For the purposes of this Article 15, "wireless communications services" shall mean the provision of the following types of services: cellular telephone service, personal communications service and enhanced specialized mobile radio service. It is anticipated that such services will be provided via wireless communications facilities that may include a tower, one or more antennas and one or more accessory structures. The purpose of this Article 15 is to establish a district in which wireless communications services may be provided while preserving and protecting the public health, safety and general welfare. Specifically, the Wireless Communications Services District has been created to:
The Wireless Communications Services District
shall be located on land owned by the Town of Wayland known as the
"old landfill site" (as shown in the Atlas of the Town of Wayland,
Massachusetts, 1996, on Plates 22 and 23, Parcels 22-001 and 22-002),
and part of the land known as the "new landfill site" (as shown in
the Atlas of the Town of Wayland, Massachusetts, 1996, on Plates 17,
21 and 22, inclusive, that part of Parcel 17-018 that is south of
a continuation of the parcel line that extends northeasterly from
the point of the intersection of parcel lines for Parcels 21-010A,
21-012F, 22-004 and 17-018 to meet the northeast parcel line of Parcel
17-018, Parcels 21-010A, 22-003, 22-004, 22-006 and 22-007) and on
the land comprising the portion of the so-called Massachusetts Bay
Transit Authority, currently known as "Massachusetts Bay Transportation
Authority (MBTA), "right-of-way from its boundary with the southerly
sideline of Boston Post Road (Route 20), westerly to its westemmost
boundary with the Town of Sudbury as shown in the Atlas of the Town
of Wayland, Massachusetts, 1996, on Plates 22, 26 and inclusive, and
as shown on the plan entitled "Town of Wayland Wireless Communications
Services District Special Town Meeting - November 17, 1999," dated
September 16, 1999, prepared by the Town of Wayland Survey Department,
a copy of which plan is on file in the Office of the Town Clerk.
[Amended 11-17-1999 STM by Art. 3; 5-4-2000 ATM by Art. 33]
The Wireless Communications Services District
shall be construed as an overlay district with regard to said locations.
All requirements of the underlying zoning district shall remain in
full force and effect, except as may be specifically superseded herein.
A wireless communications facility may be erected in the Wireless Communications Services District upon the issuance of a special permit by the Planning Board pursuant to § 198-203 and subject to site plan approval as set forth in Article 6 of this Zoning Bylaw, if the Planning Board determines that the adverse effects of the proposed facility will not outweigh its benefits to the Town in view of the particular characteristics of the site and of the proposal in relation to the site. Said determination shall include consideration of each of the following:
To the extent feasible, all service providers
shall collocate their antennas on a single tower. Towers shall be
designed to structurally accommodate the maximum number of foreseeable
users (within a ten-year period) technically practicable.
New towers shall be considered only upon a finding
by the Planning Board that existing or approved towers cannot accommodate
the antennas planned for the proposed tower.
Any new wireless communications facility tower
shall be of the monopole type only; no lattice or guy-wire towers
and no teleports shall be permitted, and the Planning Board may allow
and/or limit the use and size of parabolic antennas and of repeaters.
Any wireless communications facility erected in the portion of the Wireless Communications Services District comprising the portion of so-called MBTA right-of-way located between its westernmost boundary with the Town of Sudbury and its boundary with the southerly sideline of Route 20, as described in Section 198-1502.1 of this Zoning Bylaw, shall be mounted on and attached to one of the Boston Edison Company (BECO) electric transmission towers located therein numbered 94 through 102, inclusive, except for structures which are accessory to such wireless communications facilities. Except for the BECO towers, the highest point of any antenna support structure or of any antenna or any component thereof or attachment thereto shall not exceed 10 feet above the lesser of the preexisting significant tree canopy elevation or the proposed postconstruction significant tree canopy elevation, as defined in § 198-1503.2.4.2 below.
Except for the BECO towers,
if there is no significant tree canopy elevation, as defined in § 198-1503.2.4.2
below, the maximum height of any antenna support structure or any
antenna or any component thereof or attachment thereto shall not exceed
55 feet above finished grade of ground elevation.
For the purpose of this Article 15, "significant tree canopy elevation" shall be defined as the arithmetic average of the elevations of the tops of all trees at least 6 inches in diameter at four feet and over 20 feet tall in a stand of trees, all of which are located within a 150-foot radius of the base of the proposed antenna support structure, provided that at least 10 such trees are in said stand. Elevations shall be measured with respect to mean sea level datum.
Except for the BECO towers, no antenna, nor
any support structure, nor any antenna or any component thereof or
attachment thereto shall be located at a height in excess of 55 feet,
unless there is such a significant tree canopy elevation, as defined
in § 198-1503.2.4.2 above.
Except for the BECO towers, a wireless communications
facility shall not be erected nearer to any property line than a distance
equal to the vertical height of the wireless communications facility,
measured at the mean finished grade of the tower base.
