Ocean Township Ocean County
City Zoning Code

The purpose of this article is to establish guidelines for the siting of wireless telecommunications towers, antennas and ancillary facilities. The goals of this article are to:

In furtherance of these purposes, the Township shall give due consideration to the Township's Master Plan, Zoning Map, existing land uses, and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas.

New towers and antennas. All new telecommunications towers or antennas in the Township shall be subject to these regulations.

Preexisting towers or antennas. Preexisting telecommunications towers and preexisting antennas shall not be required to meet the requirements of this article, other than the requirements of §§ 410-72 and 410-73, absent any enlargement or structural modification or the addition of any antenna.

District height limitations. The requirements set forth in this article shall govern the location of telecommunications towers that exceed, and antennas that are installed at a height in excess of, the height limitations specified for each zoning district.

Public property. Antennas or towers located on property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Township shall be encouraged, provided a license or lease authorizing such antenna or tower has been approved by resolution by the governing authority. Such approved publicly owned sites utilized for the purpose of constructing towers and/or antennas shall be treated as engaging in a conditional use under this article.

Amateur radio station operators/receive-only antennas. This article shall not govern any tower, or the installation of any antenna, that is under 70 feet in height and is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or is used exclusively for receive-only antennas.

Satellite dish antennas. This article shall not govern any parabolic dish antennas used for transmission or reception of radio signals associated with satellites.

Principal or accessory use. Telecommunications antennas and towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses. Notwithstanding any other Township land use regulation, a different existing structure on the same lot shall not preclude the installation of an antenna or tower on such lot. If a tower and its appurtenant structures constitute the sole use of the lot, the tower shall be deemed to be the principal use.

Lot size. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a tower or antenna complies with zone development regulations, including but not limited to setback requirements, lot-coverage requirements and other such requirements, the dimensions of the entire lot shall control, even though the antennas or towers may be located or leased parcels within such lot.

State or federal requirements. All towers 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 and antennas. If such standards and regulations are changed, then the owners of the towers and antennas governed by this article shall bring such towers and antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations within 90 days 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 towers and antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense.

Building codes; safety standards. To ensure the structural integrity of towers, the owner of a tower 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 by the Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Association, as amended from time to time. If, upon inspection, the Township concludes 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 the 30 days shall constitute grounds for the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense.

Nonessential services. Telecommunications towers and antennas shall be regulated and permitted pursuant to this article and shall not be regulated or permitted as services, public utilities, or private utilities.

Co-location required. The Township mandates that owners co-locate antennas on towers and other structures whenever possible. See § 410-69 for co-location requirements.

Conditional use. All telecommunications facilities in the Township shall be conditional uses in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40:55D-67.

Site plan required. Site plan approval shall be required for all new telecommunications facilities in the Township including modifications to or addition of new telecommunications facilities to preexisting towers, buildings or other structures.

Conditional use. Wireless telecommunications facilities are permitted as conditional uses:

Conditional use standards. Wireless telecommunications facilities may be permitted on the above reference lands, provided that:

Factors considered in granting conditional use permits. In addition to the above standards, the Planning Board shall consider the following factors in determining whether to issue a conditional use permit:

New towers.

Antennas mounted on existing structures or rooftops.

Antennas on existing towers. An antenna may be attached to a preexisting tower in a nonresidential zone and to minimize adverse visual impacts associated with the proliferation and clustering of towers, co-location of antennas by more than one carrier on existing towers shall take precedence over the construction of new towers, provided such co-location is accomplished in a manner consistent with the following:

Co-location on water towers or standpipes.

The Township requires that licensed carriers share personal wireless service facilities and sites where feasible and appropriate, thereby reducing the number of personal wireless service facilities that are standalone facilities. All applicants for site plan approval for a personal wireless service facility shall demonstrate a good faith effort to co-locate with other carriers. Such good-faith effort includes:

In the event that co-location is found to be not technically feasible, a written statement of the reasons for the infeasibility shall be submitted to the Township. The Township 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 Township may deny approval to an applicant that has not demonstrated a good-faith effort to provide for co-location.

