Downingtown City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXV
Telecommunications
§ 287-158 Intent.
This article is designed and intended to balance the interests of the telecommunications providers and telecommunications customers in the siting of telecommunications facilities within the Borough of Downingtown so as to protect the health, safety and integrity of residential neighborhoods and 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 and shall not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services, and so as to promote the Borough of Downingtown as a proactive Borough in the availability of personal wireless telecommunications service. To that end, this article shall:
A.
Provide for the promotion of the health, safety and welfare of Borough residents.
B.
Provide for the appropriate location and development of telecommunications facilities in the Borough of Downingtown.
C.
Protect the Borough of Downingtown's built and natural environment by promoting compatible and safe design standards for telecommunications facilities.
D.
Minimize adverse visual impacts of telecommunications facilities through careful design, siting, landscape screening and innovative camouflaging techniques.
E.
Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from a tower or antenna failure through engineering and careful siting of telecommunications tower structures and antennas.
F.
Maximize use of any new and existing telecommunications towers so as to minimize the need to construct new towers and minimize the total number of towers throughout the Borough.
G.
Maximize and encourage use of alternative telecommunications tower structures as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers.
H.
Encourage and promote the location of new telecommunications facilities in areas which are not zoned for residential use.
§ 287-159 Exclusions.
The following shall be exempt from this article:
A.
Any telecommunications facilities under 50 feet in total height which are owned and operated by an amateur radio operator licensed by the Federal Communications Commission.
B.
Any device designed for over-the-air reception of television broadcast signals, multichannel multipoint distribution service or direct broadcast satellite service.
C.
Any telecommunications facilities located on property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Borough of Downingtown, provided that a license or lease authorizing the telecommunications facility has been approved by the Borough.
D.
Any cable television head end or hub towers and antennas used solely for cable television services.
§ 287-160 Placement of telecommunications facilities by zoning district.
Telecommunications facilities shall be permitted within the Borough only as follows:
A.
In Limited Industrial (I-1), General Industrial (I-2) and Multipurpose (I-3) Zoning Districts, micro- and macrotelecommunications facilities shall be allowed as a use by right. Telecommunications towers designed and intended to accommodate at least one carrier are permitted as a use by right up to a height of 80 feet following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer. Telecommunications towers designed and intended to accommodate at least two carriers are permitted as a use by right up to a height of 140 feet following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer. Telecommunications towers designed and intended to accommodate at least three carriers are permitted as a use by right up to a height of 160 feet following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer.
B.
In General Commercial (C-1), Central Commercial (C-2) and Highway-Oriented Commercial (C-3) Zoning Districts, micro- and macrotelecommunications facilities shall be allowed as a use by right following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer. Monopole towers up to a height of 80 feet are permitted upon authorization of a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board and following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer. Monopole towers up at a height of 120 feet designed and intended to accommodate at least two carriers are permitted upon authorization of a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board and following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer.
C.
In Single-Family Detached/Attached and Two-Family Residential (R-3), and Single-Family/Two-Family/Multifamily Residential (R-4), and Single-Family/Two-Family/Commercial (R/C Infill Development) Zoning Districts, micro- and macrotelecommunications facilities shall be allowed upon authorization of a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board and following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer and limited to a monopole design no greater than 50 feet in overall height.
D.
In Single-Family Detached Residential (R-1 and R-2) Zoning Districts, micro- and macrotelecommunications facilities shall be allowed upon authorization of a special exception by the Zoning Hearing Board on nonresidential structures following design review by and receipt of a building permit from the Zoning Officer.
§ 287-161 Requirements for telecommunications facilities.
A.
