Harwich City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XI
Personal Wireless Service Facilities
§ 325-57 Purpose and intent.
A.
It is the express purpose of this bylaw to minimize the visual and environmental impacts of personal wireless service facilities. The bylaw enables and requires the review and approval of all new and expanded personal wireless service facilities by the Planning Board in keeping with the Town's existing bylaws and historic development patterns, including the size and spacing of structures and open spaces. This bylaw is intended to be used in conjunction with other regulations adopted by the Town, including historic district regulations, site plan review, and other local bylaws designed to encourage appropriate land use, environmental protection, and provision of adequate infrastructure development in the Town of Harwich.
B.
The regulation of personal wireless service facilities is consistent with the Town's planning efforts through its local Comprehensive Plan to further the conservation and preservation of developed, natural, and undeveloped areas, wildlife, flora, and habitats for endangered species; the preservation of coastal resources; protection of the natural resources of the Town; balanced economic growth; the provision of adequate capital facilities; the coordination of the provision of adequate capital facilities with the achievement of other goals; and the preservation of historical, cultural, archaeological, architectural and recreational values.
§ 325-58 Definitions.
The following terms shall have the respective meanings within the context of regulation of personal wireless service facilities under this bylaw:
ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL)
A measurement of height from the natural grade of a site to the highest point of a structure.
ANTENNA
The surface from which wireless radio signals are sent and received by a personal wireless service facility.
CAMOUFLAGED
A personal wireless service facility that is disguised, hidden, part of an existing or proposed structure or placed within an existing or proposed structure is considered camouflaged.
CARRIER
A company that provides wireless services.
CO-LOCATION
The use of a single mount on the ground by more than one carrier (vertical co-location) and/or several mounts on an existing building or structure by more than one carrier.
CROSS-POLARIZED (OR DUAL-POLARIZED) ANTENNA
A low mount that has three panels flush mounted or attached very close to the shaft.
ELEVATION
The measurement of height above sea level.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA)
The document required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when a personal wireless service facility is placed in certain designated areas.
EQUIPMENT SHELTER
An enclosed structure, cabinet, shed or box at the base of the mount within which are housed batteries and electrical equipment.
FALL ZONE
The area on the ground within a prescribed radius from the base of a personal wireless facility. The fall zone is the area within which there is a potential hazard from falling debris (such as ice) or collapsing material.
FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT SERVICES
Cellular, personal communication services (PCS), enhanced specialized mobile radio, specialized mobile radio, and paging.
GUYED TOWER
A monopole or lattice tower that is anchored to the ground or other surface by diagonal cables.
LATTICE TOWER
A type of mount that is self-supporting with multiple legs and cross bracing of structural steel.
LICENSED CARRIER
A company authorized by the FCC to construct and operate a commercial mobile radio services system.
MONOPOLE
The type of mount that is self-supporting with a single shaft of wood, steel or concrete and one or more platforms (or racks) for panel antennas.
MOUNT
The structure or surface upon which antennas are mounted, including the following four types of mounts:
A.
ROOF-MOUNTED
Mounted on the roof of a building.B.
SIDE-MOUNTED
Mounted on the side of a building.C.
GROUND-MOUNTED
Mounted on the ground.D.
STRUCTURE-MOUNTED
Mounted on a structure other than a building.OMNIDIRECTIONAL (WHIP) ANTENNA
A thin rod that beams and receives a signal in all directions.
PANEL ANTENNA
A flat surface antenna usually developed in multiples.
PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITY
Facility for the provision of personal wireless services, including antennas, telecommunication equipment, communications towers, monopoles and/or other support structures, including existing and proposed structures having personal wireless service devices attached thereto as accessory uses, installed and operated for the purpose of providing personal wireless services.
PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICES
The three types of services regulated by this bylaw: commercial mobile radio services, unlicensed wireless services, and common carrier wireless exchange access services.
RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) ENGINEER
An engineer specializing in electrical or microwave engineering, especially the study of radio frequencies.
