Franklin Township Hunterdon
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Wireless Telecommunications Towers and Antennas
§ 220-69 Purpose.
A.
The purpose of this article is to set forth terms and conditions for the siting of wireless communications towers and antennas within the geographic boundaries of Franklin Township. The goals of this article are to:
(1)
Protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas;
(2)
Encourage the location of towers in specific areas within the Township;
(3)
Minimize the total number of towers throughout the Township;
(4)
Strongly encourage the joint use of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers;
(5)
Encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the greatest extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal;
(6)
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;
(7)
Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently;
(8)
Consider the public health and safety of communication towers; and
(9)
Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures.
B.
In furtherance of these goals, the Township of Franklin shall give due consideration to the Township of Franklin's Master Plan. Zoning Map, existing land uses and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas. This article further seeks to comply with the mandate of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7), which preserves local government authority to manage with respect to cellular and other wireless telecommunications services and to enforce zoning requirements that protect public safety, public and private property and community aesthetics. This article expressly recognizes that the proposed site must be particularly suited (or suitable) for the proposed facility.
§ 220-70 Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:
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 communications signals.
The Land Use Board in accordance with applicable Township Code provisions and applicable state and federal law.
The lines that connect a provider's towers/cell sites to one or more cellular telephone switching offices and/or long distance providers or the public switched telephone network.
The Federal Aviation Administration.
The Federal Communications Commission.
A tower which is supported or braced through the use of cables (guy wires) which are permanently anchored.
When referring to a tower or other antenna structure, the distance measured from the lowest finished grade of the base of the tower or other antenna structure to the highest point on the tower or other antenna structure (excluding a lightening rod), including the base pad and any antenna.
Any tower or antenna for which a construction permit or other 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.
[Amended 8-11-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-17]
The use of man-made trees, clock towers, bell steeples, light poles and other similar alternative-design mounting structures to camouflage and/or conceal the presence of antennas or towers.
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. Guyed towers are not permitted within the Township. The term includes, but is not limited to, radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures and the like. The term also includes the structure and any support thereto.
§ 220-71 Applicability.
B.
Amateur radio station operators/receive only antennas. This article shall not govern any tower, or the installation of any antenna, that is under 70 feet in height and is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or is used exclusively for receive only antennas.
C.
Preexisting towers or antennas. Preexisting towers and preexisting antennas shall not be required to meet the requirements of this article, unless enlargement, additional antennas or structural modifications are proposed.
D.
Satellite dish antennas. This article shall not govern parabolic satellite antennas.
§ 220-72 General requirements.
A.
Principal or accessory use. Antennas and towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses. Notwithstanding any other Township land use regulation, a different existing structure on the same lot shall not preclude the installation of an antenna or tower on such lot. If a tower and its appurtenant structures constitute the sole use of the lot, the tower shall be deemed to be the principal use. If a tower and its appurtenant structures are not the sole use of the lot, the tower shall be deemed an accessory use.
B.
Lot size. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a tower or antenna complies with zone development regulations, including but not limited to setback requirements, lot coverage requirements and other such requirements, the dimensions of the entire lot shall control, even though the antennas or towers may be located on leased parcels within such lot.
C.
Inventory of existing sites. Each applicant for an antenna and/or tower shall provide, to the approving authority, an inventory of all existing towers, antennas or sites approved for towers or antennas (both those controlled by the applicant as well as their competitors) that are either within the jurisdiction of the Township of Franklin or within 12 miles of any border of the Township thereof, including specific information about the location, height and design of each tower. The Zoning Officer may share such information with other applicants applying for administrative approvals or permits under this article or other organizations seeking to locate antennas within the jurisdiction of the Township of Franklin; provided, however, that the Zoning Officer is not, by sharing such information, in any way representing or warranting that such sites are available and/or suitable.
D.
Aesthetics. Towers and antennas shall meet the following requirements:
(1)
Towers shall be of stealth design as defined herein.
(2)
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 and shall be located out of public view (visible from a public street, public land and public buildings) behind existing structures, buildings or terrain features which will shield the buildings and related structure from view.
(3)
If an antenna is installed on a structure other than a tower, the antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of 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.
E.
Lighting. Towers shall not be artificially lit unless required by the FAA. It is the intent of the Township that towers shall not exceed FAA height standards that would require lighting. If lighting is required, the lighting alternatives and design chosen and approved by the approving authority must cause the least disturbance to the surrounding views.
F.
Franchises. Owners and/or operators of towers or antennas shall certify that all franchises required by law for the construction and/or operation of a wireless communications system in the Township of Franklin have been obtained, and such owners and/or operators shall file a copy of all required franchises with the Zoning Officer.
G.
No signs shall be allowed on an antenna or tower.
H.
Buildings and support equipment. Buildings and support equipment associated with antennas or towers shall comply with the requirements of this article.
I.
Multiple antenna/tower plan. The Township of Franklin encourages and mandates the users of towers and antennas to collocate antennas where technically and practically feasible.
§ 220-73 Permitted uses.
A.
