Protect and preserve the visual character of the Borough by minimizing the visual and aesthetic impact of all wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas;

Ensure that all wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas are designed and configured in such a manner as to match or blend in with the characteristics of the areas where they are situated. Such characteristics shall include both man-made structures as well as environmental features;

Encourage the location of wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal, through careful design, siting, landscape screening and innovative camouflaging techniques;

Minimize the total number of towers throughout the community through joint use of new and existing towers and other structures as a primary option rather than the construction of additional single-use towers;

Enhance the ability of the providers of communication services to provide such service to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently;

Consider the impact to the public health and safety by the placement of wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas;

Avoid potential damage to the public and adjacent properties from the failure of wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas through engineering and careful siting.

New towers and antennas. All new towers and antennas shall be subject to these regulations.

Amateur radio station visual analysis. This article shall not govern towers or the installation of any antenna, less than 75 feet in height which are owned and operated by federally licensed amateur radio station operators or are used exclusively for receive-only antennas.

Preexisting wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment or antennas. This article shall not apply to preexisting wireless communications towers, facilities, equipment and antennas for which a building permit and zoning approval has been properly issued prior to the effective date of this article. This article shall, however, apply to all modification, alterations, changes or additions to preexisting wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas.

Antenna height. Any antenna that is attached to an existing structure shall not exceed the height of the existing structure by more than 20 feet.

Antenna offset. Any antenna that is attached to an existing structure shall not be mounted beyond the vertical face or plane of the existing structure by more than three feet.

Tower height. No tower, including the antenna, shall exceed 150 feet in height above the ground; provided, however, that such height may be increased to no more than 180 feet, provided that the required setbacks from any dwelling or residential boundary are increased by one foot for each one foot of height in excess of 150 feet.

Setbacks and screening. The foundation and base of any communications tower shall be set back from a property line (not lease line) at least 100 feet. The base of a communications tower shall be landscaped so as to screen the foundation and base and communications equipment building from abutting properties.

Preservation of existing trees. A management plan shall be submitted for approval describing how the existing trees located on the site shall be protected during the construction of the site.

Engineer's certification. A professional engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall certify any information of an engineering nature that the applicant submits, whether civil, mechanical or electrical.

State or federal requirements. All towers, facilities, equipment and antennas 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 towers, facilities, equipment and antennas. If such standards and regulations are changed, then the owners of the towers, facilities, equipment and antennas governed by this article shall bring such towers, facilities, equipment and antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations within six months of the effective date of such standards and regulations, unless a different compliance schedule is mandated by the controlling state or federal agency. Failure to bring such towers, facilities, equipment or antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations shall constitute a violation and the Borough may require the removal of the towers, facilities, equipment and antennas at the owner's expense.

Building codes; safety standards. To insure the structural integrity of towers as well as the safety of any attachment to an existing structure, the owners of towers, facilities, equipment or antennas shall ensure that it is maintained in compliance with standards contained in applicable state or local building codes and the applicable standards for towers that are published. If, upon inspection, the Borough concludes that a tower fails to comply with such codes and standards and constitutes a danger to persons or property, then upon notice being provided to the owner of the tower, the owner shall have 30 days to bring such tower into compliance with such standards. Failure to bring such tower into compliance within said 30 days shall constitute a violation and the Borough may require the removal of the towers, facilities, equipment or antennas at the owner's expense.

Not utilities. Towers, facilities, equipment and antennas shall be regulated and permitted pursuant to this article and shall not be regulated or permitted as public utilities or private utilities.

Co-location. In order to reduce the number of towers in the Borough in the future, the proposed tower shall be designed to accommodate at least four separate commercial wireless communication companies. In addition, its design shall allow for the accommodation of municipal emergency service use.

Removal of abandoned towers.

Security. Unless the communications tower or antenna is located on a building or alternative tower structure, the tower structure or the entire property on which the tower structure is located shall be completely enclosed by an eight-foot-high chain-link security fence or similar fence with self-latching gate to limit accessibility to the general public. All tower structures shall be fitted with anticlimbing devices as approved by the manufacturer for the type of installation proposed.

Lighting. No antenna or tower structure shall be illuminated, except as may be required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in which case the Borough may review the available lighting options and approve the design that would cause the least disturbance to the surrounding uses and views.

Signs or advertising. No sign or other structure shall be mounted on the tower structure or antennae, except as may be required and approved by the FCC, FAA, other government agency and the Borough. No advertising is permitted on an antenna, tower, and buildings or related accessory structures.

Principal, accessory and joint uses.

Flood damage prevention. Electrical equipment associated with towers, in areas prone to flooding, will be placed above the one-hundred-year flood elevation for the site on which the tower is located.

Alternatives analysis.

Any applicant proposing construction of a new communication tower shall demonstrate that a good faith effort has been made to obtain permission to mount the communications antennas on an existing building, structure or communication tower. A good faith effort shall require that all owners of potentially suitable structures in the Borough or within a one mile radius of the proposed communication tower site be contacted and that one or more of the following reasons for not selecting such structure apply:

A visual analysis, which shall include photo montage, field, mock-up, or other techniques, shall be prepared by or on behalf of the applicant which identifies the potential impacts, at design capacity, of the proposed facility. Consideration shall be given to views from public areas as well as from private residences. The analysis shall assess the cumulative impacts of the proposed facility and other existing and foreseeable telecommunication facilities in the area, and shall identify and include all feasible mitigation measures consistent with technological requirements of the proposed telecommunication service.

Identification of all private, commercial and public airports located within a five-mile radius of the proposed site on a plan. The glide path of each airport located within the five-mile radius shall be graphically represented on the plan to show the location of the glide path in both its horizontal and vertical elements.

Documentation to substantiate that a balloon test was or will be performed for period of one week after a written notice is provided to all property owners within a one-quarter-mile radius from the site and legal notice in newspaper of general circulation and that the site was posted in advance of and during the balloon test in a manner prescribed by the Borough.

A management plan shall be provided which details the methods that shall be used to preserve and protect the natural features, such as existing vegetation, that help screen the facility from view or mitigate the facilities impact.

Wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas are allowed only as a conditional use in Districts specified in Articles IV through VII of this chapter. Wireless facilities, equipment and antennas that can be located on and in an existing structure or tower and facility are allowed as a permitted use in districts specified for conditional use of towers, facilities, equipment and antennas in Articles IV through VII of this chapter.

The following are the minimum requirements applicable to wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas, in addition to the generally applicable criteria for conditional uses.

All such facilities shall comply with the following to the extent a Borough is allowed to require: