[Added 4-24-1997 by Ord. No. 0-7-97; amended 8-26-2001 by Ord. No. 0-9-01; 9-26-2002 by Ord. No. 0-14-02; 6-24-2004 by Ord. No. 0-4-04; 7-24-2006 by Ord. No. 160-2006]
A. 
The purpose of this article is to establish general guidelines for the siting of wireless communications towers and antennas.
B. 
The goals of this article are to:
(1) 
Protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas;
(2) 
Encourage the location of towers in nonresidential areas;
(3) 
Minimize the total number of towers throughout the community;
(4) 
Strongly encourage the joint use of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers;
(5) 
Encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal;
(6) 
Encourage users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers and antennas through careful design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques;
(7) 
Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently;
(8) 
Consider the public health and safety of communication towers; and
(9) 
Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures.
C. 
In furtherance of these goals, the Joint Planning Board shall give due consideration to the Township of River Vale's Master Plan, zoning map, existing land uses and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANTENNA
Any exterior transmitting or receiving device mounted on a tower, building or structure and used in communications that radiate or capture electromagnetic waves, digital signals, analog signals, radio frequencies (excluding radar signals), wireless telecommunications signals or other communications signals. Exempted herefrom are towers or the installation of any antenna that is under 40 feet in height and is owned and operated for the exclusive use of a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or is used exclusively as a receive-only antenna.
COMMUNICATION TOWER
Includes any and all antennas and towers as defined in this section, together with other accessory structures and equipment associated therewith.
PREEXISTING TOWER AND PREEXISTING ANTENNA
Any tower or antenna for which a building permit has been properly issued and the structure has been completed. However, no such tower or antenna shall be expanded, replaced, restored or repaired other than in compliance and conformance with this article.
TOWER
Any 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, guyed towers or monopole towers. The term includes radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common carrier towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures and the like. The term shall include the structure and any support thereof.
A. 
Communications towers are and will be permitted on property owned, controlled or leased by the Township of River Vale. Said leases shall be created by the applicable statutory procedures in accordance with the Local Public Contracts Law. Any other placement shall be considered a conditional use if so zoned or a use variance anywhere else.
B. 
The Township of River Vale must consent to its property being used for communications facilities. No communications tower shall be erected or operated within the Township on its property except pursuant to an approval, lease and license issued by the Township and entered into between the operator of the facility and the Township.
C. 
Communications towers may be permitted as conditional uses in the following building zones and districts, provided the criteria set forth in § 142-281D are complied with: Open Space and Recreation Zone, Multifamily Affordable Housing (MFAH) and Conservation District (CN).
[Amended 6-22-2009 by Ord. No. 213-2009]
D. 
Municipal and conditional use communications towers must meet the following criteria to be considered for approval:
(1) 
No such antenna or tower shall be located within a distance of 200 feet (or 1.25 times the height of the tower, whichever is greater) of a residential property, recognized historic property, hospital or health care facility, school or public recreation facility, except as provided for below.
(2) 
At the discretion of the applicable Township board, the restrictions on location may be relaxed if the applicant can demonstrate that the entire facility would not be visible because it would be enclosed within an existing structure such as a steeple.
A. 
All facilities shall be suitably secured. Decorative or visually unobtrusive security fencing shall be required.
B. 
Site plan and escrows approved by the River Vale Joint Planning Board shall be required.
C. 
In the event such communications towers are abandoned or not operated for a period of one year, the same shall be considered abandoned and removed, at the option of the Township, at the sole expense of the operator.
D. 
Noise levels at any property line shall be not more than 50 decibels.
E. 
Site lighting shall be oriented inward to ward off side impact. Necessary warning lights shall be in accordance with federal law and regulations.
F. 
Any access to a communications facility shall conform to the driveway provisions of the Township of River Vale Code.
G. 
Any generator located on the site shall be within a completely enclosed soundproof equipment structure. All fuel shall be contained in accordance with NJDEP requirements.
H. 
Site clearing shall be minimized to preclude the removal of vegetation beyond that necessary to install and maintain the facility, as approved in the site plan.
I. 
The maximum permissible height of a tower may be permitted up to 150 feet.
J. 
Owners are encouraged to paint, camouflage and/or obscure their tower to resemble vegetation or trees, and such treatment may become a condition of approval at the discretion of the applicable Township board.
K. 
Towers should be freestanding monopole structures without significant cross braces or other visible supporting devices. Lattice structure towers shall not be permitted. Towers not obscured to resemble vegetation or trees as is encouraged above shall be painted a color that the applicant can demonstrate blends in obscurely with its background.
L. 
No signs or other like devices shall be displayed or appended to the facility or tower.
M. 
No offices or other commercial operations may be physically conducted on site.
N. 
All towers must meet or exceed current standards and regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission 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 direct compliance schedule is mandated by the controlling state or federal agency. Failure to bring towers or antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense. 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 federal, state or local building codes, and 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 or forfeiture of all rights, privileges and ownership of the tower, antenna, facility or leased property and improvements.
O. 
Owners of existing towers must agree to share (rent) space on their towers with other antenna users seeking to erect such a facility within River Vale, irrespective of whether or not they are competitors. Such users shall be subject to a co-user approval by the Joint Planning Board. Reasonable fair-market lease agreements are required. The objectives of this provision are to minimize the number of towers required within the Township and avoid a proliferation of towers when multiple antennas on one tower are possible.
P. 
At the discretion of the Joint Planning Board, visual screening landscaping shall be required whenever the tower is not already screened by adequate natural woodland vegetation.
Q. 
Each applicant for an antenna and/or tower shall provide to the Joint Planning Board an inventory of all existing towers, antennas or sites approved for towers or antennas that are either within the jurisdiction of the governing authority and within a 1/4 mile of the border thereof, including specific information about the location, height and design of each tower. The Joint Planning Board may disseminate information pursuant to the Right-to-Know Law or any other law or regulation pertaining to the dissemination of public records to any organization seeking to locate antennas within the jurisdiction of the governing authority; provided, however, that the Joint Planning Board is not by disseminating such information in any way representing or warranting that such sites are available or suitable.
R. 
Availability of suitable existing towers or other structures. No new tower shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the governing authority that no existing tower, structure or alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna may consist of any of the following:
(1) 
No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area required to meet applicant's engineering requirements.
(2) 
Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet applicant's engineering requirements.
(3) 
Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment.
(4) 
The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the antennas on the existing towers or structures or the antennas on the existing towers or structures would cause interference with the applicant's proposed antenna.
(5) 
The fees, costs or contractual provisions required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed to be unreasonable.
(6) 
The applicant demonstrates that there are significant other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.
(7) 
Applicant shall have the affirmative obligation of proving that it has attempted to enter into a contact with the owners of the existing tower and structure:
(a) 
This obligation shall include copies of all correspondence as to rates, cost of contributions, etc.
(b) 
Copies of rejection of the offers propounded on the applicant by the owners of the existing structure and/or tower.
(c) 
Written cost proposals indicating actual quoted figures required by the owner of the existing structures and/or tower.
(d) 
A detailed cost analysis indicating the cost to the applicant to construct new tower and/or structure.
(8) 
The applicant demonstrates that an alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures, such as a cable microcell network using multiple low-powered transmitters/receivers attached to a wireline system, is unsuitable. Costs of alternative technology that exceed new tower or antenna development shall not be presumed to render the technology unsuitable.
A. 
In the event the restrictions contained herein prevent reasonable communications or federal communications, statutes and regulations, then, in such event, the Joint Planning Board may modify or waive the restrictions contained herein during a site plan review.