General. The uses listed in this section are deemed to be permitted uses and shall not require a conditional use permit or variance application.
B.
Permitted uses. The following uses are specifically permitted:
(1)
Antennas or towers located:
(a)
On property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Township of Franklin, provided that a license or lease authorizing such antenna or tower has been approved by the Township of Franklin. However, the Township shall, as a condition of such lease, require approval consistent with this article from the Township Land Use Board as a condition of said license or lease. The decision to extend such lease to an applicant shall be vested solely with the Township, shall not be governed by this article, and shall not be subject to the bidding requirements of the Local Public Contracts Law of the State of New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.). The Township, in its absolute discretion, reserved the express right to deny any and/or all use of its property for antennas or towers.
[Amended 8-11-2005 by Ord. No. 2005-17]
(b)
In the Commercial South (C-S) Zone.
(c)
In the Commercial North (C-N) Zone.
(d)
On property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by any nonprofit volunteer emergency, rescue or fire squad and which has as a primary use delivery of the squad's services. Said squad shall file a statement with the Township through the Zoning Officer, on an annual basis, setting forth its continued status as a nonprofit volunteer emergency, rescue or fire squad.
(2)
Any antenna which is not attached to a tower may be attached to any existing business, industrial, office or institutional structure located in all districts in the Township if:
§ 220-74 Additional submission requirements and other standards.
A.
Antennas on existing towers consistent with the terms below. As detailed above, an antenna may be attached to an existing tower in all districts and, to minimize adverse visual impacts associated with the proliferation and clustering of towers, collocation of antennas by more than one carrier on existing towers shall take precedence over the construction of new towers, provided that such collocation is accomplished in a manner consistent with the following:
(1)
A tower which is modified or reconstructed to accommodate the collocation of an additional antenna shall be of the same tower type as the existing tower unless the approving authority allows reconstruction as a monopole.
(2)
Height.
(a)
An existing tower may be modified or rebuilt to a taller height, not to exceed the maximum tower height established by this article.
B.
New towers. New towers may be constructed to hold antennas. In addition to any information required for applications for permits pursuant to applicable Township Code provisions and state law, applicants for approval for a tower shall submit the following information to the approving authority:
(1)
A scaled site plan 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), and all properties within the applicable separation distances set forth in this § 220-74, adjacent roadways, proposed means of access, setbacks from property lines, elevation drawings of the proposed tower and any other structures, topography, parking and other information deemed by the approving authority to be necessary to assess compliance with this article.
(2)
Legal description of the entire tract and leased parcel (if applicable).
(3)
The setback distance between the proposed tower and the nearest residential unit, platted residentially zoned properties and unplatted residentially zoned properties.
(4)
The separation distance from other towers described in the inventory of existing sites submitted pursuant to § 220-72C shall be shown on an updated site plan or map. The applicant shall also identify the type of construction of the existing tower(s) and the owner/operator of the existing tower(s), if known.
(5)
A landscape plan showing specific landscape materials, including, but not limited to, species type, size, spacing and existing vegetation to be removed or retained.
(6)
Method of fencing and finished color and, if applicable, the method of camouflage of such fencing.
(8)
A notarized statement by the applicant as to whether construction of the tower will accommodate collocation of additional antennas for future users.
(9)
Identification of the entities providing the backhaul network for the tower(s) described in the application and other cellular sites owned or operated by the applicant in the Township.
(10)
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 new tower.
(11)
A description of the feasible location(s) of future towers or antennas for the applicant within the Township of Franklin based upon existing physical, engineering, technological or geographical limitations in the event the proposed tower is erected.
(12)
A visual study depicting where, within a one-mile radius, any portion of the proposed tower could be seen.
(13)
A letter of commitment to lease excess space to other potential users at prevailing market rates and conditions. The letter of commitment shall be in form suitable for recording with the County Clerk prior to the issuance of any permit and shall commit the tower owner(s), property owner(s) and their successors in interest.
(14)
Documentary evidence regarding the need for the tower, which information shall identify the existing wireless network layout and existing coverage areas to demonstrate the need for the new tower at a particular location within the Township. The evidence shall include a radio frequency engineering analysis of the search area for the tower.
C.
Availability of suitable existing towers, other structures or alternative technology. No new tower shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the approving authority that no existing tower structure or alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. An applicant shall submit information requested by the approving authority related to the availability of suitable existing towers, stealth tower design, other structures or alternative technology. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing tower structure or alternative technology can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna may consist of any of the following:
(1)
No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area which meet applicant's engineering requirements.
(2)
Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet applicant's engineering requirements.
(3)
Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support applicants proposed antenna and related equipment.
(4)
Applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the antenna on the existing towers or structures, or the antenna on the existing towers or structures would cause interference with the applicants proposed antenna.
(5)
The fees, costs or contractual provisions required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed to be unreasonable.
(6)
Applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.
(7)
Applicant demonstrates that an alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures, such as a cable microcell network using multiple low-powered transmitters/receivers attached to a wireline system, is unsuitable. Costs of alternative technology that exceed new tower or antenna development shall not be presumed to render the technology unsuitable.
