The Telecommunications Act of 1996 affirmed the City of Butler's authority concerning the placement, construction, and modification of towers, antennas, and the facilities whereon towers or antennas are located. This section is designed and intended to balance the interests of the residents of the City of Butler, telecommunication providers, and telecommunications customers in the siting of telecommunications facilities within the City of Butler, Georgia so as to protect the health, safety, and integrity of residential neighborhoods and to foster, through appropriate zoning and land use controls, a competitive environment for telecommunications carriers that does not unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent personal wireless services. This section shall not prohibit, or have the effect of prohibiting, the provision of personal wireless services. This section is intended to promote the City of Butler, Georgia as a proactive city in the availability of personal telecommunications service. To that end, this section shall:

A.

Provide the appropriate location and development of telecommunications facilities within the City of Butler, Georgia;

B.

Protect the City of Butler, Georgia's built and natural environment by promoting compatible design standards for telecommunication facilities;

C.

Minimize adverse visual impacts of telecommunication facilities through careful design, siting, and landscaping screening and innovated camouflaging techniques;

D.

Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower or antenna failure through engineering and careful siting of towers and antennas failure through engineering and careful siting of telecommunications tower structures and antennas;

E.

Maximize the use of any new and existing towers through co-location so as to minimize the need to construct new towers and minimize the total number of towers throughout the City of Butler, Georgia;

F.

Maximize and encourage use of alternative telecommunication tower structures as a primary option rather than construction of additional single use towers;

G.

Encourage and promote the location of new telecommunications activities in areas which are not zoned for residential use; and

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)

A.

District Height Limitations. The height limitations set forth in this ordinance shall govern the location of towers that exceed, and antennas that are installed at a height in excess of, the height limitations specified for each zoning district. The height limitations applicable to buildings and structures shall not apply to towers and antennas, except as provided herein.

B.

Public Property. Antennas or towers located on property owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the governing authority shall be exempt from the requirements of this ordinance, provided a license or lease authorizing such antenna or tower has been approved by the governing authority.

C.

In addition to standards required in this section, the following standards shall be considered by the City of Butler prior to the approval of a permit for a tower:

1.

Height of the proposed tower.

2.

Proximity of the tower to residential structures and residential zoning districts, historic districts, parks, and designated nature preserve areas.

3.

Nature of uses on adjacent and nearby properties.

4.

Surrounding topography.

5.

Surrounding tree coverage and foliage.

6.

Design of the tower structure, with particular reference to design characteristics that have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual obtrusiveness.

7.

Availability of suitable existing towers and other structures for co-location as defined in this section.

D.

All new towers or antennas shall obtain a building permit prior to the construction or placement of such structures or facilities. A building permit shall not be approved for such towers without prior approval of a tower permit if so required by this ordinance.

E.

The application for a tower shall include, but not be limited to the following information:

1.

A survey site plan drawn to scale by a professional licensed by the State of Georgia showing all property lines with dimensions, location or existing buildings and other structures, topography, location of setback lines or other dimensional requirements, proposed tower location, tower height, location of accessory structures to the tower, proposed landscaping, neighboring uses, north arrow, and street number;

2.

The coverage zone of the proposed tower;

3.

A report documented by the submission of a certification by a qualified engineer licensed by the State of Georgia, showing evidence of an engineering nature, which demonstrates that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the proposed antenna(s). Said report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:

a.

No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area required to meet applicant's engineering requirements;

b.

Existing tower or structures are not of sufficient height to meet applicant's engineering requirements;

c.

Existing towers of structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment;

d.

The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the applicant's proposed antenna;

e.

The fees, costs, or contractual provisions required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt and existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable (costs exceeding new tower development are considered to be unreasonable); or

f.

The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable; and

4.

A report by a professional licensed by the State of Georgia explaining the process by which the subject site was chosen.

5.

Documentation that all governmental approvals have already been secured including, but not limited to, authorization from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (to include compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the Endangered Species Act (ESA)) and any required authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

G.

Shared usage of towers and antennas is encouraged, and towers shall be designed to accommodate at least one (1) other entity to co-locate on such towers.

H.

Accessory facilities or structures shall be limited to the restrictions described in the definition of accessory facilities or structures found in the Definitions of this section.

I.

All towers shall be equipped with an anti-climbing device to prevent unauthorized access and such towers and related accessory facilities or structure shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than six (6) feet in height.

J.

At the time of application for a building permit, the plans for construction of a tower shall be certified by an independent registered structural engineer licensed by the State of Georgia as meeting all current safety and design standards of all applicable codes.

K.

Towers are encouraged to locate in nonresidential areas where possible. Towers shall not be permitted within a single-family residential zoning district unless the applicant can show that the denial of a permit in such a location will cause a significantly harmful and permanent degradation of service which cannot be overcome by any other means including planned or potential locations which would provide the same or similar coverage or capacity.

L.

Lattice and guy towers shall be permitted only within the LM and HCM zoning districts.

M.

Subject to any applicable standards of the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, or other applicable federal or state agency, be painted a neutral color or painted to match the existing structure so as to reduce visual obtrusiveness.

N.

Towers shall not be artificially lighted unless required by the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal communications Commission or other state or federal agency of competent jurisdiction. Subject to any applicable standards of the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, or other applicable federal or state agency, if lighting is required, the staff may review the available lighting alternatives and approve the design that would cause the least disturbance to the surrounding views.

O.

Towers shall not exceed a height required for a safe approach to any nearby airport as set forth and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

P.