General requirements for all telecommunications facilities. The requirements set forth in this section shall govern the location and construction of all telecommunications facilities governed by this article:
(1)
Building codes and safety standards. To ensure the structural integrity of telecommunications facilities, an applicant seeking approval of a telecommunications facility shall demonstrate that the telecommunications facility is designed and constructed in compliance with standards contained in applicable local building codes and to the standard designation by the American National Standards Institute as prepared by the Engineering Department of the Electronics Industry Association and Telecommunications Industry for such telecommunications facilities, as amended from time to time. Owners of telecommunications facilities shall conduct periodic inspections of such facilities at least once every year to ensure structural integrity. Inspections shall be conducted by a qualified, independent engineer licensed to practice in Pennsylvania. The results of such inspection shall be provided to the Zoning Officer.
(2)
Regulatory compliance.
(a)
All telecommunications facilities must meet or exceed current standards and regulations of the FAA, the FCC and any other agency of the state or federal government with the authority to regulate telecommunications facilities. If such standards and regulations are changed, then the owners of the telecommunications facilities governed by this article shall bring such telecommunications facilities into compliance with such revised standards and regulations within the date established by the agency promulgating the standards or regulations.
(b)
Owners of telecommunications facilities shall provide documentation showing that each telecommunications facility is in compliance with all applicable federal and state requirements. Evidence of compliance must be submitted every 12 months to the Zoning Officer.
(3)
Security. All telecommunications facilities shall be equipped with an appropriate anticlimbing device or other similar protective device to prevent unauthorized access to the telecommunications facility. A fence shall be required around all telecommunications facilities and other associated equipment, unless the telecommunications facilities are mounted on an existing structure. The fence shall be a maximum of 10 feet in height.
(4)
Lighting. No illumination is permitted on telecommunications facilities unless required by the FCC, FAA or other state or federal agency of competent jurisdiction or unless necessary for air traffic safety.
(5)
Visual impact.
(a)
Telecommunications facilities shall either maintain a galvanized steel finish or, subject to any applicable standards of the FAA or other applicable federal, state or local agency, be painted a neutral color or painted and/or textured to match the existing structure so as to reduce visual obtrusiveness.
(b)
If an antenna is installed on a structure other than a tower, the antenna and associated electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a neutral color that is identical to or closely compatible with the color of the supporting structure so as to make the antenna and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as possible. Roof-mounted antennas shall be made visually unobtrusive by screening to match existing air-conditioning units, stairs, elevator towers or other background.
(c)
Where feasible, telecommunications facilities should be placed directly above, below or incorporated with vertical design elements of a building to help in camouflaging.
(d)
Any equipment shelter or cabinet that supports telecommunications facilities must be concealed from public view or made compatible with the architecture of the surrounding structures or placed underground. Equipment shelters or cabinets shall be screened from public view by using landscaping, approved estate-style fencing or materials and colors consistent with the surrounding backdrop. The shelter or cabinet must be regularly maintained.
(6)
Landscaping.
(a)
Landscaping shall be used to effectively screen the view of the telecommunications facility from adjacent public ways, public property and residential property.
(b)
Native vegetation on the site shall be preserved to the greatest practical extent. The applicant shall provide a site plan showing existing significant vegetation to be removed and vegetation to be replanted to replace that lost.
(c)
The Zoning Officer may waive or modify the landscaping requirements where lesser requirements are desirable for adequate visibility for security purposes, for continued operation of existing bona fide agricultural or forest uses such as farms, nurseries and tree farms or anywhere an antenna is placed on an existing structure. In certain locations where the visual impact of the tower would be minimal such as remote agricultural or rural locations or developed heavy industrial areas, the landscaping requirement may be modified or waived by the Zoning Officer.
(7)
Maintenance impacts. Equipment at a telecommunications facility shall be automated to the greatest extent possible to reduce traffic and congestion. Where the site abuts or has access to a collector or local street, access for maintenance vehicles shall be exclusively by means of the collector or local street.
(8)
Principal, accessory and joint uses.
(a)
Accessory structures used in direct support of a telecommunications facility shall be allowed but not be used for offices, vehicle storage or other outdoor storage. Mobile or immobile equipment not used in direct support of a telecommunications facility shall not be stored or parked on the site of the telecommunications facility.
