Guttenberg City Zoning Code
§ 28-31.11
Site Plan Required; Submission Requirements; Completeness of Application.
[Ord. No. 005-10 § I, 28-31.11]
a.
Site Plan Required. Notwithstanding any other provisions excepting site plan approval, no wireless telecommunications facilities shall be permitted without site plan approval, unless it is expressly authorized in this section.
b.
Supplementary Submission Checklist Requirements. In addition to a complete site plan submission, including all site plan detail requirements as set forth in Chapter 17, Land Subdivision and Site Plan Review, the following shall be required at the time of submission:
1.
Visual impact analysis, including the following:
(a)
Computer-generated digital photographs representing "before and after" construction must be included which depicts all aspects of the facility such as antennas, support structures, ancillary facilities and wiring.
(b)
Reduction of visual impact statement. A statement that is certified by the applicant must be provided which states that every reasonable measure has been taken to assure that the proposed communications tower, antenna and/or accessory structure will be placed in a reasonably available location which will minimize the visual impact of the surrounding area (i.e., adjacent public rights-of-way) in accordance with minimum standards of applicable federal and other regulations.
2.
Radio frequency (RF) coverage analysis, including the following:
(a)
Computer-generated coverage analysis accompanied by actual drive test measurements.
(b)
Drawing or plan of the applicant's existing level of coverage in the Town of Guttenberg and within 1/2 mile of the municipal boundary.
(c)
Drawing or plans of the applicant's "targeted market coverage area" of the site plan application.
3.
Inventory of Existing Sites. An inventory of all existing towers, antennas or sites approved for towers or antennas that are either within the jurisdiction of the governing authority or within 1/2 of a mile of the border thereof, including specific information about the location, height and design of each tower. The Planning Board may disseminate information pursuant to the Right To Know Law or any other law or regulation pertaining to the dissemination of public records to any organization seeking to locate antennas within the jurisdiction of the governing authority provided, however, that the Planning Board is not, by disseminating such information, in any way representing or warranting that such sites are available or suitable.
4.
Availability of An Alternative Suitable Site/Structure Analysis, if Applicable. A written report that sufficiently demonstrates the absence of any other available option that would comply with minimum separation distance requirements or conditional use standards of this section. Evidence submitted as part of the report may consist of any of the following:
(a)
No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area required to meet the applicant's engineering requirements.
(b)
Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet the applicant's engineering requirements.
(c)
Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support the applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment.
(d)
The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the antennas on the existing towers or structures or the antennas on the existing towers or structures would cause 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 an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed to be unreasonable.
(f)
The applicant demonstrates that there are significant other limit factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.
(g)
The applicant shall have the affirmative obligation of proving that it has attempted to enter into a contract with the owners of an existing tower, structure or other more suitable site.
(1)
This obligation shall include copies of all correspondence as to rates, cost of contributions, etc.
(2)
Copies of rejection of the offers propounded on the applicant by the owners of the existing structure and/or tower.
(3)
Written cost proposals indicating actual quoted figures required by the owner of the existing structures and/or tower.
(4)
A detailed cost analysis indicating the cost to the applicant to construct a new tower and/or structure.
(h)
The 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.
5.
Franchises/Licenses. Wireless telecommunications carriers shall certify that all franchises and licenses required by law for the construction and/or operation of a wireless communications system in the Town of Guttenberg have been obtained and shall file a copy of all required franchise documentation and licenses.
6.
Graphic depiction and numeric specifications for all setback and separation distances as required by this section.
7.
A statement including a full description of compliance with all applicable requirements of this section.
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 municipality.
10.
A description of the feasible location(s) of future towers or antennas within the Town of Guttenberg based upon existing physical, engineering, technological or geographic limitations in the event the proposed tower is erected.
11.
A noise study determining the ambient sound level associated with proposed tower.
12.
Documentation by a qualified engineer with a demonstrated expertise in structural engineering regarding the capacity of a proposed tower for the number and type of antennas.
13.
Documentation by a qualified engineer with a demonstrated expertise in structural engineering that any proposed tower and antennas will have sufficient structural integrity to support the proposed antennas and the anticipated future collocated antennas and that the structural standards developed for antennas by the Electronic Industry Association (EIA) and/or the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) have been met.
14.
Any other information deemed by the governing authority to be necessary to assess compliance with the MLUL and this section.
c.
Completeness of Application.
1.
Initial Submission Requirements. The applicant, at their option, may choose to make an initial submission for completeness review only, in accordance with the submission checklist requirements stated in this section. Said submission may be modified to include a total of four sets of required submission materials pursuant to this section. The submission will be distributed to the Board Engineer and Board Planner for completeness review. Upon the issuance of a certificate of completeness, the applicant shall make all required submissions at least 15 days prior to the scheduled public hearing.
2.
Certification of Completeness. An application shall be complete for the purposes of commencing the applicable time period for action by the Board when so certified by the Board or its authorized designee. In the event that the Board or its designee does not certify the application to be complete within 45 days of the date of its submission, the application shall be deemed complete upon expiration of the forty-five-day period for the purposes of commencing the applicable time period unless:
3.
Submission Requirement Waivers. The applicant may request that one or more of the submission checklist requirements be waived, in which event the Board or its designee shall grant or deny the request within 45 days. The application shall include a list of all requested submission waive items and items that are not applicable to the application. Nothing herein shall be construed as diminishing the applicant's obligation to offer sufficient proof during the application process that he or she is entitled to approval of the application.
4.
Correction of Erroneous Information. The Board may subsequently require correction of any information found to be in error, and the submission of additional information not specified in this section, or any revisions in the accompanying documents, as are reasonably necessary to make an informed decision as to whether the requirements necessary for approval of the application for development have been met. The application shall not be deemed incomplete for lack of any such additional information or any revision in the accompanying documents so required by the Board.