Brick, provided that the proposed use complies with the following conditions. The Zoning Board of Adjustment shall have the jurisdiction to determine whether the proposed use complies with said conditions.
The proposed use is within the allowed zone.
No tower may exceed the height of 120 feet.
Towers must be setback from roadways or adjoining lots and a distance equal to 125% of the height of the tower.
Towers must not be within 500 feet of any property on which a school or residence, including multifamily residences are located.
The applicant shall provide mapping and supporting information depicting the coverage areas. If, based on this information, the board determines that the proposed site is a duplication of services provided from other existing companies, the applicant will be prohibited from constructing a cellular tower at the proposed site and encouraged to colocate or multiplex for service to the surrounding community at existing sites.
§ 245-276 General requirements.
Principal or accessory use. Antennas and towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses. A different existing use of an existing structure on the same lot shall not preclude the installation of an antenna or tower on such lot.
All conditions for site plan approvals under the allowable zones are required to be met as a condition of the approval.
In order to minimize tower proliferation, applicants will be required to show that they have exhausted all possible avenues for sharing space on existing towers or existing antenna locations. Applicants for the installation of a telecommunications tower or equipment are required to submit, as part of their application, the location of all cellular towers within the operating range of the Township and adjacent municipalities, and to send a certified mail announcement to all other communications towers and equipment users and the property owners where such towers and equipment are located stating their needs and sharing capabilities. No application will be entertained unless the applicant proposing the new equipment demonstrates that, despite reasonable efforts, it is not practicable to acquire the necessary rights or permission to install and operate its equipment at the location of the existing equipment on commercially reasonable terms or the site is otherwise not suitable due to construction or other site specific limitations. The applicant shall provide competent testimony by a radio frequency engineer regarding the suitability of potential locations in light of the design of the wireless telecommunications network. The Township of Brick reserves the right to engage, at the applicant's expense, a professional radio frequency engineer to review all applicable information provided by the applicant.
Where a suitable location on an existing tower is found to exist, but an applicant is unable to secure an agreement to colocate its equipment on such tower through colocation or multiplexing, the applicant shall provide written evidence of correspondence with the owner of such tower verifying that suitable space is not available on the existing tower(s).
Telecommunications towers may be erected on or in conjunction with any other building or structure on the property in the zones where such towers are permitted.
To avoid multiple applications occurring on one location simultaneously, and to reduce the number of cellular towers necessary for adequate service area, no application for construction of a tower will be accepted by the Board of Adjustment unless the applicant demonstrates at least one other cellular provider contracted to colocate on the proposed tower at the time of the application. That applicant must also demonstrate that the cell tower is capable of supporting up to four antenna arrays and is capable of supporting multiplexing technology.
Immediately following installation and the commencement of operations of the equipment, the applicant shall furnish a report showing test results of aggregate radiation emissions from all equipment located at the site.
The applicant shall be required to provide documentation or testimony relative to the property values in the surrounding area and how the proposed construction of a telecommunication tower will affect said property values.
The applicant shall describe anticipated maintenance needs, including frequency of service, personnel needs, equipment needs and traffic, noise or safety impacts of such maintenance. Where the site abuts or has access to collector and local streets, access for maintenance vehicles shall be exclusively by means of the collector street.
Such facilities may not include office, long-term vehicle storage, other outdoor storage or other uses that are not needed to send or receive wireless telecommunications transmissions.
Signs of any type shall not be allowed on an antenna or tower.
If a tower is unused for a period of six months, the owner of the tower will be required to remove such tower and any accessory buildings or structures and to restore the property to its original condition.
A scaled site plan complying with Part 4 of this chapter shall be submitted clearly indicating:
The location type and height of the proposed tower;
On-site land uses and zoning;
Adjacent land uses and zoning (including when adjacent to other municipalities);
Master Plan classification of the site and all properties within the applicable separation distances to adjacent roadways;
Proposed means of access;
Setbacks front property lines;
Elevation drawings of the proposed tower and any other structures;
Topography;
Parking;
Other information deemed by the administrative official to be necessary to assess compliance with this article;
Method of fencing and finished color and if applicable the method of camouflage and illumination;
A notarized statement on the plan by the applicant as to whether construction of the tower will accommodate collocation or multiplexing of additional antennas for future users;
An updated survey of the subject property prepared, signed and sealed by a New Jersey licensed land surveyor.