RADIO FREQUENCY RADIATION (RFR)
The emissions from personal wireless service facilities.
SECURITY BARRIER
A lockable, secure wall, fence or berm that effectively discourages unauthorized entry or trespass.
SEPARATION
The distance between one carrier's array of antennas and another carrier's array.
§ 325-59 District regulations.
A.
Use regulations. A personal wireless service facility, after Planning Board review and approval, shall require a building permit in all cases and may be permitted as provided in Article V, Use Regulations, and as follows:
(1)
A personal wireless service facility may locate on any existing guyed tower or lattice tower, monopole, electric utility transmission tower, fire tower or any other tower, provided that the installation of the new facility does not increase the height of the existing structure except as provided in Subsection C(3) below. Such installations shall not require a special permit but shall require site plan approval pursuant to § 325-55 of this bylaw.
(2)
All new or expanded personal wireless service facilities involving construction of one or more ground or building (roof or side) mounts, or expansion of an existing facility, shall require a site plan review and approval as outlined in § 325-55 and the issuance of a special permit pursuant to Article V, Use Regulations, except that no special permit shall be required for such facilities when located on land owned by the Town of Harwich. Such facilities may be established by special permit in all zoning districts within the Town, provided that the proposed use complies with the height and setback requirements of Subsection C hereunder and Article VI, Area, Height and Bulk Regulations, of this bylaw and all of the special permit requirements set forth in § 325-60 of this bylaw.
B.
Location. Applicants seeking approval for personal wireless service facilities shall comply with the following:
(1)
If feasible, personal wireless service facilities shall be located on or within any existing or new structures, including but not limited to buildings, existing telecommunications facilities, utility poles and towers, any other towers, and related facilities, provided that such installation preserves the character and integrity of those structures. Special consideration will be given to new construction of internally concealed wireless facilities that are installed in a manner that preserves the character of the neighborhood and the integrity of the structure (example: within a flagpole). In particular, applicants are urged to consider use of existing telephone and electric utility structures as sites for one or more personal wireless service facilities. The applicant shall have the burden of proving that there are no feasible existing structures upon which to locate.
(2)
If the applicant can demonstrate that it is not feasible to locate on an existing structure, personal wireless service facilities shall be designed so as to be camouflaged to the greatest extent possible, including but not limited to use of compatible building materials and colors, screening, landscaping, and placement within trees. The applicant is also encouraged to consider using contained structures, including but not limited to steeples and flagpoles, for the antennas and an underground vault to store necessary equipment and equipment cabinets.
(3)
The applicant shall submit documentation of the legal right to install the proposed facility mount at the time of the application for a building permit and/or special permit.
C.
Dimensional requirements. Personal wireless service facilities shall comply with the following requirements:
(1)
Height, general. Regardless of the type of mount, personal wireless service facilities shall be no higher than 45 feet above ground level [except as described in Subsection C(4), Height, Personal Wireless Service Overlay Districts]. Personal wireless service facilities may be established on a building that is legally nonconforming with respect to height, provided that the facilities do not exceed 45 feet above ground level.
(2)
Height, existing structures. New antennas for personal wireless services may be installed on or within any of the preexisting structures listed below. Such preexisting structures shall be exempt from the height restrictions of this article to the extent that the following conditions are met: provided that there is no increase in height of the existing structure as a result of the installation of a personal wireless service facility and that its installation is incidental to the structure and not the structure's primary purpose. Such structures include guyed towers, lattice towers, fire towers, any other towers, and monopoles, chimneys and steeples.
(3)
Height, existing utility structures. New antennas located on any of the following existing structures shall be exempt from the height restrictions of this bylaw, provided that there is no more than a twenty-foot increase in the height of the existing structure as a result of the installation of a personal wireless service facility and further provided that no such structure shall be permitted to exceed 150 feet in total height above ground level: electric transmission and distribution towers, telephone poles and similar utility structures. This exemption shall not apply to historic districts, within 150 feet of the right-of-way of any scenic roadway or in designated scenic viewsheds.
