This chapter is designed and intended to balance the interests of the residents of the City of LaGrange, telecommunications providers and telecommunications customers in the siting of telecommunications facilities within the City of LaGrange 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 neither prohibit nor have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services, and so as to promote the City of LaGrange as a pro-active city in the availability of personal wireless telecommunications service. To that end, this chapter shall:

(1)

Provide for the appropriate location and development of telecommunications facilities in the City of LaGrange;

(2)

Protect the built and natural environment of the City of LaGrange by promoting compatible design standards for telecommunications facilities;

(3)

Minimize adverse visual impacts of telecommunications facilities through careful design, siting, landscape screening and innovative camouflage techniques;

(4)

Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower or antenna failure through engineering and careful siting of telecommunications tower structures and antennas;

(5)

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 city;

(6)

Maximize and encourage use of alternative telecommunications tower structures as a primary option rather than construction of additional single use towers; and

(7)

Encourage and promote the location of new telecommunications facilities in areas which are not zoned for residential use.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

The regulations of this chapter must be applied within the procedural and regulatory constraints of applicable federal and state telecommunications statutes.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

The following shall be exempt from this chapter:

(1)

Any tower and antenna under fifty (50) feet in total height which is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio operator.

(2)

Satellite dish antennas.

(3)

Towers and antennas operated by local, state or federal government for a necessary governmental function.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

No telecommunications facilities shall be allowed within one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of any dwelling within any ES-R, SU-R, TN-R, TN-MR, TN-MX, AC-MR, AC-MX, DT-MX, and SD-MH district within the City of LaGrange. Subject to this limitation, monopole towers shall be allowed up to and including a height of fifty (50) feet within such districts. Antennas shall be allowed, subject to applicable height restriction, within said districts on existing nonresidential structures.

(b)

In any CR-MR, CR-MX, or CP-GP zoning district, telecommunications facilities shall be allowed, except that no tower shall be allowed within five hundred (500) feet of any dwelling in a CR-MR and CR-MX zoning district. Monopole towers within said district shall be allowed, subject to this limitation, up to a height including fifty (50) feet. Antennas shall be allowed, subject to applicable height restriction, within said districts on existing nonresidential structures.

(c)

In any AC-MX and DT-MX zoning district, towers shall be allowed subject to the following constraints:

(1)

Monopole towers in excess of fifty (50) feet in height shall be allowed only when located a distance of at least one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet from the nearest dwelling;

(2)

Otherwise, monopole towers within said district shall not exceed a height of fifty (50) feet, unless such are designed and intended to accommodate at least two (2) users, in which case said monopole tower shall not exceed a height of eighty (80) feet.

(d)

In any CP-GI and CP-HI zoning district, towers of unrestricted height shall be allowed, provided no telecommunications tower shall be allowed within a distance of one thousand five hundred (1,500) feet of any dwelling.

(e)

Any telecommunications towers and antennas in all instances must comply with the airport special zoning district (section 25B-10-2).

(f)

In no district within the city shall an antenna as defined herein extend a distance greater than twenty (20) feet above the structure to which it is attached.

(g)

Measurements in this section shall be in a straight line from the base of the telecommunications facility to the nearest portion of the structure, building, dwelling, or other regulated structure.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

Preferred location sites.

(1)

Co-location sites. Any existing telecommunications tower(s) currently being used for transmitting or receiving analog, digital, microwave, cellular, telephone, personal wireless service or similar forms of electronic communication shall be a preferred location site regardless of the underlying zoning designation of the site, provided, however, that locations which meet this criteria shall be subject to the design and siting components of this chapter. No more than two (2) towers shall be authorized at a co-location site, and no structure shall be allowed thereon higher than the existing structure (tower) located on the site.

