Paramus City Zoning Code

The purpose of these regulations for the siting of wireless telecommunications towers and antennas is to:

In furtherance of these goals, the Borough of Paramus shall give due consideration to the recommendation of the Borough Master Plan, Zoning Map, existing land uses and impact upon residential areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas.

A radio frequency report indicating the need for their facility at the proposed location;

Visual simulations of the proposal;

If the application requests approval of a generator, it shall include a noise report by a qualified noise expert; and

An inventory of the applicant's existing towers or sites approved for wireless telecommunications facilities that are either within the jurisdiction of the Borough of Paramus or within three miles of the proposed site within the State of New Jersey.

Application for antennas to be affixed to an existing structure: application fee $2,500; escrow required $3,500.

Application fee for new towers for telecommunications: $3,500; escrow required $5,000.

Antennas shall not be permitted in any residential zoning district;

All Rooftop Antennas and Antenna Structures installed on buildings within the Borough of Paramus shall have a stealth design, the purpose of which is to reduce the likelihood of detection and have the least visual impact from all street rights-of-way and adjacent properties (this can be accomplished through the use of materials, colors or design of the Antenna);

All Rooftop Antennas and Antenna Structures that are attached to a roof shall be sited near the center of the roof if the roof is flat, or if the roof is pitched, a Rooftop Antenna and Antenna Structure shall be integrated with elements of the roof design so as to minimize visibility from the street, rights-of-way and adjacent properties. All equipment related to the Rooftop Antenna and/or Antenna Structure shall be set back from the building façade for a distance greater than or equal to the total height of the equipment (excluding Whip Antenna);

All Rooftop Antennas and Antenna Structures shall be fully concealed with architectural screening that matches the color, texture and quality of the building, with the exception of Whip Antennas which may be visible. If an Antenna or Distributed Antenna System (DAS) (also referred to as a microcell, booster or repeater antenna system) is installed on a structure other than a Tower, the Antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a 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;

All architectural screening shall be constructed of materials that match those used on the exterior of the building or with materials of similar texture. In lieu of screening, Antennas and Antenna Structures may be colored to match the exterior of the building or architecturally designed to complement the details of the building if it can be demonstrated that the Antennas and Antenna Structures alone would be less visually distinct from the building than architectural screening that would otherwise be required;

Any ground equipment for Rooftop Antennas shall provide landscape screening with materials that are capable of screening for the entire calendar year. A minimum of one row of evergreen shrubs or trees capable of forming a continuous hedge of at least six feet in height within two years of installation shall be provided around all freestanding Antennas or ground equipment;

For Rooftop Antennas and ground equipment related thereto, the setback distances in plain view shall be measured as a straight line from the nearest part of the Rooftop Antenna or ground equipment related thereto;

All ground equipment for Rooftop Antennas shall have a minimum front, side and rear setback requirement of twenty-five feet to any property line, unless a greater setback requirement is provided for herein;

No Rooftop Antennas or ground equipment related thereto shall be located less than fifty feet to the nearest residential zoning district;

No Rooftop Antennas or ground equipment related thereto shall be located less than one hundred feet to the nearest residence in a residential zoning district;

The existing structure shall be at least fifty feet in height;

The Antennas and the Antenna Structures shall be located at or near the top of the existing structure;

Notwithstanding the height limitations of the zoning district, the height of such antenna and related antenna structure above the ground shall not exceed the height of the existing structure above the ground in the location of the antenna by more than 10 feet (excluding whip antennas);

Antennas shall not exceed one meter in diameter;

There shall be no additional parking requirement due to a Telecommunications Facility;

There shall be no advertising of any kind, including but not limited to signage, on a Telecommunications Facility; and

There shall be no external lighting on a cellular facility other than that required by the FAA. If lighting is required, the lighting alternatives and design chosen must cause the least disturbance to the surrounding views.

Any new Monopoles shall be designed to use the most current stealth technology existing at the time of the submission of the application and shall be designed to reduce visual obtrusiveness;

No lattice-style Tower shall be permitted. Stealth Wireless Facility design is required;

No freestanding Tower or Antenna Structure shall exceed the height necessary in order to fill the gap in service shown by radio frequency experts and the report required under the checklist for Telecommunications Facilities;

Any Monopole shall be set back from the property line a distance equal to or greater than the height of the tower and antenna;

Any Antenna Structure, Equipment Shelter or Equipment Cabinet servicing the Tower or Antenna shall conform to the setback requirements otherwise applicable in the zone district or be set back at least twenty-five feet from the property line, whichever is greater. Equipment and/or Equipment Cabinets servicing telecommunications facilities shall be designed and painted to reduce visual obtrusiveness;

There shall be no additional parking requirement due to a Telecommunications Facility;

There shall be no advertising, including but not limited to signage, on a Telecommunications Facility;

There shall be no external lighting on a Telecommunications Facility other than that required by the FAA;

The applicant shall provide a letter of commitment, submitted prior to any approval by the Board, to lease excess space on the Telecommunications Facility to other telecommunications providers at reasonable rental rates and on reasonable terms. The letter shall commit the owner of the Telecommunication Facility and successors in interest. If the applicant provides proof that collocation would require additional antenna height that would create a visual detriment, then the reviewing board may waive the requirement of collocation;

Monopoles shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than six feet in height and not more than eight feet in height and shall be equipped with an appropriate anti-climbing device; provided, however, that the reviewing board may waive such requirements as it deems appropriate;

Landscaping.

Any new Monopole shall be located at a minimum distance from a residential zone of at least two times the proposed height of the Monopole. A one hundred foot Monopole should therefore be required to be at least two hundred feet from the border of a residential zone;

All proposed Antennas, any proposed new Monopole Telecommunications Facility and any proposed Equipment Shelter or Cabinet enclosing related electronic equipment must blend in with the surrounding area as far as practicable; and

Monopole Equipment Shelter or Cabinet facilities in the M-U Zone are subject to site plan approval of the Land Use Board.

Any Telecommunications Facility that is not operated for a continuous period of 12 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 Borough of Paramus notifying the owner of such abandonment; and

The applicant shall provide a performance bond and other assurances satisfactory to the Borough Attorney that will cause the Antennas, the supporting Tower, the ancillary Equipment Shelter or Cabinet enclosing related electronic equipment, and all other related improvements to the land to be removed, at no cost to the Borough.