§ 220-75 Site design standards and bulk requirements.
A.
Setbacks. The following setback requirements shall apply to all towers.
(1)
Towers must be set back a distance equal to at least 120% of the height of the tower from any adjoining lot line and all nonappurtenant buildings.
(2)
Accessory buildings must satisfy the minimum zoning district setback requirements.
(3)
No tower shall exist within required buffer or conservation easement areas.
B.
Separation. The following separation requirements shall apply to all towers:
(1)
Separation from off-site uses/designated areas.
(a)
Tower separation shall be measured from the base of the tower to the lot line of the off-site uses and/or designated areas as specified in Table 1, except as otherwise provided in Table 1.
(b)
Separation requirements for towers shall comply with the minimum standards established in Table 1 below:
Table 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
Off-Site Use/Designated Area | Separation Distance | |
Base of tower to: | ||
Residences, municipal buildings (unless the tower is on the municipal building site), libraries or houses of worship | 300 feet or 300% of the height of the tower, whichever is greater | |
Vacant residentially zoned land | 300 feet or 300% of the height of the tower, whichever is greater | |
Nonresidentially zoned lands or nonresidential uses | At least 120% of the height of the tower from any adjoining lot line and all nonappurtenant buildings | |
Public parks and buildings therein, public or private schools and any site designated on the State and/or Federal Register of Historic Sites or in a historic district designated in the Township's Master Plan | 1,750 feet | |
(2)
Separation distances between towers. Separation distances between towers shall be applicable for all proposed towers and shall be measured between the proposed tower and preexisting towers. The separation distances shall be measured by drawing or following a straight line between the base of the existing tower and the proposed base, pursuant to a site plan, of the proposed/tower. The separation distances (listed in linear feet) shall be as shown in Table 2 below:
Table 2 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Separation Distances Between Towers | |||
Types | |||
Lattice (linear feet) | Monopole 100 Feet or Greater in Height (linear feet) | Monopole Less Than 100 Feet in Height (linear feet) | |
Lattice | 5,000 | 1,500 | 750 |
Monopole 100 feet or greater in height | 1,500 | 1,500 | 750 |
Monopole less than 100 feet | 750 | 750 | 750 |
C.
Security fencing. Towers shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than eight feet in height and shall also be equipped with an appropriate anti-climbing measures.
D.
Landscaping. The following requirements shall govern the landscaping surrounding towers:
(1)
Tower facilities shall be landscaped when a location out of public view is not possible, a landscape buffer of 20 feet in width shall be provided outside the fence around the wireless telecommunications equipment compound, to shield the facility from public view. Landscaping shall include native evergreen and deciduous trees at least eight feet high at the time of planting, and the number of trees shall be based on the equivalent of staggered double rows at 15 feet on center.
(2)
Existing mature tree growth and natural land forms on the site shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. In some cases, such as towers sited on large, wooded lots, natural growth around the property perimeter may be a sufficient buffer.
(3)
Maintenance requirements. Property owner(s) shall be responsible for landscaping of the property and maintenance of such landscaping.
F.
Lot size. In addition to the requirements of § 85-86B, the minimum lot size for any new tower shall be as required for any development in the zone district in which the proposed tower is to be located.
§ 220-76 Certification requirements; nonrefundable application fees and escrow deposit.
The following provisions shall govern the issuance of approvals for towers or antennas by the approving authority:
§ 220-77 Equipment structures and cabinets.
A.
Antennas mounted on structures or rooftops. The equipment cabinet or structure used in association with antennas shall comply with the following:
(1)
The cabinet or structure shall not contain more than 200 square feet of gross floor area or be more than 10 feet in height. In addition, for buildings and structures which are less than 48 feet in height, the related unmanned equipment structure shall be located on the ground and shall not be located on the roof of the structure.
(2)
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 10% of the roof total area.
B.
Antennas on towers. For antennas located on towers, the related unmanned equipment structure shall not contain more than 200 square feet of gross floor area or be more than 10 feet in height and shall be located in accordance with the minimum accessory structure requirements of the zoning district in which located.
C.
Structures or cabinets shall be screened from view of all properties which abut or are directly across the street from the structure or cabinet by a security fence eight feet in height or an evergreen hedge with an ultimate height of eight feet and a planted height of at least six feet.
§ 220-78 Rebuilding damaged or destroyed nonconforming towers or antennas.
Nonconforming towers or antennas that are damaged or destroyed to the extent that the preexisting, nonconforming use or structure protections no longer apply under law may not be rebuilt except in compliance with the provisions of this article, including separation provisions.
§ 220-79 Removal of abandoned antennas and towers.
Any antenna or tower that is not operated for a continuous period of six months shall be considered abandoned, and the owner of such antenna or tower shall remove same within 90 calendar days of receipt of notice from the Township of Franklin notifying the owner of such abandonment. Failure to remove an abandoned antenna or tower within such 90 calendar days shall be grounds for the Township to require removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense. If there are two or more users of a single tower, then this provision shall not become effective until all users cease using the tower.