The wireless communications
facility shall minimize, to the extent feasible, adverse visual effects
on the environment. The Planning Board may impose reasonable conditions
to ensure this result, including painting and lighting standards.
The applicant shall obtain
written, legally valid and binding authorization for the use of each
facility site from the owner thereof; and, where applicable, from
the utility companies whose facilities are used; and from the Select
Board with respect to public ways and Town-owned facilities.
Any antenna for use as a
wireless communications facility shall not be installed, nor mounted
on, nor attached to a new monopole tower or existing structure in
any location that is within 900 feet of a lot line defining a parcel
on which exists a dwelling, a school, a day-care center, a nursing
home or an assisted or independent living facility.
The area around a tower,
communication equipment shelters and related equipment shall be completely
fenced for security to a height of six feet, and gated; and a sign
shall be posted on or adjacent to all entry gates indicating the facility
owner and a twenty-four-hour emergency telephone number.
Shall comply with standards
of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), the National
Council for Radiation Protection and the American National Standards
Institute, insofar as such standards are more strict or limiting as
to permissible human exposure than are the FCC Guidelines and may
lawfully be applied.
Shall be controlled and
limited as to frequency and power so as not to cause interference,
by intermodulation or otherwise, with any Town facility or amateur
facility.
Noise generated by any wireless
communications facility, including auxiliary generators, shall not
exceed 50 db at ground level at the property line at any public way
on which it is located.
As part of any application for a special permit, applicants shall submit, at a minimum, the information required for site plan approval as set forth herein at Article 6. Applicants shall also describe the capacity of any tower, including the number and types of antennas, number and types of radios and of channels per radio that it can accommodate, and the basis for the calculation of capacity and shall describe any accessory structures.
The name and address of the applicant and all agents of the applicant and of all legal and beneficial owners of the site or sites proposed for a wireless communication facility, copies of all instruments, options, contracts or encumbrances affecting ownership of the site or sites, together with the opinion of an attorney concerning the state of the title thereto, and an instrument executed by all persons or entities owning property at the site or sites agreeing that the applicant is authorized by them to make the application and agreeing to comply with provisions of this Article 15.
A statement signed by the applicant, on oath
and under penalties of perjury, that all information included in the
submittal is materially accurate, true, complete and verifiable. Inaccurate,
misleading or false information shall be grounds for disapproval of
the application or revocation of approval.
A map at an appropriate
scale (to be determined by the Planning Board), showing lot lines
of the subject property and of all properties within 2,000 feet of
the perimeter of the facility and showing the footprint of all buildings
on all such properties.
All proposed wireless communications
facilities the applicant expects to install and reasonably knows will
be installed by other providers within the next 24 months following
the submittal of the application.
Topography contour lines
at two-foot intervals to a distance beyond the proposed facility to
be determined by the Planning Board, but not to exceed 1,000 feet,
with reference contours to mean sea level datum.
True copies of all applications [to include
any Notification of Nonionizing Radiation Source, and/or any Combined
Request for Approval Under 105 CMR 122.000 (et seq.) and Employer
Notification Under 453 CMR 5.000, (et seq.), and the like] and information
submitted to the DPH, Radiation Control Program, or any other subdivision
of the DPH, approval letter and any other notice from said Department
or subdivisions and any revisions thereof; and true copies and any
revisions thereof of all similar applications, notices, etc., submitted
to the FCC.
The energy outputs at ground
level and at six feet and 16 feet above ground level, actual and potential,
and the power densities at ground level and at six feet and 16 feet
above ground level, actual and potential, produced at 200 feet, 500
feet and 1,000 feet and at the location where maximum power density
is expected, for each antenna sector, from the operation of each and
every proposed new wireless communications facility to be added.
The cumulative energy outputs
at ground level and at six feet and 16 feet above ground level, actual
and potential, produced from all wireless communications facilities,
and the cumulative power densities from the operation of all wireless
communications facilities, actual and potential, produced at 200 feet,
500 feet and 1,000 feet and at the location where maximum power density
is expected, for each antenna sector, from the operation of all wireless
communications facilities, including any proposed new wireless communications
facility.
With respect to such actual
energy outputs and power densities, the data contained in such specification
shall be from actual field measurements made within 30 days before
the applicant submits the special permit/site plan review and approval
application.
A complete description, including, but not limited to, data, drawings, catalogs, brochures, manufacturers' specifications, photographs and all other pertinent information relevant to the proposal describing antennas, equipment mounts and all other equipment and structures proposed for the site or related to the proposal; plus all of the information required by Article 6 of this Zoning Bylaw.
Data as to noise, certified
by an acoustical engineer, specifying in decibels Ldn (logarithmic
scale) both existing or ambient noise at each proposed site and the
maximum noise to occur, comprising the aggregate of that existing
and that resulting from the proposed wireless communications facility.