(b)
Telecommunications facilities may be located on sites containing another principal use in the same buildable area.
(9)
Lot size and setbacks.
(a)
The following setback requirements shall apply to all telecommunications facilities:
[1]
Telecommunications towers must be set back a distance equal to the height of the tower from any off-site residential structure, roads, transmission lines and uninhabited structures for tower structures unless the applicant can demonstrate that in the event of tower failure, the tower is designed to collapse upon itself within a setback area without endangering such adjoining uses.
[2]
Towers, guy wires and accessory facilities must satisfy the minimum zoning district setback requirements for the primary structure on that site.
[3]
Telecommunications facilities must be setback from any property line a sufficient distance to protect adjoining property from the potential impact of telecommunications facility failure by being large enough to accommodate such failure on the site, based on the engineer's analysis required in § 287-162.
(b)
For antennas attached to the roof or a supporting structure on a rooftop, a 1 to 1 setback ratio shall be maintained unless an alternative placement is shown to reduce visual impact. (Example: a ten-foot-high antenna and supporting structure requires a ten-foot setback from edge of a roof.)
B.
Additional requirements for towers.
(1)
Site location and development shall preserve the preexisting character of the surrounding buildings and land uses and the zoning district as much as possible. Personal wireless telecommunications towers shall be integrated through location and design to blend in with existing characteristics of the site to the extent practical.
(2)
Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved or improved, and disturbance of the existing topography shall be minimized, unless such disturbance would result in less visual impact of the site to the surrounding area.
(3)
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 the tower and related facilities to the natural setting and building environment.
(4)
Towers shall not be located any closer than 1,500 feet from an existing tower. Placement of more than one tower on a lot shall be permitted, provided that all setback, design and landscape requirements are met as to each tower. Structures may be located as close to each other as technically feasible, provided that tower failure characteristics of the towers on the site will not lead to multiple failures in the event that one fails.
(5)
In no case shall a tower be located in the required front yard, back yard or side yard in a residential district.
(6)
Towers shall be enclosed by decay-resistant security fencing not less than six feet in height and shall be equipped with an appropriate anticlimbing device or other similar protective device designed to prevent tower access.
§ 287-162 Application procedures.
A.
General application requirements for all building permits. Application for a building permit for any telecommunications facility shall be made to the Zoning Officer by the person, company or organization that will own and operate the telecommunications facility. An application will not be considered until it is complete. The following information shall be submitted when applying for any building permit, special exception or other permit or variance included in this article and must be submitted for an application to be considered complete:
(1)
Basic information.
(a)
As part of the building permit application process, the applicant is required to present proof of insurance for a telecommunications facility to insure that there is adequate current liability insurance in effect against personal injury, death and property damage caused by the site or the facility.
(b)
Applicants for and operators of any communications tower or radio transmission antennas regulated by the Federal Communications Commission located with the Borough shall provide a copy of a valid operator's license from the Federal Communications Commissions for the transmission of radio frequencies from such towers or antenna constructed within the Borough.
(c)
Site plan or plans to scale specifying the location of telecommunications facilities, transmission building and/or other accessory uses, access, parking, fences, landscaped areas and adjacent land uses. Applicants shall submit both a paper location map and a digitized location map in a format compatible with the GIS software currently utilized by the Borough of Downingtown.
(d)
A landscape plan to scale indicating size, spacing and type of plantings required in § 287-161A(6).
(e)
A full description of the environment surrounding the proposed telecommunications facility, including any adjacent residential structures and districts.
(f)
A description of anticipated maintenance needs for the telecommunications facility, including frequency of service, personnel needs, equipment needs and traffic, noise or safety impacts of such maintenance.
