Potter Township Centre County
City Zoning Code
City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XII
Communications Towers and Antennas
§ 220-104 Definitions.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any structure or device used for the purpose of collecting or transmitting electromagnetic waves including, but not limited to, directional antennas such as panels, microwave dishes and satellite dishes, and omnidirectional antennas, such as whip antennas.
A telecommunication facility consists of equipment, buildings and structures involved in transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves.
The building in which electronic receiving and relay equipment for a telecommunications tower is housed.
Any ground-mounted structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas for telephone, radio and similar communication purposes, including self-supporting lattice towers or monopole towers; and includes radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, and cellular telephone towers. The term includes the structure and any support thereto. Not included are towers and supportive structures on residential dwellings for private noncommercial, amateur purposes including but not limited to ham radios and citizen band radios that are regulated by the regulations in each respective residential district.
§ 220-105 Specific intent.
In addition to the general goals of zoning listed in § 220-2, it is the purpose of this article to achieve the following:
A.
To provide a competitive and wide range of telecommunications services while minimizing the impacts of the telecommunications infrastructure in populated areas.
B.
To encourage and maximize the shared use of existing telecommunication towers, buildings and structures.
C.
To ensure that new towers will be safe, placed in suitable locations and blend into the environment where located.
§ 220-106 Review and permitting.
A.
All applications for the location, subdivision, lease and licensing of sites for all new telecommunications facility buildings and towers are subject to the requirements of the County's Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance and the Township's Zoning Ordinance and are subject to review by the Planning Commission and approval by the Board of Supervisors.
B.
Telecommunications facilities that cease to operate or have not operated for 12 consecutive months shall be determined to have terminated operation and been abandoned and must be removed within 90 days at the expense of the owner of the facility/tower and/or property owners.
C.
Legally preexisting towers and antennas will not be required to meet the following requirements unless specifically indicated.
§ 220-107 Location, area and bulk requirements.
B.
The maximum height of telecommunications towers shall be 250 feet, measured from the average natural grade of the approved facility area to the top point of the tower or antenna, whichever is greater.
C.
The minimum setback of telecommunications towers shall be as required in the applicable zoning district, except for the following: No telecommunications tower shall be located closer than 200 feet or 110% of the proposed telecommunications tower height, whichever is greater, from any existing residence or residential lot line, regardless of the zoning district in which the tower and associated buildings are located.
D.
Minimum lease area and/or license area size of telecommunications facilities. No minimum lease area and/or license area size is required for a telecommunications facility; however, as required in the applicable zoning district and Subsection C above, the setbacks of the parent tract perimeter boundaries shall apply.
E.
Evidence of need for towers.
(1)
It is required that the applicant for the placement of a telecommunications tower shall submit to the Township evidence of the need for the telecommunications tower in the proposed location and that the applicant has exhausted all alternatives to locate on an existing tower or structure.
(2)
In addition, the applicant must demonstrate via written evidence or testimony from a qualified, licensed and professional engineer that, in terms of location and construction, there are not existing towers, telecommunications towers, buildings, structures, elevated tanks or similar uses able to provide the platform for the telecommunications antenna within a one-mile radius of the chosen location. Co-location is not possible if:
(a)
Coverage diagrams and technical reports demonstrate that co-location on existing telecommunications towers is not technically possible in order to serve the need; and planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing telecommunications towers within the municipality, considering existing and planned use of those telecommunications towers, and existing telecommunications towers cannot be reinforced to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment as a reasonable cost;
(b)
Planned equipment will cause radio frequency (RF) interference with other existing or planned equipment for that telecommunications tower, and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost;
(c)
Existing or approved telecommunications towers do not have the space on which planned equipment can be placed so it can function effectively and at least in parity with other similar equipment in place or planned; or
(d)
Other reasons make it impractical to place the equipment planned by the applicant on existing and approved telecommunications towers.
F.
Telecommunications antennas (shared use). Telecommunications antennas may be attached to any building or structure in all zoning districts, including but not limited to a church, a municipal or governmental building or facility, an agricultural building, a building owned by a utility, telecommunications tower, water tank and major electrical transmission lines, pursuant to the following:
(1)
Antennas shall not be permitted on single-family homes, town homes and duplexes.