(2)

Publicly used structures. Publicly used structures are preferred locations throughout the city because they appear in virtually all neighborhoods, are disbursed throughout the city, and due to their institutional or infrastructure uses are generally similar in appearance to or readily adaptable for telecommunications facilities. Therefore (telecommunications facilities) antennas should be less noticeable when placed on publicly used structures than when placed on commercial or residential structures. Publicly used structures include, but are not limited to, facilities such as police or fire stations, libraries, community centers, civic centers, courthouses, utility structures, water towers, elevated roadways, flag poles, schools, hospitals, clock or bell towers, light poles and churches.

(3)

Industrial and commercial structures. Wholly industrial and commercial structures such as warehouses, factories, retail outlets, supermarkets, banks, garages, medical facilities, office buildings or service stations shall be preferred locations particularly where existing visual obstruction or clutter on the roof or along the roof line can and will be removed as part of the installation of the telecommunications facility.

(b)

Disfavored location sites. Any single-family structure or site or multifamily duplex shall be a disfavored site for the location of telecommunications facilities.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

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 the air traffic safety. If lighting is required or necessary, the director of the department of community development may review the available lighting alternatives and approve the design that would cause the least disturbance to the surrounding uses and views.

(b)

Advertising. No advertising or signage is permitted on telecommunications facilities.

(c)

Visual effects. If an antenna is installed on a structure other than a tower, the antenna and associated 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.

(d)

Accessory uses. Accessory structures used in direct support of a telecommunications facility shall be allowed but shall 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.

(e)

Lot size and setbacks. Telecommunications facilities must be set back from any property line a sufficient distance to protect adjoining property from the potential impact of telecommunications facility failure by being sufficiently distant to accommodate such failure of the site, based on the engineer's analysis as required in section 25B-60-7. Such setback distance shall in no event be less than the calculated distance covered by the telecommunications facility should such fail, plus an additional ten (10) feet.

(f)

On-site vegetation. 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.

(g)

Buffer strip and fence. Any tower site (including the entire "guyed" area) shall be surrounded by a buffer strip and fence as approved by the director based on applicable regulations of the UDO for buffers and fencing.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

Application for a building permit for any wireless facility shall be made by the person, company or organization that will own and operate the telecommunications facility. An application will not be considered until it is complete, and the following information shall be submitted when applying for said permit and must be submitted for an application to be considered complete:

(1)

Basis information. A report from a qualified, registered professional engineer licensed in the State of Georgia, documenting the following:

a.

Wireless facility height and design, including technical, engineering, economic and other pertinent factors governing selection of the proposed design;

b.

Total anticipated capacity of the telecommunications facility, including number and types of antennas which can be accommodated by the facilities;

c.

Evidence of structural integrity of the tower structure; and

d.

Structural failure characteristics of the telecommunications facility and demonstration that site setbacks are of adequate dimension (to contain debris).

(2)

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;

(3)

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. Included within such designation shall be name, address, telephone number, facsimile number and electronic mail address, if applicable.

(4)

Site plan. An applicant for a telecommunications facility building permit must present a site plan that discloses the following:

a.

Location of guy wires;

b.

Location to nearest residential structure;

c.

Height elevations above ground level;

d.

Height elevation above sea level;

e.

Relation to slope set forth in the airport special zoning district; and

f.

Full description of landscaping and fence material to be used.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

Applicant and owner shall allow other future personal wireless service companies, including public and quasipublic agencies, using functionally equivalent personal wireless technology to co-locate antennas, equipment and facilities on a telecommunications facility unless specific technical constraints or applicable law prohibit said co-location. 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 costs in accordance with industry standards.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

The director shall approve or deny the application for a new wireless support structure within one hundred fifty (150) calendar days of the date of complete application, unless another date is agreed to by the applicant and the director in writing. The director shall have thirty (30) days from the date of application to determine if an application is complete and shall notify the applicant in writing of any additional materials required. If so notified, the time within which such information is being provided by the applicant shall not count against the one hundred fifty (150) day decision period herein. Any such decision denying a request to place, construct or modify a telecommunications facility shall be in writing and supported by evidence contained within a written record.