An environmental assessment
meeting the standards set forth in § 198-1503.2.16, and
the environmental assessment requirements of the FCC, together with
evidence that the same has been submitted to and approved by the FCC.
The Planning Board shall review and act upon an application for a special permit and site plan review and approval for a wireless communications facility in accordance with applicable provisions of MGL c. 40A, §§ 9 and 11; and in accordance with Articles 6 and 15 of this Zoning Bylaw; and:
May engage a radio frequency engineer, an acoustic
engineer and such other professional consultants as it deems necessary
to assist and advise it in its investigation and determination.
Shall require of each applicant and each holder
of a special permit and site plan approval hereunder reasonable deposit
for and reimbursement of all fees for the employment of appropriate
consultants.
The applicant may be required to float a balloon
or use a crane test at the location of a proposed tower or antenna
to show its height and visibility. Such test shall be conducted two
weeks prior to the public hearing and shall be advertised at the applicant's
expense in a newspaper of general circulation in Wayland at least
one week prior to the test.
Prior to beginning operation of the wireless
communications facility, background levels of electromagnetic frequency
radiation shall be monitored for each antenna sector at ground level
and at six feet and sixteen feet above ground level for points that
are at 200 feet, 500 feet and 1,000 feet from the facility and at
the locations where maximum power density is predicted, as listed
in the application.
After operation of the facility has commenced,
random monitoring of radio frequency and acoustic emissions shall
be required. Electromagnetic frequency radiation shall be monitored
for each antenna sector at ground level and at six feet and 16 feet
above ground level for points that are at 200 feet, 500 feet and 1,000
feet from the facility, at the locations where maximum power density
was predicted, as listed in the application, and at the locations
where maximum power density occurs.
Inspection of the structural integrity and safety
of all towers and equipment attached thereto shall be required. Monopoles
shall be inspected every five years. Structures mounted on or attached
to existing BECO towers shall be inspected every three years. Any
modification of an existing facility that includes changes to tower
dimensions or antenna numbers or type shall require a new structural
inspection.
All required monitoring and inspections shall
be performed by appropriate independent consultants selected by the
Planning Board and paid for by the applicant/owner. Said consultants
shall use monitoring and inspection protocols as outlined in applicable
wireless communication facilities regulations or, in the absence of
such regulations, as specified by the Planning Board. Reports of all
monitoring and inspection results shall be prepared by the consultants
and submitted to the Planning Board, to the Zoning Enforcement Officer,
to the Building Commissioner and to the Board of Health.
Every wireless communications facility for which a special permit is granted hereunder shall continue at all times to comply with the provisions thereof and of this Article 15; and the holder of such special permit shall comply with requirements of the Planning Board in fulfillment of the provisions for monitoring herein.
Every wireless communications facility and every
application for a special permit for such facility shall comply with
all other applicable provisions of this Zoning Bylaw, including, without
limitation, requirements with respect to:
Wireless communications facilities shall comply
with such standards applicable thereto as may from time to time be
imposed by the Board of Health, to the extent that such standards
are not contrary to federal or state laws.
The applicant shall be bound in the special
permit and site plan approval processes and thereafter by the energy
outputs and power densities at the locations as set forth in the special
permit and site plan review and approval application and also with
respect to the information contained in the application to the Radiation
Control Program of the DPH.
If a wireless communications facility is determined
to be in violation of any of the provisions of the special permit
and/or site plan approval or any other applicable law or regulation,
the Zoning Enforcement Officer shall cause to be served on the operator
of the facility and on the owner of the land on or from which the
violation is caused notice of such violation.
Any changes or modifications to an already approved
wireless communications facility shall be made through the special
permit/site plan review and approval process. All such changes or
modifications shall include:
The special permit shall include a condition
that any wireless communications services provider that operates a
wireless communications facility in the Town of Wayland shall provide,
for each such wireless communications facility, a certificate of insurance
for bodily injury, in a form acceptable to the Planning Board, with
coverage limits of not less than $5,000,000. For good cause, and after
notice and a public hearing, the Planning Board may, from time to
time, require the owner to increase the limits of such coverage.
If a wireless communications facility is not
substantially in commercial operation for a period of one year, it
shall be removed, and the site shall be returned to its preexisting
condition by the owner of the facility and/or by the owner of the
site within 180 days of notice by the Town. As part of an application
for any wireless communications facility, a plan shall be submitted
detailing how the site will be returned to its preexisting conditions,
including planting of replacement trees, grading and removal of all
structures and waste and any other work that may be required by the
Planning Board, with a bond to be held by the Town, the amount of
which shall be determined by the Planning Board. If the facility is
not removed within said 180 days, the Town shall be empowered to use
said bond for the removal of said facility.
The following type of wireless communications towers are exempt from this Article 15: amateur radio towers used in accordance with the terms of any amateur radio service license issued by the FCC, provided that the tower is not used or licensed for any commercial purpose.