Modifications constituting a substantial change.
[Added 8-23-2016 by Ord. No. 13-16]
A proposed modification to a preexisting tower or antenna shall constitute a new application for a tower subject to the provisions of this Chapter if the modifications to the preexisting tower or antenna involves a substantial change to a preexisting tower or antenna. A proposed modification shall constitute a substantial change to a preexisting tower or preexisting antenna if it meets any of the following criteria:
For towers outside of public rights-of-way, it increases the height of the tower by more than 10% or by the height of one additional antenna array with separation from the nearest existing antenna not to exceed twenty feet, whichever is greater; for those towers in the rights-of-way and for all base stations, it increases the height of the tower or base station by more than 10% or 10 feet, whichever is greater;
For towers outside of public rights-of-way, it protrudes from the edge of the tower more than twenty feet, or more than the width of the tower structure at the level of the appurtenance, whichever is greater; for those towers in the rights-of-way and for all base stations, it protrudes from the edge of the structure more than six feet;
It involves installation of more than the standard number of new equipment cabinets for the technology involved, but not to exceed four cabinets;
It entails any excavation or deployment outside the current site of the structure;
It would defeat the existing concealment elements of the structure; or
It does not comply with conditions associated with the prior approval of construction or modification of the structure unless the noncompliance is due to an increase in height, increase in width, addition of cabinets, or new excavation that does not exceed the corresponding substantial change thresholds identified above.
Any such change shall be determined by measuring the change from the dimensions of the structure as originally approved or as of the most recent modification that received local zoning or similar regulatory approval prior to the passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 (February 22, 2012), whichever is greater.
Applications that do not substantially modify preexisting towers or preexisting antennas.
[Added 8-23-2016 by Ord. No. 13-16]
Required documentation for applications. An applicant requesting approval for a co-location, modification, removal, or replacement of equipment at a preexisting wireless communications tower, base station, or other facility on which wireless communications equipment is located, that does not substantially change the dimensions of the existing structure, shall submit the following documentation to the Township Engineer and the Township Land Use Planner for review:
A completed land use application.
A location plan drawn to scale and clearly indicating the location, type and height of the proposed equipment, on-site land uses and zoning, adjacent land uses and zoning (including when adjacent to other municipalities), master plan classification of the site and all properties within 200 feet of the property which is the subject of the application, adjacent roadways, proposed means of access, setbacks from property lines, elevation drawings of the proposed tower and any other structures, topography, and parking.
A legal description of the parent tract and leased parcel (if applicable).
The finished color, and if applicable, the method of camouflage and illumination of the existing structure and equipment;
The finished color, and if applicable, the method of camouflage and illumination of the proposed structure and equipment.
A description of the proposed equipment's compliance with all applicable federal, state or local laws.
A description of the suitability of the use of existing towers, other structures or alternative technology not requiring the use of towers or structures to provide the services to be provided through the use of the proposed tower.
A description of the type and quantity of equipment to be installed.
A description of the number and size of any equipment cabinets to be installed on the tower or base station.
A description of the number and size of any equipment cabinets to be installed on the ground.
A description of any excavation required.
A description of the change in tower height as a result of the proposed co-location, removal, or replacement.
A description of the change in the height of any other structure as a result of the proposed co-location, removal, or replacement.
A description of the change in width of the tower or structure at the height of the proposed co-location, removal, or replacement.
A description of the proximity of the equipment to any other equipment on the same structure and of the visibility of the proposed equipment from the surrounding property.
A description of the noise level emitted by any proposed equipment.
