Richmond Heights City Zoning Code
CHAPTER 1172
Wireless Telecommunication Tower Overlay District
1172.01 INTENT.
(a) The WTTO Wireless Telecommunication Tower Overlay District is established to provide for the construction and use of wireless telecommunication towers and facilities as a permitted use, conditional use, or accessory use depending upon the specific land areas of the City and circumstances in which they are proposed to be located. The purpose of this Overlay District is to balance the competing interests created by the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-104) and the interests of the City in regulating wireless telecommunication towers and related facilities for the following reasons: to provide for orderly development within the City; to protect property values; to maintain the aesthetic appearance of the City; to provide for and protect the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City; to protect residential properties, parks and open spaces from the adverse effects of towers and related facilities; to promote collocation of wireless telecommunication facilities in order to decrease the number of towers in the City; and to maintain, where possible, the integrity of the existing zoning regulations contained in the Zoning Code.
(b) The Wireless Telecommunication Tower Overlay District regulations shall control and supersede wherever they are inconsistent with other provisions of the Zoning Code. If no inconsistency exists between the provisions of this Overlay District and the provisions of the underlying zoning district, the underlying zoning district regulations and other provisions of this Zoning Code shall remain in full force and effect and shall regulate all land use and development.
(c) The Wireless Telecommunication Tower Overlay District establishes a hierarchy of acceptable land areas for location of wireless telecommunication towers and related facilities through the establishment of such use as a permitted use in certain land areas, as a conditional use in other land areas, or as an accessory use for erection of antennas only, which determination is dependent upon the location and characteristics of such land areas.
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)
1172.02 PERMITTED USES.
(a) Principally Permitted Uses. A wireless telecommunication tower facility may be permitted on any property owned or controlled by the City under such conditions, standards and regulations as deemed appropriate by action of the City Council.
(b) Conditionally Permitted Uses. A wireless telecommunication tower facility may be permitted in areas other than those areas set forth in subsection (a) hereof as a conditional use only in the areas indicated as a WTTO District on the Zone Map and upon the approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission, provided the applicant demonstrates compliance with each of the following standards, as well as the standards set forth in Section 1172.03 herein:
(1) There is no technically suitable space for the applicant's antenna(s) and related facilities reasonably available on an existing tower within the geographic area to be served, including the areas set forth in subsection (a). With the building permit application, the applicant shall list the location of every tower, building or structure and all of the areas set forth in subsection (a) that could support the proposed antenna(s) or area where it would be technically suitable to locate so as to allow it to serve its intended function. The applicant must demonstrate that a technically suitable location is not reasonably available on an existing tower, or a technically suitable location is not available in any area set forth in subsection (a). If another existing tower or an area set forth in subsection (a) is technically suitable, the applicant must demonstrate that it has requested to collocate on the existing tower and the collocation request was rejected by the owner of the tower, or that it has requested the City Council to permit it to locate a tower facility in all technically suitable area(s) set forth in Subsection (a) under reasonable terms and that each request was rejected. In all circumstances, owners of existing towers shall promptly respond in writing to requests for collocation, but in no event shall they respond more than thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of a written request for collocation. If another telecommunication tower is technically suitable, the applicant must further show that it has offered to allow the owner of that other tower to collocate an antenna(s) on another tower within the City which is owned or controlled by the applicant, if any, on reasonably reciprocal terms and the offer was not accepted.
(2) As a condition of issuing a conditional building permit to construct and operate a tower in the City, the owner/operator of the telecommunication tower is required to allow collocation until said tower has reached full antenna capacity, but in no event fewer than two (2) additional antenna platforms for two (2) additional wireless telecommunication antenna owners/operators unrelated to the owner/operator of the tower. Agreement to this provision must be included in the applicant's lease with the landowner, if different from the owner/operator of the tower. Written documentation must be presented to the Building Commissioner evidencing that the landowner of the property on which the tower is to be located has agreed to the terms of this subsection (b) as well as all other applicable requirements, regulations and standards set forth in this chapter.
(3) The color of the tower shall be as required by the Architectural Board of Review.
(c) Accessory Use. The erection or construction of a wireless telecommunication antenna(s) on an existing wireless telecommunication tower shall be a permitted accessory use as a collocation on such a tower and shall be approved upon submission of an application for a building permit to the Building Commissioner which meets all applicable regulations in Section 1172.03 hereof related to the placement of the wireless telecommunication equipment and related facilities associated with such antenna(s).
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)
1172.03 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND PERFORMANCE.
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all wireless telecommunication tower facilities shall comply with the following standards:
(a) Design. All wireless telecommunication towers shall be of a monopole design, as opposed to a lattice design. Towers and antennas shall be designed to meet all Building Code requirements.
(b) Maximum Height of Tower and Related Facilities. A wireless telecommunication tower shall be less than 200 feet in height as measured from the average ground level at the base of the tower. The intent of this height restriction is to avoid, if at all possible, the necessity for lighting of the tower. No equipment building for a wireless tower facility shall exceed ten feet in height from building grade.
(c) Color. Unless otherwise required by the Architectural Board of Review, the color of a wireless telecommunication tower shall be a neutral gray.
(d) Additional Permitted Use. A wireless telecommunication tower facility may be located on a lot with another use.
(e) Minimum Lot Area. The minimum lot area shall be the same as that required for the underlying zoning district and the lot area shall be sufficient to provide for all requirements of setbacks, yards and building coverage as specified in the underlying zoning district.
(f) Location of Tower on the Lot. A wireless telecommunication tower must comply with the setback and yard requirements applicable to buildings in the underlying zone in which it is located. Such tower must be placed upon the lot in such a way as to minimize the visual impact from adjoining streets, roads and properties.
