The purpose of this article is to establish requirements for the siting of wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment, and antennas, so as to comply with federal and state laws and so far as allowed by law to:
A. 
Protect and preserve the visual character of the Borough by minimizing the visual and aesthetic impact of all wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas;
B. 
Ensure that all wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas are designed and configured in such a manner as to match or blend in with the characteristics of the areas where they are situated. Such characteristics shall include both man-made structures as well as environmental features;
C. 
Encourage the location of wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal, through careful design, siting, landscape screening and innovative camouflaging techniques;
D. 
Minimize the total number of towers throughout the community through joint use of new and existing towers and other structures as a primary option rather than the construction of additional single-use towers;
E. 
Enhance the ability of the providers of communication services to provide such service to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently;
F. 
Consider the impact to the public health and safety by the placement of wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas;
G. 
Avoid potential damage to the public and adjacent properties from the failure of wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas through engineering and careful siting.
A. 
New towers and antennas. All new towers and antennas shall be subject to these regulations.
B. 
Amateur radio station visual analysis. This article shall not govern towers or the installation of any antenna, less than 75 feet in height which are owned and operated by federally licensed amateur radio station operators or are used exclusively for receive-only antennas.
C. 
Preexisting wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment or antennas. This article shall not apply to preexisting wireless communications towers, facilities, equipment and antennas for which a building permit and zoning approval has been properly issued prior to the effective date of this article. This article shall, however, apply to all modification, alterations, changes or additions to preexisting wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas.
The following general requirements shall apply to all wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas and to any alterations, additions or modification to preexisting wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas:
A. 
Antenna height. Any antenna that is attached to an existing structure shall not exceed the height of the existing structure by more than 20 feet.
B. 
Antenna offset. Any antenna that is attached to an existing structure shall not be mounted beyond the vertical face or plane of the existing structure by more than three feet.
C. 
Tower height. No tower, including the antenna, shall exceed 150 feet in height above the ground; provided, however, that such height may be increased to no more than 180 feet, provided that the required setbacks from any dwelling or residential boundary are increased by one foot for each one foot of height in excess of 150 feet.
D. 
Setbacks and screening. The foundation and base of any communications tower shall be set back from a property line (not lease line) at least 100 feet. The base of a communications tower shall be landscaped so as to screen the foundation and base and communications equipment building from abutting properties.
E. 
Preservation of existing trees. A management plan shall be submitted for approval describing how the existing trees located on the site shall be protected during the construction of the site.
F. 
Engineer's certification. A professional engineer licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall certify any information of an engineering nature that the applicant submits, whether civil, mechanical or electrical.
G. 
State or federal requirements. All towers, facilities, equipment and antennas 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, facilities, equipment and antennas. If such standards and regulations are changed, then the owners of the towers, facilities, equipment and antennas governed by this article shall bring such towers, facilities, equipment 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 such towers, facilities, equipment or antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations shall constitute a violation and the Borough may require the removal of the towers, facilities, equipment and antennas at the owner's expense.
H. 
Building codes; safety standards. To insure the structural integrity of towers as well as the safety of any attachment to an existing structure, the owners of towers, facilities, equipment or antennas 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. If, upon inspection, the Borough 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 a violation and the Borough may require the removal of the towers, facilities, equipment or antennas at the owner's expense.
I. 
Not utilities. Towers, facilities, equipment and antennas shall be regulated and permitted pursuant to this article and shall not be regulated or permitted as public utilities or private utilities.
J. 
Co-location. In order to reduce the number of towers in the Borough in the future, the proposed tower shall be designed to accommodate at least four separate commercial wireless communication companies. In addition, its design shall allow for the accommodation of municipal emergency service use.
K. 
Removal of abandoned towers.
(1) 
At the time a tower becomes empty or vacant, the owner shall supply notice to the Zoning Officer the day the abandonment occurs. This notice shall begin the time period for calculating abandonment. Any antennas or tower that is not operated for a continuous period of 12 months shall be considered abandoned.