Review of applications. Applications submitted under this subsection shall be reviewed by the Township Engineer and the Township Land Use Planner pursuant to the following:
Timeframe for review. The Township Engineer and the Township Land Use Planner shall determine whether an application for co-location, removal, or replacement of equipment at a preexisting wireless communications tower or antennas constitutes a substantial change pursuant within 60 days of receipt of the application. Applications that do not substantially change the tower or base station shall be approved within this time period. This sixty-day period may be extended by mutual agreement of the applicant and either the Township Engineer or the Township Land Use Planner.
Incomplete applications. The Township Engineer or the Township Land Use Planner may toll the sixty-day timeframe for review of the application by notifying the applicant, within 30 days of receipt of submission of an application, that the application is incomplete. Such notification shall set forth all outstanding information, as well as the applicable code provision, ordinance, application instruction, or publicly-stated procedure requiring the information to be submitted. The sixty-day timeframe shall begin again upon receipt of the supplemental submission.
Subsequent incomplete applications. The Township Engineer or the Township Land Use Planner may thereafter toll the sixty-day timeframe by notifying the applicant, within 10 days of receipt of the supplemental submission that the applicant did not provide the information identified in the original notice delineating missing information. Second or subsequent notices of incompleteness may not specify missing documents or information not previously delineated in the original notice of incompleteness.
Complete applications. The Township Engineer and the Township Land Use Planner shall, within the sixty-day timeframe, approve all complete applications for co-location, removal, or replacement of equipment at an existing wireless communications tower or base station that do not constitute a substantial change to a preexisting wireless tower or antennas and that do not otherwise violate applicable health and safety requirements. If the Township Engineer and the Township Land Use Planner determine that an application constitutes a substantial change to an existing wireless communications tower or base station, they shall notify the applicant of same, and proceed to consider the application according to the provisions of this chapter;
Applications on improper towers. Notwithstanding the above, the Township Engineer and the Township Land Use Planner are not obligated to approve an application for co-location, removal, or replacement of equipment on a tower or base station that was constructed or deployed without proper review, was not required to undergo siting review, or does not support transmission equipment that received another form of affirmative state or local regulatory approval.
Failure to act. If the Township Engineer and the Township Land Use Planner do not approve or deny an application for co-location, removal, or replacement of equipment at an existing wireless communications tower or base station within 60 days of receipt of the application or any applicable tolling periods thereafter, the applicant may notify the Township Engineer or the Township Land Use Planner in writing that the review period has expired. Upon the Township Engineer or the Township Land Use Planner's receipt of this notice from the applicant, the application shall be deemed granted.
§ 245-277 Aesthetics of towers and antennas.
Towers shall ether maintain a galvanized steel finish or subject to any applicable standards of the FAA be painted a neutral color so as to reduce visual obtrusiveness. The applicant should make every effort possible to construct a monopole that blends with the natural landscape. Monopoles that resemble trees or flagpoles are required.
At a tower site, the design of the buildings and related structures shall, to the extent possible, use materials, colors textures screening and landscaping that will blend them into the natural setting and surrounding buildings
§ 245-278 Buildings or other equipment storage.
Antennas mounted on structures or rooftops. The equipment cabinet or structure used in association with antennas shall comply with the following: If the equipment structure is located on the roof of a building, the area of the equipment structure and other equipment and structures shall not occupy more than 30% of the roof area.
Equipment storage buildings or cabinets shall comply with all applicable Building Codes:
All antennas installed on such towers shall be of the whip type or panel type only.
The equipment cabinet or structure shall be no greater than six feet in height and 100 square feet in gross floor area. The structure or cabinet shall be screened by an evergreen hedge with an ultimate height of eight feet and a planted height of at least 36 inches. In all other instances structures or cabinets shall be screened from view of all adjoining properties which abut or are directly across the street from the structure or cabinet by a solid fence six feet in height or an evergreen hedge with an ultimate height of eight feet and a planted height of at least 36 inches and shall be located in accordance with the minimum yard requirements of the zoning district in which located.
All equipment cabinets and structures shall be constructed in a way so as to minimize noise to surrounding areas from condensers, air conditioners and generators.