The purpose of this chapter is to establish uniform requirements and regulations for telecommunication towers within the city.

(LDC 1997, ch. 21, § 1.02)

(a)

Notwithstanding any other section of these land development regulations, telecommunication towers shall be allowed only within the following zoning districts:

B-1 business district;

P public facilities/institutional;

U utilities;

I-1 industrial

(b)

The following standards shall apply to the review process for all proposed telecommunication towers:

(1)

All telecommunication towers must receive a special exception use as provided in section 106-2 of this land development code and receive approval of a site plan sealed and verified by an engineer licensed in the state that proves compliance with the adopted building and construction codes of the city in effect at the time of the application and set forth in chapter 14 before a building permit may be issued for a proposed tower.

(2)

Telecommunication towers that are to be placed on a lot of less than five acres in size shall be limited to a maximum height of 100 feet as measured from the existing natural grade.

(3)

Telecommunication towers which are to be placed on a lot equal to or greater than five acres in size shall be limited to a maximum height of 200 feet as measured from the existing natural grade.

(4)

No telecommunication tower shall be located within 3,000 linear feet, as measured in a straight line from another telecommunication tower. For purposes of this subsection (b)(4), the global positioning system (GPS) coordinates for the center of each tower shall be used as the measurement points.

(5)

Telecommunication towers shall have a minimum setback from any residential zoning district equal to four times the height of the tower. The height shall be measured from the natural grade.

(6)

A minimum six-foot fence or wall shall be installed and surround the telecommunication tower site. The area to be fenced shall surround and enclose as a single entity the tower, all supporting structures, including guyed grounding points, and equipment facilities. Access to the telecommunication tower shall be through a locked gate.

(7)

A landscape buffer of a type to be determined in the special exception process shall surround the perimeter of the fence.

(8)

Telecommunication towers shall be so situated upon the lot upon which they are erected so as to be no closer than the height of the telecommunication tower from the boundary of the lot (for example, a 100-foot tower must be placed at least 100 feet away from any boundary line of the lot upon which the tower is located, as measured from the GPS coordinates for the center of the tower).

(9)

All telecommunication towers must be designed so that in the even a telecommunication tower falls, it shall collapse only within the property lines of the lot on which the telecommunications tower is located. No building permit shall be issued unless the applicant provides verification of compliance from an engineer registered by the state.

(10)

Anti-climbing devices shall be installed on each tower.

(11)

No signage of any type shall be allowed on any tower. Signage on perimeter fences or walls shall be limited to Federal Communications Commission registration and trespassing, danger/warning, or emergency directions, unless otherwise required by law.

(12)

Any lighting or light fixtures on a telecommunication tower must be shielded so that all light from such towers fall within the confines of the lot upon which the tower is placed, unless required otherwise by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(c)

No longterm parking or storage of vehicles or equipment, or both, shall occur within a radius with a length equal to the height of the tower as measured from the natural grade, which radius shall extend from the center of a telecommunication tower.

(LDC 1997, ch. 21, § 1.03)

To encourage a reduction in the number of telecommunication towers that may be required to place antennas in order to meet the city's increasing demand for wireless service, telecommunication towers shall be structurally designed to accommodate the collocation of antennas as follows:

(1)

All telecommunication towers, except for those towers which have been designed so as to be camouflaged or to resemble a natural object or a manmade object other than a telecommunication tower, over 80 feet and up to and including 150 feet in height shall be structurally designed to accommodate at least two FCC licensed wireless service providers.

(2)

All telecommunication towers, except for those towers which have been designed so as to be camouflaged or to resemble a natural object or a manmade object other than a telecommunication tower, exceeding 150 feet in height shall be structurally designed to accommodate at least three FCC licensed wireless service providers.

(LDC 1997, ch. 21, § 1.04)

(a)

At the time a building permit is issued to an applicant for the construction of a telecommunication tower, the applicant shall enter into a contractually enforceable agreement with the city that requires the applicant or the owner of the telecommunication tower to remove the telecommunication tower upon its abandonment.

(b)

If all legally approved use of any telecommunication tower has been discontinued for a period of 180 consecutive days, the telecommunication tower shall be deemed to be abandoned. Determination of the date of abandonment shall be determined by the city planner, who shall have the right to request documentation or affidavits from the telecommunication tower owner regarding the issue of the telecommunication tower usage.

(c)

At such time as the city planner reasonable determines that a telecommunication tower is abandoned, the city planner shall provide the telecommunication tower owner with written notice of an abandonment determination by certified mail. Failure or refusal of the owner to respond within 60 days of receipt of such notice shall constitute prima facie evidence that the telecommunication tower has been abandoned.

(d)

If the owner of the telecommunication tower fails to respond or fails to demonstrate that the telecommunication tower is not abandoned, the telecommunication tower shall be considered abandoned and the owner of the telecommunication tower shall have a period of 60 days within which to reactivate the use of the telecommunication tower or transfer the tower to another owner who makes actual use of the telecommunication tower within the 60-day period. Should the telecommunication tower owner fail to reactivate the use of the telecommunication tower or transfer the telecommunication tower to another owner who has reactivated such use within the 60-day period, then at the expiration of the 60-day period any special exception use approval for the telecommunication tower shall expire and the tower shall be dismantled and removed.

(LDC 1997, ch. 21, § 1.05)

The provisions of this chapter shall not apply to amateur radio station towers owned and operated by a federally-licensed amateur radio station operator and less than 100 feet in height, as measured from the existing natural grade, or towers owned or operated by the city for municipal communications or emergency services; provided, however, that anti-climbing devises shall be installed on these towers and no signage of any type shall be allowed on these towers. Any lighting or light fixtures installed on these towers must be shielded so that all light from such owners fall within the confines of the lot upon which the tower is placed, unless required otherwise by the Federal Aviation Administration.

(LDC 1997, ch. 21, § 1.06)