Plainsboro Township
City Zoning Code

The purpose of this article is to establish guidelines for the siting of wireless telecommunications towers and 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.

Existing towers or antennas. Existing telecommunications towers and/or antennas shall not be required to meet the requirements of this article other than the requirements of §§ 101-231 and 101-232. However, where any enlargement of a tower and/or additional antennas are proposed, the requirements of § 101-227 shall apply as feasible and practical as determined by the Planning Board.

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. Towers and antennas located on property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Township shall be encouraged where the Planning Board deems such location to be appropriate for such facility and the Township Committee has approved a license or lease authorizing such facility.

Amateur radio station operators/receive-only antennas. This article shall not govern any tower, or the installation of any antenna, that is under 50 feet in height and is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or is under 50 feet in height and is used exclusively for receive only antennas.

Satellite dish antennas. This article shall not govern parabolic dish antennas measuring two feet or less in diameter or when used solely for household purposes for the transmission or reception of electromagnetic waves associated with satellites.

Principal or accessory use. Notwithstanding any other Land Use Regulation, an existing building(s) and use on a lot shall not preclude the installation of a telecommunications tower (including appurtenant structures) and/or antenna on the same lot. If such tower and/or antenna constitute the sole use of the lot, then such use shall be deemed the principal use of the lot; otherwise, the use shall be considered accessory.

Leased area. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a tower or antenna complies with zone 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 on 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 established by the controlling state or federal agency. Failure to bring towers and antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations, where mandated to do so, 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 that a tower fails to comply with such codes and standards and constitutes 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 said 30 days shall constitute grounds for the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense.

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

Collocation required. The Township mandates that carriers collocate antennas on towers and other structures whenever possible. See § 101-228 for collocation requirements.

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 existing towers, buildings or other structures.

Permitted use. Wireless telecommunications facilities are permitted in the following areas of the Township:

Prohibited use. Wireless telecommunications facilities are prohibited on all lands used for public and private schools and on all lands located in the R-85, R-90, R-200, R-300, R-350, VR-1, VR-2, VC, SR, NB, OB-1, ECA, and Cemetery Zones.

Permitted use standards. Wireless telecommunications facilities may be permitted on lands identified in § 101-226A, provided that:

General review standards. In addition to the above standards, the Planning Board may consider the following factors in its review of a site plan for a proposed telecommunications tower:

New towers.

Antennas mounted on existing buildings or structures.

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

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 stand-alone facilities. All applicants for site plan approval for a personal wireless service facility shall demonstrate best efforts to collocate with other carriers. Such best efforts shall include:

In the event that collocation is found to be not technically feasible, a written statement of the reasons for the unfeasibility shall be submitted to the Township. The Township may retain a technical expert in the field of RF engineering to verify if collocation is feasible. 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 best efforts to provide for collocation.

If the applicant does intend to collocate or to permit collocation, plans and elevations, which show the ultimate appearance and operation of the personal wireless service facility at full build-out shall be submitted.

The first priority shall be on existing telecommunications towers, existing water towers or standpipes, high-voltage lines support towers, or railroad right-of-way catenary structures, located within or near the Township and owned by either a public or private utility, a railroad corporation, or the Township or other municipality.

The second priority shall be on existing nonresidential buildings and structures in the PMUD and I-100 Zones.

The third priority shall be on existing nonresidential buildings and structures in all other permitted zones.

The fourth priority shall be on new telecommunications towers on lands owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Township.

Comprehensive service plan. In order to provide proper evidence that any proposed location for a new wireless telecommunications facility (including supporting tower, antennas, and/or ancillary buildings 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 application shall submit a comprehensive service plan. Said comprehensive service plan shall indicate how the applicant proposes to provide full service throughout the Township and, to the greatest extent possible, said service plan shall also indicate how the applicant's plan is coordinated with the needs of all other providers of telecommunications services both within and near 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 proposed structure, topography, parking and other information deemed by the Planning Board 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 property line and dwelling unit.

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 collocation of additional antennas for other carriers, with an estimate as to the total number of collocations possible.

Identification of the entities providing the back-haul network for the tower(s) described in the application and other telecommunications 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 a 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 with at least three antenna arrays attached thereto, in addition to any visible ancillary facilities, as viewed from at least eight locations within a one to three mile radius of a proposed tower, taken from locations within the Township where such tower will be most visible. Such locations shall be chosen by the carrier with review and approval by the Planning Board or designee to ensure that various potential views are represented.

During the public hearing process, at the request of the Planning Board, the applicant shall schedule a crane or balloon test in order to provide members of the Board and the general public the opportunity to view a crane or balloon at the location and height of the proposed tower.

An analysis of the RFR levels at the facility as a means of assessing compliance with the FCC's RE 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 of RFR from the wireless telecommunications facility. Such measurements shall be signed and certified by a RF engineer, stating that RFR measurements are accurate and meet current FCC guidelines.

The applicant and coapplicant, as applicable, 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, such carrier shall notify the Township Clerk by certified U.S. mail of the proposed date of abandonment or discontinuation of operations. Such 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 facility 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 the Township must remove the facility.