(b)

The director shall approve or deny the application for a colocation within ninety (90) calendar days of the date of complete application, unless another date is agreed to by the applicant and the director in writing. The director shall have thirty (30) days from the date of application to determine if an application is complete and shall notify the applicant in writing of any additional materials required. If so notified, the time within which such information is being provided by the applicant shall not count against the ninety (90) day decision period herein. Any such decision denying a request to place, construct or modify a telecommunications facility shall be in writing and supported by evidence contained within a written record. If the application for a co-location or modification of a wireless facility is subject to the streamlined process of O.C.G.A. § 36-66B-4 as amended, the application entitled to streamlined processing shall be reviewed for conformance with applicable site plan and building permit requirements, including zoning and Comprehensive Plan character area map conformity but shall not otherwise be subject to additional approvals beyond the initial approval issued for the wireless support structure or wireless facility.

(c)

The director shall approve or deny the application for an eligible facility request subject to review under section 6409 of the Spectrum Act within sixty (60) calendar days of the date of complete application, unless another date is agreed to by the applicant and the director in writing. The director shall have thirty (30) days from the date of application to determine if an application is complete and shall notify the applicant in writing of any additional materials required. If so notified, the time within which such information is being provided by the applicant shall not count against the sixty (60) day decision period herein. Following a supplemental submission, the director will have ten (10) days to notify the applicant that the supplemental submission did not include the missing information. If the director does not act within the sixty (60) days the application is granted, the decision shall be considered to be approved. The decision shall be in writing and be supported by a written record documenting the reasons for the denial and the evidence in support of the decision.

(d)

Appeals from a decision of the director may be taken to the board of planning and zoning appeals per the appeals provisions of section 25B-55-10.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

All wireless transmission facilities and related fencing and landscaping shall be maintained by the facility owner in good condition, order, and repair so that they shall not endanger the life or property of any person, nor shall they be a blight upon the property.

(b)

All maintenance or construction on wireless transmission facilities shall be performed by persons employed by or under contract to the owner between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday except in cases of emergency. Access to facilities on city owned property shall be determined on a case-by-case basis by the department responsible for such property. The hours of access to city sites shall not exceed those specified above. Persons may not be present on site unless performing construction or maintenance at such site.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

All permitted wireless telecommunications facilities shall secure and at all times maintain public liability insurance for personal injuries, death and property damage, and umbrella insurance coverage, for the duration of the permit in amounts as set forth below:

(1)

Commercial general liability covering personal injuries, death and property damage: One million dollars ($1,000,000.00) per occurrence/two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) aggregate;

(2)

Automobile coverage: One million dollars ($1,000,000.00) per occurrence/two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) aggregate;

(3)

A three million dollar ($3,000,000.00) umbrella coverage; and

(4)

Workers compensation and disability: Statutory amounts.

(b)

For a wireless telecommunications facility on city property, the commercial general liability insurance policy shall specifically include the city and its officers, commissions, employees, committee members, attorneys, agents and consultants as additional insured.

(c)

The insurance policies shall be issued by an agent or representative of an insurance company licensed to do business in the state and with a best's rating of at least A.

(d)

The insurance policies shall contain an endorsement obligating the insurance company to furnish the city with at least thirty (30) days' prior written notice in advance of the cancellation of the insurance.

(e)

Renewal or replacement policies or certificates shall be delivered to the city at least fifteen (15) days before the expiration of the insurance that such policies are to renew or replace.

(f)

Before construction of a permitted wireless telecommunications facility is initiated, but in no case later than fifteen (15) days after the grant of the application, the applicant shall deliver to the city a copy of each of the policies or certificates representing the insurance in the required amounts.

