Montague Township City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XIX
Conditional Uses
§ 76-83 Purpose.
It is the purpose in this Article to provide specific regulations applicable to all conditional uses provided for in this chapter.
§ 76-84 Churches, parish houses and Sunday school buildings.
A.
A church, parish house or Sunday school building, day school, library, art gallery and museum shall be located on a lot having not less than five acres.
B.
Off-street parking shall be provided on the basis of one space for each three seats or one space for each 72 inches of seating space when benches rather than seats are used.
§ 76-85 Hospitals and nursing homes.
A.
Hospitals shall be located on tracts having not less than 10 acres.
B.
Nursing homes shall be located on lots having not less than 10 acres.
C.
One off-street loading space shall be provided for each 30,000 square feet of gross floor area, and an ambulance space shall also be provided.
D.
No hospital or nursing home shall exceed 50 feet in height.
§ 76-86 Municipal buildings.
§ 76-87 Day schools.
§ 76-88 Public libraries, museums and art galleries.
A.
Public libraries, museums and art galleries shall be located on lots having not less than two acres.
B.
Off-street parking shall be provided at the rate of one space for every three seats, except where a specific amount of seating is undetermined, in which event one parking space shall be required for each 75 square feet of assembly area.
C.
No such building shall exceed 50 feet in height.
§ 76-88.1 Wireless telecommunications towers, equipment and facilities and conditional use requirements.
[Added 2-13-01 by Ord. No. 2001-11]
The Township of Montague has recognized the need to permit cellular/wireless telecommunications equipment and facilities in appropriate locations in the township.
The intent of this section is to allow these facilities and towers as conditional uses in all highway commercial zones. The conditions applicable to telecommunications providers are designed to encourage collocation or the placement of antennas on existing municipally-owned utility structures, existing commercial or industrial sites, at new locations or lastly, multiple towers at lower heights provided stealth technology is employed. Telecommunications providers are specifically prohibited from constructing towers or placing telecommunications antennas within residential areas except on existing municipal utility tower locations with municipal permission and from constructing isolated, multiple-user, taller towers, in random locations throughout the township, which will thereby create a negative visual impact. All of the following subsections are conditions of this conditional use:
A.
Location criteria.
(2)
Stealth technology and monopoles are encouraged in all installations to reduce visual impact.
(3)
To minimize the height and visual negative impact of towers throughout the community, owners and users of towers, antennas and related facilities are required to construct and configure these structures in such a way as to minimize the perceived adverse visual impact of towers and antennas through careful design, siting, and landscape screening.
B.
Telecommunications towers, equipment and facilities are permitted conditional uses, subject to the following conditions.
(1)
Site location analysis. Every application for a telecommunications tower or antenna shall include a site location alternative analysis, including an analysis of the location priorities set forth in Subsection A of this section, describing the locations of other sites considered, the availability of those sites, the extent to which other sites do or do not meet the provider's service or engineering needs and the reason why the subject site was chosen. The analysis shall address the following issues:
(a)
How the proposed location of the wireless telecommunication tower or antenna relates to the objective of providing full wireless communication services within the Montague area at the time full service is provided by the applicant and by other providers of wireless telecommunications services within the Montague area.
(b)
How the proposed location of the wireless telecommunications tower/facility relates to the location of any existing antennas or towers within or near the Montague area.
(c)
How the proposed location of the wireless telecommunications tower/facility relates to the anticipated need for additional antennas or towers within and near the Montague area by the applicant, and by other providers of wireless telecommunications services within the Montague area.
(d)
How the proposed location of the wireless telecommunications tower/facility relates to the objective and goal of maintaining concealed or reduced tower height with groups of towers within close proximity to one another rather than isolated, taller towers with many users at greater tower heights at random locations throughout the township.
(2)
Existing structures.
(a)
Nonmunicipal structures. Towers or antennas meeting the zone requirements are permitted in all highway commercial zones provided they are concealed in existing lawful structures.
(b)
Towers or antennas may also be located on power transmission line systems such as pylons provided they satisfy the stealth requirements.
(3)
New wireless freestanding telecommunications towers, equipment and facilities. For towers which do not satisfy criteria of subsections B(2)(a) and (b) above:
(a)
Lot size. The minimum lot size is to be calculated based upon the lot having sufficient dimensions such that in the event that the proposed tower should fall, the tower would lay entirely within the applicant's lot.
(b)
Maximum height. No tower shall exceed a height of 120 feet, including any antennas.
[Amended 12-9-08 by Ord. No. 2008-09]
(c)
Setback distances. For safety reasons concerning tower fall zones and further to insure that appropriate setbacks exist, a telecommunications tower and related facilities must be set back a sufficient distance from all lot lines so that if the tower falls it would fall entirely within the property.
(d)
Buffers. Tower locations shall comply with any buffering required for lots adjacent to residential zones or uses.
(e)
Visual compatibility requirements and construction details. Monopole tower construction shall be preferred in all new tower construction. Additionally, applicants are encouraged to use the latest stealth or camouflaging techniques to make the tower appear to be a tree of native species and to blend in with surrounding trees. All towers shall be fitted with the anti-climbing devices.
(4)
Telecommunications tower permitted accessory structures or uses.
