Raritan City Zoning Code

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

The goals of this article are to:

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

This article further seeks to comply with the mandate of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. § 332(c) et seq., which preserves local government authority to reasonably regulate but not prohibit or discriminate among cellular and other wireless telecommunications services and facilities, to enforce zoning requirements that protect public safety, public and private property and community aesthetics.

This article expressly recognizes that wireless telecommunications facilities are not inherently beneficial uses and that the facility use must be particularly suited for the proposed site.

New towers and antennas. All new towers or antennas in the Borough of Raritan shall be subject to these regulations, except as provided below in Subsections C through E, inclusive.

Buildings and support equipment facilities. Buildings and support equipment facilities associated with antennas or towers shall comply with the requirements of § 207-172. Buildings and support equipment clearly related to the use of antennas shall be considered accessory structures.

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.

Preexisting towers or antennas. Preexisting towers and preexisting antennas shall not be required to meet the requirements of this article, other than the requirements of § 207-168G, H, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q and R, § 207-173 and § 207-174, absent any enlargement or structural modification or the addition of any structures.

Satellite dish antennas. This article shall not govern any parabolic satellite antennas.

Principal or accessory use. Antennas and towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses. Notwithstanding any other Borough land development 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.

Need for antenna/towers. Each applicant shall submit documentary evidence by a licensed professional in the State of New Jersey regarding the need for the antenna and/or tower, which information shall identify the existing wireless network layout and existing coverage areas to demonstrate the need for the facility at a particular location within the Borough. The evidence shall include a radio frequency engineering analysis of the search area for the antenna and/or tower.

Inventory of existing sites. Each applicant for an antenna and/or tower shall provide to the approving authority an inventory of all existing towers and antennas, or sites approved for towers or antennas, including the applicant's antennas or towers, that are within the jurisdiction of the Borough of Raritan and within two miles of the proposed antenna and/or tower site, including specific information about the location, height and design of each tower. The Zoning Officer may share such information with other applicants applying for administrative approvals or permits under this article or other organizations seeking to locate antennas within the jurisdiction of the Borough of Raritan; provided, however, that the Zoning Officer is not, by sharing such information, in any way representing or warranting that such sites are available or suitable. The applicant shall also identify the entities providing the backhaul network for the antenna and/or tower described in the application and other cellular sites owned or operated by the applicant in the municipality.

A scaled site plan that includes the following information shall be submitted with all applications:

Aesthetics. Towers and antennas shall meet the following requirements:

Visual study. Each applicant shall submit photographic or topographic plans such as balloon or crane tests, depicting where, within a one-mile radius, any portion of the proposed antenna and/or tower could be seen. At its discretion, the approving authority may require the applicant to conduct a balloon test, crane test or similar test at the applicant's expense. If required, such test shall be scheduled with the approving authority for a time which is convenient to its members and the public and which will be sufficiently in advance so as to allow adequate notification of the public.

Security fencing. Towers shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than eight feet in height, and the towers shall be equipped with appropriate anti-climbing measures.

Landscaping. The following requirements shall govern the landscaping surrounding towers:

Height. The maximum height of new towers shall be:

Fees and escrows. A nonrefundable application fee and an escrow deposit shall be made as follows:

Lighting. Towers shall not be artificially lighted, unless required by the FAA. It is the intent of the Borough that towers shall not exceed FAA height standards that would require lighting. If lighting is required, the lighting alternatives and design chosen must cause the least disturbance to the surrounding views.

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 six months 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 within 30 days shall mean that the Borough may avail itself of any and all legal or equitable remedies, including the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense or revocation of the certificate of occupancy.

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, as amended from time to time. If, upon inspection, the Borough of Raritan 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 towers and antennas into compliance with such codes and standards within 30 days shall mean that the Borough may avail itself of any and all legal or equitable remedies, including the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense or revocation of the certificate of occupancy.

Not essential services or inherently beneficial uses. Towers and antennas shall be regulated and permitted pursuant to this article and shall not be regulated or permitted as inherently beneficial uses, essential services, public utilities or private utilities.

Franchises. Owners and/or operators of towers or antennas shall certify that all franchises required by law for the construction and/or operation of a wireless communications system in the Borough of Raritan have been obtained and shall file with its application a copy of all required franchises with the Zoning Officer.

Signs. No signs shall be allowed on an antenna or tower.

Buildings and support equipment facilities. Buildings and support equipment facilities associated with antennas or towers shall also comply with the requirements of § 207-173.

Multiple antenna/tower plan. The Borough of Raritan mandates the users of towers and antennas to co-locate antennas where technically, practically and economically feasible. Applications for approval of co-location sites shall be given priority in the review process.

Compliance with radiation emission standards. The applicant shall demonstrate that the proposed antenna and related structures and equipment comply with all applicable state and federal regulations of electromagnetic radiation levels. Thereafter, at least every two years after issuance of the initial certificate of occupancy, the applicant shall demonstrate that the antenna and related structures and equipment continue to comply with such applicable regulations.

The applicant shall submit the wireless antenna/tower checklist set forth in the appendix.[1]

Antennas or towers located on property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Borough of Raritan are permitted uses. To the extent the bidding requirements of the Local Public Contracts Law of the State of New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 40A:11-1 et seq.) and/or the requirements of the Local Lands and Building Law of the State of New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 40A:12-1 et seq.) are applicable, the Borough of Raritan shall comply with same. The Borough, in its absolute discretion, reserves the express right to deny all use of its property for antennas or towers. Preexisting towers and antennas are exempt from the application of this subsection.

Any antenna which is not attached to a tower is a permitted use (not a conditional use) and may be attached to any existing business, industrial, office or institutional structure located in the B-3 Zone, provided that:

List of conditional uses. The following uses may be approved by the applicable approving authority as conditional uses:

Availability of permitted sites, suitable existing towers, other structures or alternative technology. No new tower shall be permitted as a conditional use under this article unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the approving authority that no permitted site or existing tower structure, or no alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures, can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. An applicant shall submit information requested by the approving authority related to the availability of permitted sites, suitable existing towers, other structures and alternative technology. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no permitted site, suitable existing tower structure or alternative technology can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna may consist of any of the following:

Future towers or antennas. No new tower shall be permitted as a conditional use unless the applicant sets forth a description of the feasible location(s) of future towers or antennas for the applicant within the Borough of Raritan based upon existing physical, engineering, technological and geographical limitations in the event that the proposed antenna and/or tower is erected.

Setbacks. The following setback requirements shall apply to all towers:

Separation. The following separation requirements shall apply to all towers:

Antennas mounted on structures or rooftops. The equipment cabinet or structure used in association with antennas shall comply with the following:

For antennas located on towers, the related unmanned equipment structure shall not contain more than 200 square feet of gross floor area or be more than 10 feet in height and shall be located in accordance with the minimum accessory structure requirements of the zoning district in which located.

Structures or cabinets shall be screened from view of all properties which abut or are directly across the street from the structure or cabinet by a security fence eight feet in height or an evergreen hedge with an ultimate height of eight feet and a planted height of at least six feet.

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 Borough of Raritan 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 Borough 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.

The Borough may condition the issuance of any permit to construct a tower or antenna on the posting of an appropriate performance bond or other suitable guaranty in a face amount of not less than 120% of the cost to remove the tower and restore the property as determined by the Borough Engineer for such construction as required under all applicable Borough ordinances.