(2) 
The owner of an abandoned antenna or tower shall remove the same within 90 days of receipt of notice from the Zoning Officer. Failure to remove an abandoned antenna or tower within said 90 days shall be grounds for the Borough to cause the 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.
L. 
Security. Unless the communications tower or antenna is located on a building or alternative tower structure, the tower structure or the entire property on which the tower structure is located shall be completely enclosed by an eight-foot-high chain-link security fence or similar fence with self-latching gate to limit accessibility to the general public. All tower structures shall be fitted with anticlimbing devices as approved by the manufacturer for the type of installation proposed.
M. 
Lighting. No antenna or tower structure shall be illuminated, except as may be required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in which case the Borough may review the available lighting options and approve the design that would cause the least disturbance to the surrounding uses and views.
N. 
Signs or advertising. No sign or other structure shall be mounted on the tower structure or antennae, except as may be required and approved by the FCC, FAA, other government agency and the Borough. No advertising is permitted on an antenna, tower, and buildings or related accessory structures.
O. 
Principal, accessory and joint uses.
(1) 
Accessory structures used in direct support of a tower shall be allowed but may not be used for offices, vehicle storage or other outdoor storage. Mobile or immobile equipment not used in direct support of a tower facility shall not be stored or parked on the site of the tower, unless repairs to the tower are being made.
(2) 
Joint use of a site is prohibited when a proposed or existing principal use includes the storage, distribution or sale of volatile, flammable, explosive or hazardous materials such as propane, gasoline, natural gas and dangerous chemicals.
P. 
Flood damage prevention. Electrical equipment associated with towers, in areas prone to flooding, will be placed above the one-hundred-year flood elevation for the site on which the tower is located.
All application for construction, alteration, addition or change of any wireless communication tower, facilities, equipment and antennas shall, if applicable, include the following content:
A. 
Alternatives analysis.
(1) 
A topographic map of the proposed local service area, which identifies the local network facilities and which the proposed facility will connect. Such network information shall include sites of all carriers situated within five miles of the proposed site. The specific location of existing or future sites shall be identified. The heights of the structures of the other sites shall be identified on the map.
(2) 
A small-scale map of the applicable franchise area, which identifies the regional network of facilities with which the local network will connect.
(3) 
Identification of the following on a topographic map:
(a) 
All other existing wireless telecommunication facilities, including those owned or operated by the applicant for the same type of service, and those which provide other wireless services, which could potentially support the proposed facility.
(b) 
All other existing structures which might provide an opportunity for attached facilities.
(4) 
Identification of any existing service gaps in the proposed local service area as well as any service gaps, which may remain in the event that the proposed facility is approved and constructed. Such service gaps shall be determined by actual coverage measurements developed by propagation testing and not be predicted coverage. The coverage information, maps and supporting data must be prepared by and individual qualified by the Borough as an expert in radio frequency engineering. Such service gaps shall be displayed for the carrier itself and gaps unserved by any carrier.
(5) 
Identification of at least two alternative service plans which could provide comparable service to the intended service area. If there are not at least two alternative service plans submitted, a detailed explanation must be included describing why the applicant is unable to provide alternative service plans. The applicant must demonstrate, using accepted technological evidence, why the towers, facilities, equipment and antennas are to be located where proposed. The applicant must show, with engineering certification, why lower tower height technology is not feasible.
B. 
Any applicant proposing construction of a new communication tower shall demonstrate that a good faith effort has been made to obtain permission to mount the communications antennas on an existing building, structure or communication tower. A good faith effort shall require that all owners of potentially suitable structures in the Borough or within a one mile radius of the proposed communication tower site be contacted and that one or more of the following reasons for not selecting such structure apply:
(1) 
The proposed antennas and related equipment would exceed the structural capacity of the existing structure and its reinforcement cannot be accomplished at a reasonable cost.