(g)
Report from a qualified independent engineer licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania documenting the following:
[1]
Telecommunications facility height and design, including technical, engineering, economic and other pertinent factors governing selection of the proposed design;
[2]
Total anticipated capacity of the telecommunications facility, including number and types of antennas which can be accommodated;
[3]
Evidence of structural integrity of the tower structure; and
[4]
Structural failure characteristics of the telecommunications facility and demonstration that site and setbacks are of adequate size to contain debris.
(h)
A definition of the area of service to be served by the antenna or tower and whether such antenna or tower is needed for coverage or capacity.
(i)
Information showing the proposed facility would provide the needed coverage or capacity.
(j)
The identity of a community liaison officer appointed by the applicant to resolve issues of concern to neighbors and residents relating to the construction and operation of the facility. Include name, address, telephone number, facsimile number and electronic mail address, if applicable.
(k)
Identification of the geographic service area for the subject installation, including a map showing the site and the nearest or associated telecommunications facility sites within the network. Describe the distance between the telecommunications facility sites. Describe how this service area fits into and is necessary for the service network.
(2)
Five-year plan and site inventory. Each application shall include a five-year facilities plan and site inventory, including the following:
(a)
A list of all existing telecommunications facility sites within the Borough limits and within one mile of the Borough limits and a map showing these sites. The list must include the following information for each site:
[1]
Street address.
[2]
Assessor's block and lot or other applicable ad valorem tax identification number.
[3]
Zoning district.
[4]
Type of building (commercial, residential, mixed use) and number of stories.
[5]
The number of antennas and base transceiver stations per site and the location and type of antenna installation (stand alone rooftop, building facade, etc.) and location of the base transceiver station installations).
[6]
The height from grade to the top of the antenna installation.
[7]
The radio frequency range in megahertz, the wattage output of the equipment and effective radiated power.
(b)
If the applicant does not know specific future tower and antenna site locations but does know of areas where telecommunications facilities will be needed within the next five years to provide service, the applicant shall list the Assessor's blocks contained within the anticipated geographic service area and identify each geographic service area with a number that will correspond to the future proposed telecommunications facility site.
(3)
Additional information requirements for towers.
(a)
Applicants must identify all existing towers for which there are applications currently on file with the Zoning Officer. Applicants must provide evidence of the lack of space on all suitable existing towers to locate the proposed antenna and of the lack of space on existing tower sites to construct a tower for the proposed antenna. If collocation on any such towers would result in less visual impact than the visual impact of the proposed tower, applicants must justify why such collocation is not being proposed. If collocation on any such tower would increase negative visual impact, then the applicant must so state and demonstrate. The Zoning Officer will review justifications that appeal only to undue expense and/or to undue difficulties in entering into a lease agreement. The Zoning Officer shall carefully weigh such claims, and the evidence presented in favor of them, against a project's negative impacts at the proposed site.
(b)
In all zoning districts, applicants must demonstrate that they cannot provide personal wireless communication service without the use of a telecommunications tower.
(c)
The applicant shall quantify the additional tower capacity anticipated, including the approximate number and types of antennas. The applicant shall provide a drawing for each tower showing existing and proposed antenna locations. The applicant shall also describe any limitations on the ability of the tower to accommodate other uses, e.g., radio frequency interference, mass height, frequency or other characteristics. The applicant shall describe the technical options available to overcome those limitations and reasons why the technical options considered were not chosen to be incorporated. The Zoning Officer shall approve those limitations if they cannot be overcome by reasonable technical means.
(d)
The applicant must provide a utilities inventory showing the locations of all water, sewage, drainage and power lines impacting the proposed tower site.
(4)
The applicant must provide any other information which may be requested by the Zoning Officer to fully evaluate and review the application and the potential impact of a proposed telecommunications facility.
B.
Special exceptions.
(1)
A request for a special exception shall be initiated by application to the Zoning Hearing Board. The Zoning Hearing Board may issue a special exception under this section provided that it shall have determined that all of the requirements of § 287-161 have been satisfied and, further, that the benefits of and need for the proposed tower are greater than any possible depreciating effects and damage to the neighboring properties.
