(a)   Statement of Purpose and Effect. 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 the 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, open spaces, and the commercial zoning districts 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 existing zoning regulations contained in this Zoning Code.

   The Wireless Telecommunication Tower Overlay District regulations shall control and supersede wherever they are inconsistent with other provisions of this 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.

   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 the erection of antennas on existing structures, which determination is dependent upon the location and characteristics of such land areas.

   (b)   Permitted Use. A wireless telecommunication tower facility may be permitted on any property owned or controlled by the City under such terms and conditions as approved by the City Council and consistent with the minimum standards set forth in Section 1156.03.

   (c)   Conditional Use. A wireless telecommunication tower facility may be a conditional use in an Industrial District only in the areas set forth on the Zoning Map that are within a WTTO District and upon the approval of the Building and Zoning Board of Appeals, provided the applicant demonstrates compliance with all of the standards set forth in Sections 1156.02 and 1156.03.

   (d)   Accessory Use. Regardless of whether an existing wireless telecommunication tower is a conditional use, the erection or construction of a wireless telecommunication antenna(s) on an already 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 zoning certificate to the Code Enforcement Officer, which meets all applicable regulations set forth in subsection (e) hereof relating to the placement of the wireless telecommunication equipment and related facilities associated with such antenna(s).

   (e)   Standards Applicable to Wireless Telecommunication Tower Facilities. Except as otherwise provided in this section and Section 1156.02, all wireless telecommunication tower facilities shall comply with the standards in Section 1156.03.

   (f)   Zoning Certificate Fees. The Code Enforcement Officer shall collect the fees for applications for zoning certificates as required by Section 1133.03.

(Ord. 4742. Passed 6-21-99.)

   The following basic standards shall apply to a wireless telecommunication tower facility approved as a conditional use pursuant to Section 1156.01(c):

   (a)   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 Section 1156.01(b). With the zoning certificate application, the applicant shall list the location of every tower, building or structure and all of the areas set forth in Section 1156.01(b) that could support the proposed antenna(s) or an 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 Section 1156.01(b). If another existing tower or an area set forth in Section 1156.01(b) 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 areas set forth in Section 1156.01(b) 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 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 on reciprocal terms and the offer was not accepted. In all cases, the City shall use its best efforts to encourage collocation.

   (b)   As a condition of issuing a conditional zoning certificate 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, which must include no less than two additional antenna platforms for two 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 Code Enforcement Officer evidencing that the landowner of the property on which the tower is to be located has agreed to the terms of this Section 1156.02, as well as all other applicable requirements, regulations and standards set forth in Section 1156.01 and Section 1156.03. As an additional condition of issuing the zoning certificate to construct and operate the tower in the City, the owner/ operator of the tower is required to sign a statement that all disputes with future providers concerning collocation and the terms and conditions of collocation shall be submitted to commercial arbitration under a system selected by the parties, but if the parties are unable to agree, then under the auspices of the commercial arbitration provisions of the American Arbitration Association.

   (c)   The color of the tower shall be non-fluorescent, and approved by the Building and Zoning Board of Appeals. (Ord. 4742. Passed 6-21-99.)

   Except as may otherwise be provided in Sections 1156.01 and 1156.02, 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 the necessity for lighting of the tower. No equipment building for a wireless tower facility shall exceed ten feet in height from the building grade.

   (c)   Color. The color of the tower shall be non-fluorescent, and approved by the Building and Zoning Board of Appeals.

   (d)   Location with Another Use. A wireless telecommunication facility may be located on a lot with another use, provided the lot is within the WTTO District.

   (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 principal 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 of six feet in height shall be erected completely around the wireless telecommunication tower and any related support facilities. "No Trespassing" signs shall be posted around 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 relating to the use of the wireless telecommunication facility is prohibited except during the initial facility construction period.

   (k)   Lighting. Except as required by law, no wireless telecommunication antenna or tower shall be illuminated, nor shall lighting fixtures or signs be attached to the antenna or tower. If lighting is required by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, no white strobe lights shall 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 Building and Zoning Board of Appeals.

   (l)   FCC Compliance. Prior to receiving a final inspection by the Code Enforcement Officer, documented certification shall be submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), with a copy to the Code Enforcement Officer, certifying that the wireless telecommunication facility complies with all current FCC regulations for non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER).

   (m)   Advertising. No advertising shall be permitted on a wireless telecommunication facility.

   (n)   Removal of Facilities.

      (1)   The owner or operator shall agree to remove a nonfunctioning wireless telecommunication facility within three 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 zoning certificate, file a declaration with the Code Enforcement Officer as to the continuing operation of every facility which is subject to this section. 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 Code Enforcement Officer or his or her designee.

      (2)   The owner or operator shall be required, as a condition of issuance of a zoning certificate, 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 telecommunication antenna or tower shall be removed within three months of cessation of use or abandonment. Any colocator on the tower shall be required to additionally execute such bond, as principal, to insure that the bond will be in place during the period of time that the colocator occupies the tower.

   (o)   Annual Inspection. Within sixty days prior to each anniversary date of the issuance of the zoning certificate for a wireless telecommunication facility, the owner/operator of such facility shall cause an inspection to be completed of the facility by a State-certified engineer, at the expense of the owner/operator, and a certificate as to the structural integrity and general safety of the entire facility and its components shall be issued by such engineer to the City within thirty days following such anniversary date.

(Ord. 4742. Passed 6-21-99.)