(4)
Height, Personal Wireless Service Overlay Districts. Personal wireless service facilities in Personal Wireless Service Overlay Districts may be built to a height of up to 150 feet above ground level, provided that such structure and site are designed to accommodate a total of four licensed carriers. Said wireless facilities which can only accommodate a total of three licensed carriers shall not exceed 135 feet above ground level. Said wireless facilities which can only accommodate a total of two licensed carriers shall not exceed 120 feet above ground level. Said wireless facilities which can only accommodate a single licensed carrier shall not exceed 105 feet above ground level.
(5)
Setbacks. All personal wireless service facilities and their equipment shelters shall comply with the building setback provisions of the zoning district in which the facility is located. In addition, the following setbacks shall be observed:
(a)
In order to ensure public safety, the minimum distance from the base of any ground-mounted personal wireless service facility to any property line, road or habitable dwelling, business or institutional use, or public recreational area shall be determined and documented by an independent, certified engineering firm to determine the structural integrity and fall zone of the proposed structure for each contract agreement and/or renewal. These findings, including all signed and certified documentation, will be submitted to the Town of Harwich Planning Board at the specified site plan review public hearing for review and approval. This fall zone engineering certification and inspection process shall be at no cost to the Town of Harwich.
(b)
In the event that an existing structure is proposed as a mount for a personal wireless service facility, a fall zone shall not be required, but the setback provisions of the zoning district shall apply. In the case of preexisting, nonconforming structures, personal wireless service facilities and their equipment shelters shall not increase any nonconformities, except as provided in Subsection C(6) below.
(6)
In reviewing a special permit application for a personal wireless service facility, the Planning Board may reduce the required fall zone and/or setback distance of the zoning district by as much as 50% of the required distance if it finds that a substantially better design will result from such reduction. In making such a finding, the Planning Board shall consider both the visual and safety impacts of the proposed use.
§ 325-60 Special permits for personal wireless service facilities.
All personal wireless service facilities shall comply with the performance standards set forth in this section.
A.
Design standards.
(1)
Visibility/camouflage. Personal wireless service facilities shall be camouflaged as follows:
(a)
Camouflage by existing buildings or structures.
[1]
When a personal wireless service facility extends above the roof height of a building on which it is mounted, every effort shall be made to conceal the facility within or behind existing architectural features to limit its visibility from public ways. Facilities mounted on a roof shall be stepped back from the front facade in order to limit their impact on the building's silhouette.
[2]
Personal wireless service facilities which are side-mounted shall blend with the existing building's architecture and shall conform to Subsection A(1)(c).
(b)
Camouflage by vegetation. If personal wireless service facilities are not camouflaged from public viewing areas by existing buildings or structures they shall be surrounded by buffers of dense tree growth and understory vegetation in all directions to create an effective year-round visual buffer. Ground-mounted personal wireless service facilities shall provide a vegetated buffer of sufficient height and depth to effectively screen the facility. Trees and vegetation may be existing on the subject property or installed as part of the proposed facility or a combination of both. The special permit granting authority shall determine the types of trees and plant materials and depth of the needed buffer based on site conditions.
(c)
Color.
[1]
Personal wireless service facilities which are side-mounted on buildings shall be painted or constructed of materials to match the color of the building material directly behind them.
[2]
To the extent that any personal wireless service facilities extend above the height of the vegetation immediately surrounding them, they shall be painted in a light grey or light blue hue which blends with sky and clouds.
(2)
Equipment shelters. Equipment shelters for personal wireless service facilities shall be designed consistent with one of the following design standards:
(a)
Equipment shelters shall be located in underground vaults;
(b)
Equipment shelters shall be designed consistent with traditional Cape Cod architectural styles and materials, with a roof pitch of at least 10/12 and wood clapboard or shingle siding; or
(c)
Equipment shelters shall be camouflaged behind an effective year-round landscape buffer, equal to the height of the proposed building, and/or wooden fence. The special permit granting authority shall determine the style of fencing and/or landscape buffer that is compatible with the neighborhood.