(g) Spacing. There shall be a separation of at least one quarter mile between wireless telecommunication towers.
(h) Fencing. Fencing shall be provided for public safety reasons. A fence at least six feet in height, but no greater than eight feet in height, shall be erected completely around the wireless telecommunication tower and any related support facilities. "No Trespassing" signs of no greater than two square feet shall be posted on the fence on four sides of the wireless telecommunication facility with a telephone number of a person to contact in the event of an emergency.
(i) Buffer Zones. A landscaped buffer area of not less than fifteen feet in depth shall be placed between the wireless telecommunication facilities and the public rights-of-way and any adjacent properties from which a direct view can be had of the facilities, other than the tower itself. The fifteen-foot landscape buffer shall consist of a tight screen fence of hardy evergreen shrubbery not less than six feet in height. The landscaping shall be continuously maintained and promptly restored, if necessary.
(j) Outdoor Storage. Outdoor storage of any supplies, vehicles or equipment related to the use of the wireless telecommunication facility is prohibited except during the facility construction period and to supply emergency power to the facility only during a power outage.
(k) Lighting. Except as required by applicable law or this chapter, a wireless telecommunication antenna or a tower shall not be illuminated and lighting fixtures or signs shall not be attached to the antenna or tower. If lighting is required by Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") regulations, white strobe lights shall not be permitted at night unless no other alternative is permitted by the FAA. Lighting for security purposes shall only be permitted at the wireless telecommunication facility with the prior approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(l) FCC Compliance. Prior to receiving final inspection by the Building Commissioner and authorization to commence the use, documented certification shall be submitted by the applicant that the wireless communication facility complies with all current Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") regulations for non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER).
(m) Advertising. No advertising shall be permitted on the wireless telecommunication facility.
(n) Time Limit for Commencement and Completion of Construction. After issuance of a building permit to construct a wireless telecommunication facility, the applicant shall commence construction within 180 days and shall complete construction within one year or the building permit shall expire. As a condition of issuance of the permit, the Building Commissioner shall require the applicant and the owner of the property to certify that if construction is not commenced within the 180 days or completed within one year, that the site will be available for another wireless telecommunications facility.
(o) Removal of Facilities.
(1) The owner or operator shall agree to remove a nonfunctioning wireless telecommunication facility within six (6) months of ceasing its use. The owner/operator of the antenna and/or tower shall, on no less than an annual basis from the date of issuance of the building permit, file a declaration with the Building Commissioner as to the continuing operation of every facility which is subject to this chapter. The owner/operator of the antenna and/or tower shall sign a written consent agreeing to permit an annual inspection of the wireless telecommunication facility by the Building Commissioner or his designee.
(2) The owner or operator shall be required, as a condition of issuance of a building permit, to post a cash or surety bond acceptable to the Director of Law of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) per vertical foot from natural grade of the wireless telecommunication tower which bond shall insure that an abandoned, obsolete or destroyed wireless communication antenna or tower shall be removed within six (6) months of cessation of use and abandonment.
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)
1172.04 FEES.
The Building Commissioner shall collect the fees for applications for building permits as required by this section in accordance with the following schedule:
(a) New wireless telecommunication tower facility. A fifteen hundred dollar ($1,500) deposit upon which expenses incurred by the City will be drawn and the balance, if any, returned to the applicant upon final inspection prior to authorization of commencement of the use.
(b) New wireless telecommunication antenna and related facilities (without a tower) - five hundred dollars ($500.00).
(c) Annual inspection fee - one hundred dollars ($100.00).
(d) Reimbursement of Expenses. The applicant for a wireless communication tower and/or antenna facility shall be responsible for all expenses incurred by the City for any technical and/or engineering services deemed necessary by the Building Commissioner, the Mayor, the Planning and Zoning Commission, or the Architectural Board of Review to perform the reviews required by this section which are not covered by the fees set forth in this section.
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)
1172.05 DEFINITIONS.
(a) "Telecommunication" means technology permitting the passage of information from the sender to one or more receivers in a usable form by means of any electromagnetic system, and specifically includes the term "personal wireless services" as defined by 47 U.S.C. §332(c)(7).
(b) "Wireless telecommunication antenna" means an antenna system designed to transmit or receive communications as authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) excluding amateur radio operator antennas.
(c) "Wireless telecommunication equipment building" means the structure or cabinet in which the electronic receiving and relay equipment for a wireless telecommunication facility is housed.
(d) "Wireless telecommunication facility" means a facility consisting of the equipment and structures involved in receiving telecommunication or radio signals from a mobile radio communications source and transmitting those signals to a central switching computer which connects the mobile unit with the land based telephone lines.
(e) "Wireless telecommunication tower" means a tower including but not limited to self-supporting lattice or monopole which elevates the wireless communication antenna and may include accessory transmission and receiving equipment.
(f) "Monopole" means a single, slender and typically cylindrical, vertical structure to which antennas or antenna support structures are affixed.
(g) "Lattice" means a framework or structure of crossed metal strips typically resting on three (3) or more members constructed vertically to which antennas are affixed.
(h) "Substantial evidence" means more than a mere scintilla of evidence. It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.
(i) "Technically suitable" means the location of a wireless telecommunication antenna(s) reasonably serves the purpose for which it is intended within the band width of frequencies for which the owner or operator of the antenna(s) has been licensed by the FCC
to operate without a significant loss of communication capability within developed areas of the City.
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)
(Ord. 12-97. Passed 4-22-97.)