(2)
Building and zoning permits shall be required.
(3)
Antennas shall be no taller than 15 feet above the existing structure, except for towers. For towers, antennas shall not exceed the height of the tower.
(4)
Antennas shall be architecturally compatible with the existing structure.
§ 220-108 Design and construction.
A.
Any proposed telecommunications tower shall be designed, structurally, electrically and in all respects, to accommodate both the applicant's antennas and comparable antennas for at least three additional users. Towers must be designed to allow for future rearrangement of antennas upon the tower and to accept antennas mounted at varying heights, including antennas for all.
B.
The telecommunications tower shall be designed and constructed to all applicable standards of the American National Standards Institute, ANSI/EIA-222-F Manual, as amended.
C.
A soil report complying with the standards of the Geotechnical Investigations, ANSI/EIA-222-E Manual, as amended, shall be submitted to the municipality to document and verify design specifications of the foundation for the telecommunications tower.
D.
Telecommunications towers shall be designed and constructed to withstand wind gusts of at least 100 miles per hour.
E.
The applicant shall present proof that the telecommunications tower is designed in accordance with all applicable state and federal regulations.
F.
No guy wires shall be used in construction.
G.
The applicant shall annually present a certificate of insurance evidencing general liability coverage in the minimum amount of $1,000,000 per occurrence and property damage coverage in a minimum of $1,000,000 per occurrence covering both tower and antennas.
H.
The applicant shall provide, upon request, a statement from a qualified, licensed professional engineer that the NIER (Nonionizing Electromagnetic Radiation) emitted from the telecommunications tower, when measured in conjunction with the emissions from all communication facilities on the tower, does not result in an exposure at any point on or outside such facility which exceeds the lowest applicable exposure standards established by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
I.
Except as required by the Federal Aviation Administration, no telecommunications tower may use artificial lighting or strobe lighting at night.
J.
Upon request, the applicant shall provide to the municipality, not more than once per year, information indicating that the approved telecommunications tower or antenna remains structurally sound. The applicant shall bear the costs of any inspection necessary to determine the structural soundness of a telecommunication tower or antenna.
K.
All federal, state and municipal environmental regulations regarding the placement of telecommunications facilities must be followed in the design, review and construction processes.
L.
Telecommunications facilities shall be fully automated and unattended on a daily basis. The site shall be visited only for necessary maintenance, repairs or attachment of antennas.
§ 220-109 Fencing and screening of facilities.
A.
A security fence (including security wiring) of eight feet in height shall completely enclose the telecommunications facility.
B.
The applicant shall submit a landscaping plan. Sites in which telecommunications towers are located shall be required to comply with the following landscaping requirements:
(1)
Landscaping and planting shall be provided for a minimum depth of 15 feet along all public rights-of-way abutting the lot where the telecommunications tower is located.
(2)
Landscaping, consisting of sight-obscuring trees and shrubs, shall be required at the perimeter of the security fences and the telecommunications facility. Existing wooded areas, tree lines and hedgerows adjacent to the facility shall be preserved as much as possible and used to substitute or meet a portion of the buffer yard requirements.
§ 220-110 Access and parking.
A.
The applicant must demonstrate on the land development plan that parked vehicles at the facility will not impede traffic on the adjoining cartways.
B.
Internal access to the telecommunications tower shall be provided by a minimum twelve-foot-wide cartway and shall be a mud-free gravel surface. The vehicular access to the telecommunications tower and telecommunications facility building shall meet the applicable street standards of Chapter 177 for private streets and/or driveways.
§ 220-111 Signs.
Signs for telecommunications facilities shall conform to the requirements of Chapter 163, Signs. In addition, the following requirements shall apply:
A.
No advertising shall be permitted on towers and/or fence.
B.
An emergency information sign of no more than two square feet in sign area and bearing no commercial advertising shall be mounted on the gate of any fenced facility area and shall include emergency telephone numbers.
C.
A sign indicating "Restricted Area — Keep Out" shall be mounted on the gate or entrance of any fenced facility and on all other sides.