(2)
In granting a special exception, the Zoning Hearing Board may impose additional zoning conditions to the extent determined necessary to buffer or otherwise minimize adverse effects of the proposed tower or antenna on surrounding properties.
§ 287-163 Collocation.
The applicant shall allow other future personal wireless service companies, including public and quasipublic agencies, using functionally equivalent personal wireless technology to collocate antennas, equipment and facilities on a telecommunications facility unless specific technical constraints prohibit said collocation. The applicant and other personal wireless carriers shall provide a mechanism for the construction and maintenance of shared facilities and infrastructure and shall provide for equitable sharing of cost in accordance with industry standards.
§ 287-164 Nuisances.
Telecommunications facilities, including without limitation power source ventilation and cooling, shall be operated at all times within the limits of the Borough of Downingtown's Noise Ordinance and shall not be operated so as to cause the generation of heat that adversely affects a building occupant and shall not be maintained or operated in such a manner as to be a nuisance within the limits of the Downingtown Noise Ordinance and in compliance with all applicable federal regulations regarding interference.
§ 287-165 Maintenance of facilities; notice; removal.
All telecommunications facilities shall be maintained in compliance with standards contained in applicable building and technical codes so as to ensure the structural integrity of such facilities. If upon inspection by the Zoning Officer any such telecommunications facility is determined not to comply with the code standards or to constitute a danger to persons or property, then upon notice being provided to the owner of the facility and the owner of the property if such owner is different, such owners shall have 30 days to bring such facility into compliance. In the event that such telecommunications facility is not brought into compliance within 30 days, the Borough shall provide notice to the owners requiring the telecommunications facility to be removed. In the event that such telecommunications facility is not removed within 30 days of receipt of such notice, the Borough may remove such facility and place a lien upon the property for the costs of removal. Delay by the Borough in taking action shall not in any way waive the Borough's right to take action. The Borough may pursue all legal remedies available to it to ensure those telecommunications facilities not in compliance with the code standards or which constitute a danger to persons or properties are brought into compliance or removed. The Borough may seek to have the telecommunications facility removed regardless of the owner's or operator's intent to operate the tower or antenna and regardless of any permits, federal, state or otherwise, which may have been granted.
§ 287-166 Abandoned towers; removal.
A.
Any telecommunications facility that is not operated for a continuous period of six months shall be considered abandoned, whether or not the owner or operator intends to make use of it or any part of it. The owner of a telecommunications facility and the owner of the property where the facility is located shall be under a duty to remove the abandoned telecommunications facility. If such antenna and/or tower is not removed within 60 days of receipt of notice from the Borough notifying the owner(s) of such abandonment, the Borough shall remove such tower and/or antenna and place a lien upon the property for the costs of removal. The Borough may pursue all remedies available to it to ensure that abandoned telecommunications facilities are removed. Delay by the Borough in taking action shall not in any way negate the Borough's right to take action. The Borough may seek to have the telecommunications facility removed regardless of the owner's or operator's intent to operate the tower or antenna and regardless of any permits, federal, state or otherwise, which may have been granted.
B.
If the owner of an abandoned tower or antenna wishes to use such abandoned tower or antenna, the owner first must apply for and receive all applicable permits and meet all of the conditions of this article as if such tower or antenna were a new tower or antenna.
§ 287-167 Preexisting towers; nonconforming uses.
A.
All telecommunications facilities operative on the date of enaction of this article shall be allowed to continue their present usage as a nonconforming use and shall be treated as a nonconforming use in accordance with § 287-123 of the Code. Routine maintenance, including replacement with a new tower or antenna of like construction and height, shall be permitted on such existing telecommunications facilities. New construction other than routine maintenance shall comply with the requirements of this article.
B.
Placement of an antenna on a nonconforming structure shall not be considered an expansion of the nonconforming structure.