(3)
Lighting, signage and security.
(a)
Personal wireless service facilities shall be lighted only if required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Lighting of equipment structures and any other facilities on site shall be shielded from properties. There shall be total cutoff of all light at the property lines of the parcel to be developed, and footcandle measurements at the property line shall be 0.0 initial footcandle when measured at grade.
(b)
Signs shall be limited to those needed to identify the property and the owner and warn of any danger. All signs shall comply with Article VII, Sign Regulations, of this bylaw.
(c)
All ground-mounted personal wireless service facilities shall be surrounded by a security barrier.
(4)
Historic buildings and districts.
(a)
Any personal wireless service facilities located on or within an historic structure shall not alter the character-defining features, distinctive construction methods, or original historic materials of the building.
(b)
Any alteration made to an historic structure to accommodate a personal wireless service facility shall be fully reversible.
(c)
Personal wireless service facilities within an historic district shall be concealed within or behind existing architectural features or shall be located so that they are not visible from public roads and viewing areas within the district.
B.
Environmental standards.
(1)
Personal wireless service facilities shall not be located in wetlands. Locating of wireless facilities in wetland buffer areas shall be avoided whenever possible and disturbance to wetland buffer areas shall be minimized.
(2)
No hazardous waste shall be discharged on the site of any personal wireless service facility. If any hazardous materials are to be used on site, there shall be provisions for full containment of such materials. An enclosed containment area shall be provided with a sealed floor, designed to contain at least 110% of the volume of the hazardous materials stored or used on the site.
(3)
Stormwater runoff shall be contained on site.
(4)
Ground-mounted equipment for personal wireless service facilities shall not generate noise in excess of 50 db at the property line.
(5)
Roof-mounted or side-mounted equipment for personal wireless service facilities shall not generate noise in excess of 50 db at ground level at the base of the building closest to the antenna.
C.
Safety standards.
(1)
Radio frequency radiation (RFR) standards. All equipment proposed for a personal wireless service facility shall be authorized per the FCC Guidelines for Evaluating the Environmental Effects of Radio Frequency Radiation (FCC Guidelines).
§ 325-61 Application and approval process.
The special permit granting authority shall adopt and may from time to time amend rules and regulations governing the application and approval process for personal wireless service facilities. Special permits and site plan applications for personal wireless service facilities shall be governed by said rules and regulations and the special permit and site plan requirements of Article X.
§ 325-62 Co-location.
A.
Licensed carriers shall share personal wireless service facilities and sites where feasible and appropriate, thereby reducing the number of personal wireless service facilities that are stand-alone facilities. All applicants for a special permit for a personal wireless service facility shall demonstrate a good faith effort to co-locate with other carriers. Such good faith effort includes:
(1)
A survey of all existing structures that may be feasible sites for co-locating personal wireless service facilities;
(2)
Contact with all the other licensed carriers for commercial mobile radio services operating in the County of Barnstable; and
(3)
Sharing information necessary to determine if co-location is feasible under the design configuration most accommodating to co-location.
B.
In the event that co-location is found to be not feasible, a written statement of the reasons for the infeasibility shall be submitted to the Planning Board. The Planning Board may retain a technical expert in the field of RF engineering to verify if co-location at the site is not feasible or is feasible given the design configuration most accommodating to co-location. The cost for such a technical expert will be at the expense of the applicant. The Town may deny a special permit to an applicant that has not demonstrated a good faith effort to provide for co-location.
C.
If the applicant does intend to co-locate or to permit co-location, the Planning Board shall request drawings and studies which show the ultimate appearance and operation of the personal wireless service facility at maximum capacity.
D.