If upon inspection or upon receipt of an engineer's report, the Zoning Administrator determines that an antenna or tower has not been utilized by any communications service provider for any communications-related purpose for a continuous period of twelve (12) consecutive months, such antenna or tower shall be considered abandoned and the owner shall remove the same with ninety (90) days of receipt of written notice from the City of Butler. If the antenna or tower is not removed within said ninety (90) days, the City may proceed with removal of such antenna or tower and place a lien upon the property for costs of such removal.

Q.

Subject to any applicable standards of the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, or other applicable federal or state agency, no advertising or signage is permitted on the tower other than warning or equipment information.

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)

A.

Upon submission of an application, the Zoning Administrator shall review the application for completeness. If the application is found to be incomplete the applicant will be notified, in writing within ten (10) days, of the specific section of the ordinance and/or application that requires the missing information to be submitted. After certification that an applicant has submitted a complete application, the Butler City Council shall approve or deny an application for a tower permit within sixty (60) days from the time the complete application is submitted.

B.

Any decision denying a request to place, construct or modify a telecommunications facility shall be in writing and supported by evidence contained within the written notice.

C.

If the City of Butler fails to act on the application for a tower or antenna within the sixty (60) day deadline, the City of Butler is deemed to have granted the application request.

D.

Any applicant aggrieved by the decision of the Butler City Council under this ordinance may within fifteen (15) days thereafter appeal therefrom of municipal court or court of like jurisdiction, by filing with the City Council a written notice of appeal specifying the judgment or decision from which the appeal is taken. In case of such appeal the City of Butler shall cause a transcript of the proceedings in the case to be certified to the court to which the appeal is taken and the case in such court to be tried de novo.

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)

The applicant must submit two sets of accurate drawings including a scaled site plan and scaled elevation view and other supporting drawings, calculations, and other documentation including but not limited to, the method of construction and attachment to the building or structure. Plans for antenna construction shall be certified by an independent, registered structural engineer in the State of Georgia as meeting all current safety and design standards of all applicable federal, state, and town codes. The Butler City Council shall approve or deny an application for a building permit for co-location following the same requirements as stated above in Section 4.

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)

A.

Setbacks. Towers erected in zoning district shall be set back a distance equal to the full vertical height of the tower from all adjoining property lines of a nonresidential zoning district and a distance of twice (×2) the height of the tower from all property lines which adjoin a residential zoning district or any residential structure. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a tower complies with setback requirements, the dimensions of the entire lot shall control, even though the tower may be located on leased parcels within such lots.

B.

Height. Towers shall be limited to a height of two hundred (200) feet in AG, LM and HCM zoning districts, one hundred fifty (150) feet in a GC zoning district, and one hundred twenty (120) feet in a RR, SFR, SFRD, MFR and TCC.

C.

Separation. Towers shall be separated a distance equal to one quarter (¼) of a mile. (Excludes such towers erected in the AG, LM and HCM zoning districts).

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)

Where adequate existing vegetation is not present as determined by the City of Butler, towers located in all zoning districts other than AG, LM and HCM shall have the base of the tower and accessory facilities or structures to the tower screened on all sides with a landscaped area having a minimum width of fifteen (15) feet. Said area shall be included in the setback and shall be planted with tress of an evergreen species capable of achieving a minimum height of twenty (20) feet at maturity so as to provide a visual barrier. Required plantings shall be a minimum of five (5) feet in height at the time of planting and placed outside of any required security fencing and shall be regularly maintained by the property owner(s) to ensure that the above objectives and standards are met.

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)

The following actions shall not require an application for a tower permit from the City of Butler:

A.

A single tower seventy-five (75) feet in height or less owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator shall be exempt from these requirements. However, the owner or operator of such antenna shall be required to comply with all applicable city, state, and federal building codes.

B.

Antennas attached to existing nonresidential structures are exempt from these requirements except that such antennas shall meet or exceed Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission standards and shall be limited to ten (10) feet in height above an existing structure in TCC, GC zoning district and twenty (20) feet in height above an existing structure in all other zoning districts. Such nonresidential structures shall include buildings, light poles, water towers, church steeples, and other similar structures. Such antennas shall not be attached to freestanding sign structures. Prior to placement, a building permit shall be obtained. Placement of antennas or other communications equipment on any nonconforming use shall provide no vested right for continued use of the site should the nonconforming use cease.

C.

Attachment of additional antennas or transmission equipment to existing permitted towers shall be exempt from these tower permit requirements so long as the height of said tower in not increased; such equipment meets or exceeds Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission standards; and a building permit is obtained prior to such attachment.

D.

Monopole tower up to ninety (90) feet in height placed on nonresidential zoned sites shall be exempt from these requirements except that such towers shall be set back a distance equal to the full vertical height of the tower from all adjoining property lines of a nonresidential zoning district and a distance of twice (×2) the height of the tower from all property lines which adjoin a residential zoning district or any residential zoning structure. Such towers shall be no closer than one-quarter (¼) mile to any other tower unless within the LM or HCM zoning districts and must obtained a building permit prior to construction.

E.

Alternative tower structures such as manmade trees, clock towers, bell steeples, flagpoles, light poles, and similar alternative design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennas or towers shall be exempt from these requirements. Such towers shall obtain a building permit prior to construction.

F.

Towers constructed on the City of Butler's properties, facilities, or structures shall be exempt from these requirements. Telecommunications facilities placed upon the City of Butler's property shall be governed by a lease agreement between the City of Butler and the provider.

G.

Accessory facilities or structures.

H.

Repairs and Maintenance.

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)

Variances from this section may be applied for and granted in the same procedural manner as required by Article XXVI of the City of Butler Zoning Ordinance.

(Ord. of 3-12-2019)