(2) 
The proposed antennas and related equipment would cause radio frequency interference with other existing equipment for that existing structure and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost.
(3) 
Such existing structures do not have adequate location, space, access, or height to accommodate the propose equipment or to allow it to perform its intended function.
(4) 
Addition of the proposed antennas and related equipment would result in electromagnetic radiation from such structure exceeding applicable standards established by the Federal Communications Commission governing human exposure to electromagnetic radiation.
(5) 
A commercially reasonable agreement could not be reached with owners of such structures.
C. 
A visual analysis, which shall include photo montage, field, mock-up, or other techniques, shall be prepared by or on behalf of the applicant which identifies the potential impacts, at design capacity, of the proposed facility. Consideration shall be given to views from public areas as well as from private residences. The analysis shall assess the cumulative impacts of the proposed facility and other existing and foreseeable telecommunication facilities in the area, and shall identify and include all feasible mitigation measures consistent with technological requirements of the proposed telecommunication service.
D. 
Identification of all private, commercial and public airports located within a five-mile radius of the proposed site on a plan. The glide path of each airport located within the five-mile radius shall be graphically represented on the plan to show the location of the glide path in both its horizontal and vertical elements.
E. 
Documentation to substantiate that a balloon test was or will be performed for period of one week after a written notice is provided to all property owners within a one-quarter-mile radius from the site and legal notice in newspaper of general circulation and that the site was posted in advance of and during the balloon test in a manner prescribed by the Borough.
F. 
A management plan shall be provided which details the methods that shall be used to preserve and protect the natural features, such as existing vegetation, that help screen the facility from view or mitigate the facilities impact.
A. 
Wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas are allowed only as a conditional use in Districts specified in Articles IV through VII of this chapter. Wireless facilities, equipment and antennas that can be located on and in an existing structure or tower and facility are allowed as a permitted use in districts specified for conditional use of towers, facilities, equipment and antennas in Articles IV through VII of this chapter.
B. 
The following are the minimum requirements applicable to wireless communication towers, facilities, equipment and antennas, in addition to the generally applicable criteria for conditional uses.
C. 
All such facilities shall comply with the following to the extent a Borough is allowed to require:
(1) 
Any applicable easements or similar restrictions, including open space easements, on the subject property.
(2) 
Any applicable general plan, specific plan, area plan, local area development guidelines, and the permit requirements of any agencies which have jurisdiction over the project.
(3) 
The height of any freestanding facility shall include the height of any structure upon which it is placed.
(4) 
All setbacks shall be measured from the base of the tower closest to the applicable property line or structure.
(5) 
The facility shall be operated so that it shall not result in human exposure to nonionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER) in excess of the levels specified in the most current standard governing human exposure to NIER utilized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in its licensing decision for the applicable facility. The applicant shall be responsible for demonstrating that the proposed facility will comply with this standard and may do so in any one of the following ways:
(a) 
Provide evidence in the form of an FCC license or construction permit that the FCC has accepted the applicant's certification that the facility meets the FCC standard.
(b) 
Provide evidence that the FCC has categorically excluded the applicant from demonstrating compliance with the FCC standard.
(c) 
Provide an independent analysis by or on behalf of the applicant, which demonstrates that the facility will comply with the FCC standard by such calculations and measurements as may be necessary. The calculations, measurements, and all related methods utilized to determine compliance shall be consistent with FCC policies and procedures. The analysis shall be prepared and certified by a licensed professional engineer.
(6) 
All antennas shall be located, designed, and screened to blend with the existing natural or built surroundings so as to minimize visual impacts and to achieve compatibility with neighboring residences and the character of the community to the extent feasible considering the technological requirements of the proposed telecommunication service.
(7) 
Approval of all towers, facilities, equipment and antennas is subject to the finding that the proposed site results in fewer or less severe environmental impacts than any feasible alternative site.