(g)

A certificate of insurance that states that it is for informational purposes only and does not confer rights upon the city shall not be deemed to comply with this section.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

Any application for wireless telecommunication facilities that is proposed for city property, pursuant to this chapter, shall contain a provision with respect to indemnification. Such provision shall require the applicant, to the extent permitted by the chapter, to at all times defend, indemnify, protect, save, hold harmless, and exempt the city and its officers, commissions, employees, committee members, attorneys, agents, and consultants from any and all penalties, damages, costs, or charges arising out of any and all claims, suits, demands, causes of action, or award of damages, whether compensatory or punitive, or expenses arising there from, either at law or in equity, which might arise out of, or are caused by, the placement, construction, erection, modification, location, products performance, use, operation, maintenance, repair, installation, replacement, removal, or restoration of said facility, excepting, however, any portion of such claims, suits, demands, causes of action or award of damages as may be attributable to the negligent or intentional acts or omissions of the county, or its servants or agents. With respect to the penalties, damages or charges referenced herein, reasonable attorneys' fees, consultants' fees, and expert witness fees are included in those costs that are recoverable by the city.

(b)

Notwithstanding the requirements noted in subsection (a) of this section, an indemnification provision will not be required in those instances where the city itself applies for and secures a special use permit for wireless telecommunications facilities.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

(a)

In the event of a violation of this chapter or any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, the city may impose and collect, and the holder of the permit for wireless telecommunications facilities shall pay to the county, fines or penalties as set forth below.

(b)

If the applicant fails to comply with provisions of this chapter such shall constitute a violation of this chapter and shall be subject to a fine not to exceed three hundred fifty dollars ($350.00) per day per violation following due and proper notice and, further, each day or part thereof that a violation remains uncured after proper notice shall constitute a separate violation, punishable separately.

(c)

Notwithstanding anything in this chapter, the holder of the permit for wireless telecommunications facilities may not use the payment of fines, liquidated damages or other penalties, to evade or avoid compliance with this chapter or any section of this chapter. An attempt to do so shall subject the holder of the permit to termination and revocation of the special use permit. The city may also seek injunctive relief to prevent the continued violation of this chapter, without limiting other remedies available to the county.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

Any telecommunications facility that is not operated for a continuous period of twelve (12) months shall be considered abandoned, irrespective of whether the owner or operator intends to make use of it or any part of it. In such case, the owner of the telecommunications facility and the owner of the property where such facility is located shall be under a duty to remove the abandoned telecommunications facility. If such antenna and/or tower is not removed within sixty (60) days of receipt of notice from the city notifying the owner(s) of such abandonment, the city may remove such tower and/or antenna and place a lien upon the property for the costs of removal. The city may pursue all legal remedies available to it to ensure that abandoned telecommunications tower or facilities are removed. Any delay by the city in taking such action shall not under any circumstances operate as a waiver of the city's right to take such action. The city may seek to have a 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.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)

Use of all telecommunications facilities lawfully permitted and operative prior to the adoption of the UDO, and which do not comply with the provisions of chapter 25B-60, or amendments thereto, shall be allowed as a nonconforming use and shall be treated as a nonconforming use in accordance with section 25B-50. Routine maintenance, including replacement with new tower or antenna of like construction and height shall be permitted on such existing telecommunications facilities. Any existing unused tower or antenna so replaced shall be removed within thirty (30) days of the new tower or antenna becoming operational. New construction other than routine maintenance shall comply with the requirements of this chapter.

(1)

A telecommunications facility that has received city approval as of the date of final approval of this UDO, in the form of a building permit, but has not yet been constructed or placed in operation, shall be considered an existing telecommunications facility as long as such building permit is current and not expired. The zoning district regulations of the zoning ordinance contain additional standards and procedures that are supplemental to all other regulations and requirements of this chapter. Should the requirements of these zoning district standards and procedures conflict with standards of other requirements of this chapter, the requirements of the zoning district shall apply.

(2)

Placement of an antenna on a nonconforming structure shall not be considered an expansion of the nonconforming structure.

(Ord. No. 21-10, § 1, 6-22-21)