(a)
Accessory equipment sheds. All equipment sheds shall be located immediately adjacent to the tower serviced by that equipment shed. All equipment sheds and tower bases shall be enclosed with a screening fence of at least seven feet in height, but no higher than eight feet unless otherwise approved by the Township Engineer. All fences shall include a locking security gate and a copy of the key to this gate shall be supplied to the township.
(5)
General conditions applying to all towers and antennas.
(a)
Noise Levels. All noise generated by a tower and/or the equipment shed shall meet the minimum standards contained in all State, Federal or local noise regulations.
(b)
Provision of access for Municipal Rescue Squad and Fire Department Antennas. Where possible, the applicant will provide access on its tower for antennas for use by the municipality, a rescue squad, the Fire Department and the like.
(c)
Colocation; conditions and limitations. Any new tower or reconstructed tower approvals shall allow the future colocation as set forth in this section. Colocation by two or more telecommunications providers shall be permitted on one tower provided that by colocating, all conditions of this section are satisfied.
[1]
In the event that there is to be a colocation, the owner or company proposing a colocation must obtain an approval from the appropriate land use board pursuant to this section.
[2]
In the event any colocation is proposed, a letter of commitment shall be filed by the applicant to lease excess space on the tower to other potential users at prevailing market rates and conditions. The letter of commitment shall be recorded prior to the issuance of a building permit and shall be binding upon the tower owner, property owner and successors in interest.
(d)
Annual report. Upon the issuance of a building permit for a wireless telecommunication tower site, the owner or operator of the site shall provide to the Township Engineer, Township Planner, and Township Zoning Officer, an initial report signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer, certifying the estimated use and structural life of the tower, as well as providing an initial inventory of all equipment and antennas on the site. After 50% of the structural life is elapsed, annual recertification reports as to the structural integrity of the tower shall be required. An updated report shall also be provided whenever antennas are raised or modified and shall include a detailed listing of all antennas and equipment. All vendors and lessees shall also be required to notify the above Montague Township officials when the use of such antennas or equipment is discontinued. If any of the reports disclose that a condition of the tower presents an imminent hazard to the public health, safety or welfare, or that the tower, antennas or equipment are no longer in use, the owner shall, and the Township Engineer or Zoning Officer may order, in their discretion, the removal of the tower to protect the public health, safety and welfare. Wireless telecommunications towers and sites shall be maintained to ensure continued structural integrity. The owner of the tower shall also perform such other maintenance of the structure and of the site so as to ensure that it does not create a visual nuisance.
(e)
Additional municipal experts. The Reviewing Board reserves the right to retain, at the applicant's expense, any technical consultants as it deems necessary to provide assistance in the review of site location alternatives, analysis and specifications. By submitting an application for a wireless telecommunications tower or facility, the applicant is deemed to have consented to this procedure.
(f)
Abandonment and removal. Any antenna or tower that is not operated for a continuous period of six months shall be considered abandoned, and the owner of such antenna or tower shall remove the same within 90 days of receipt of notice from the Township of Montague notifying the owner of such abandonment. Towers that are rendered obsolete or outdated by advances in technology shall be removed or modified. Failure to remove an obsolete, outdated or abandoned antenna or tower within said 90 days shall be grounds for the township to require removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense. If there are two or more users of a single tower, then this provision shall not become effective until all users cease using the tower or same is deemed obsolete or outdated by the township. The township shall condition the issuance of any permit to construct a tower or antenna on the posting of an appropriate performance bond or other suitable guarantee in a face amount of not less than 120% of the cost to remove the tower and restore the property as determined by the Township Engineer for such construction as required under all applicable township ordinances.
(g)
Signs prohibited. No signs shall be permitted on either the tower or equipment building, except for those signs required by law or containing such information as owner contact information, warnings. These signs shall not exceed two square feet in total area. Absolutely no commercial advertising shall be permitted on any wireless telecommunications tower or equipment building.
(h)
Lighting. No lighting is permitted except as follows:
(1)
The equipment building and compound may have security and safety lighting at the entrance, provided the lighting is attached to the facility, is focused downward and is wired with a timing device and/or sensor so that the light is turned off when not needed for safety or security purposes.
(2)
Lighting may be installed on the tower provided that such lighting complies with F.A.A. requirements.
(i)
Multiple towers and uses. Any prohibition contained in any ordinance restricting the number of principal uses per lot shall not apply to the construction of wireless telecommunications towers and facilities when the conditions contained in this section are met. The minimum setback distance between structures shall not apply to PCS ("Personal Communications Systems") providers and those providers who are licensed to transmit within the 800 MHz frequency band.
(j)
Site plan approval. Site plan approval shall be required for any wireless telecommunications tower, equipment or facilities.
(k)
Additional municipal experts. The Planning or Zoning Board, as the case may be, reserves the right to retain, at the applicant's expense, any technical consultants as it deems necessary to provide assistance in the review of site location alternatives analysis and specifications. By submitting an application for a telecommunications tower or facility, the applicant is deemed to have consented to this procedure.
C.
Fee schedule.
(1)
Application fees.
(a)
If no new tower is proposed:
Application fee - $1,000.
Review fee - $2,000.
(b)
For new tower construction:
Application fee - $3,000.
Review fee - $5,000.
It is the intent of the fee ordinance that the fee provided herein is comprehensive and there will be no separate fee charged for site plan review.