If the special permit granting authority approves co-location for a personal wireless service facility site, the special permit shall indicate how many facilities of what type shall be permitted on that site. Facilities specified in the special permit approval shall require no further zoning approval. However, the addition of any facilities not specified in the approved special permit shall require a new special permit. Estimates of RFR emissions will be required for all facilities, including proposed and future facilities.
§ 325-63 Modifications.
A modification of a personal wireless service facility may be considered equivalent to an application for a new personal wireless service facility and will require a special permit when the following events apply:
A.
The applicant and/or co-applicant wants to alter the terms of the special permit by changing the personal wireless service facility in one or more of the following ways:
(1)
Change in the number of facilities permitted on the site.
(2)
Change in technology used for the personal wireless service facility.
B.
The applicant or co-applicant wants to add any equipment or additional height not specified in the original design filing.
§ 325-64 Monitoring and maintenance.
A.
After a personal wireless service facility is operational, the applicant shall submit to the Planning Board and Board of Health, within 90 days of beginning operations and at annual intervals from the date of issuance of the special permit, existing measurements of RFR from the personal wireless service facility. Such measurements shall be signed and certified by an RF engineer, stating that RFR measurements are accurate and meet FCC Guidelines as specified in the radio frequency standards section [§ 325-60C(1)] of this bylaw.
B.
After a personal wireless service facility is operational, the applicant shall submit to the Planning Board and Board of Health, within 90 days of beginning operations and at annual intervals from the date of issuance of the special permit, existing measurements of noise from the personal wireless service facility. Such measurements shall be certified by an acoustical engineer, stating that noise measurements are accurate and meet the noise standards of § 325-60B(4) of this bylaw.
C.
The applicant and co-applicant shall maintain the personal wireless service facility in good condition. Such maintenance shall include, but shall not be limited to, painting, structural integrity of the mount and security barrier, and maintenance of the buffer areas and landscaping.
§ 325-65 Abandonment or discontinuation of use.
A.
At such time that a licensed carrier plans to abandon or discontinue operation of a personal wireless service facility, such carrier will notify the Building Official by certified U.S. mail of the proposed date of abandonment or discontinuation of operations. Such notice, a copy of which shall be sent to the Planning Board via regular U.S. mail, shall be given no less than 30 days prior to abandonment or discontinuation of operations. In the event that a licensed carrier fails to give such notice, any personal wireless service facility allowed on special permit by this bylaw shall be considered abandoned upon such discontinuation of operations.
B.
Upon abandonment or discontinuation of use, the carrier shall physically remove the personal wireless service facility within 90 days from the date of abandonment or discontinuation of use. "Physically remove" shall include but not be limited to:
(1)
Removal of antennas, mount, equipment shelters and security barriers from the subject property.
(2)
Proper disposal of the waste materials from the site in accordance with local and state solid waste disposal regulations.
(3)
Restoring the location of the personal wireless service facility to its natural condition, except that any landscaping and grading shall remain in the after-condition.
§ 325-66 Reconstruction or replacement of existing towers and monopoles.
Guyed towers, lattice towers, utility towers and monopoles in existence at the time of adoption of this bylaw may be reconstructed, altered, extended or replaced on the same site by special permit from the Planning Board, provided that the Board finds that such reconstruction, alteration, extension or replacement will not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood and/or the tower than the existing structure. In making such a determination, the Planning Board shall consider whether the proposed reconstruction, alteration, extension or replacement will create public benefits such as opportunities for co-location, improvements in public safety, and/or reduction in visual and environmental impacts. No reconstruction, alteration, extension or replacement shall exceed the height of the existing facility by more than 20 feet.
§ 325-67 Term of special permit.
A special permit issued for any personal wireless service facility over 45 feet in height shall be valid for 15 years. At the end of that time period, the personal wireless service facility shall be removed by the carrier or a new special permit shall be required.
§ 325-68 Severability.
The provisions of this article are severable, and in the event that any provision of this article is determined to be invalid for any reason, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.