If the applicant does intend to co-locate or to permit co-location, plans and elevation, which show the ultimate appearance and operation of the personal wireless facility at full build-out shall be submitted.

The first priority shall be an existing tower or an existing or proposed water tower or standpipe owned by either a public or private utility within or near the Township.

The second priority shall be new towers on lands owned by the Township and Ocean Township Municipal Utilities Authority or other public entity.

In order to provide proper evidence that any proposed location of wireless telecommunications antennas (and any supporting tower and/or ancillary building enclosing related electronic equipment) has been planned to result in the fewest number of towers within the Township at the time full service is provided by the applicant throughout the Township, the applicant shall submit a comprehensive service plan. The comprehensive service plan shall indicate how the applicant proposes to provide full service throughout the Township, and to the greatest extent possible, the service plan shall also indicate how the applicant's plan is coordinated with the needs of all other providers of telecommunication services within the Township. The comprehensive service plan shall indicate the following:

A scaled site plan clearly indicating the location, type and height of the proposed tower, on-site land uses and zoning, adjacent land uses and zoning (including when adjacent to other municipalities), and all properties within the applicable fall zone, adjacent roadways, proposed means of access, setbacks from property lines, elevation drawings of the proposed tower and any other structure, topography, parking and other information deemed by the approving authority to be necessary to assess compliance with this article.

Legal description of the entire tract and leased parcel (if applicable).

The setback distance between the proposed tower and the nearest residential unit and residentially zoned properties.

The separation distance from other towers and antennas.

A landscape plan showing specific landscape materials including, but not limited to, species type, size, spacing and existing vegetation to be removed or retained.

Method of fencing and finished color and, if applicable, the method of camouflage.

A description of compliance with all applicable federal, state or local laws.

A notarized statement by the applicant as to whether construction of the tower will accommodate co-location of additional antennas for future users.

Identification of the entities providing the backhaul network for the tower(s) described in the application and other telecommunication sites owned or operated by the applicant in the Township.

A letter of commitment to lease excess space to other potential users at prevailing market rates and conditions. The letter of commitment shall be in form suitable for recording with the County Clerk prior to the issuance of any permit and shall commit the tower owner(s), property owner(s) and their successors in interest.

A visual impact study containing, at a minimum, a photographic simulation showing the appearance of the proposed tower, antennas, and ancillary facilities from at least five points within a three-mile radius. Such points shall be chosen by the carrier with review and approval by the Planning Board planning consultant to ensure that various potential views are represented.

An analysis of the RFR levels at the facility as a means of assessing compliance with the FCC RF safety criteria. This analysis shall:

After the wireless telecommunications facility is operational, the applicant shall submit, within 90 days of beginning operations, and at annual intervals from the date of issuance of the building permit, existing measurements shall be signed and certified by a RF engineer, stating that RFR measurements are accurate and meet FCC Guidelines as specified in the radio frequency standards section of this bylaw.

The applicant and coapplicant 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.

At such time that a licensed carrier plans to abandon or discontinue operation of a personal wireless service facility, the carrier shall notify the Township Clerk by certified U.S. Mail of the proposed date of abandonment or discontinuation of operations. Notice 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, the wireless telecommunications facility shall be considered abandoned upon discontinuation of operations.

Upon abandonment or discontinuation of use, at the option of the Township, the carrier shall physically remove the personal wireless service within 90 days from the date of abandonment or discontinuation of use. "Physically remove" shall include, but not be limited to:

If a carrier fails to remove a personal wireless service facility in accordance with this section, the Township shall have the authority to enter the subject property and physically remove the facility. The Planning Board will require the applicant to post a bond at the time of approval to cover costs for the removal of the personal wireless service facility in the event that the Township must remove the facility.