The provisions of other sections of this chapter of the Town Code notwithstanding, the regulations and restrictions set forth herein shall apply to the placement, construction, installation, modification, use, monitoring and removal of wireless communications facilities. No wireless communications facility shall be placed, constructed, installed, modified and/or used within the Town of Randolph on or after the date of enactment of this article, except in accordance with the provisions of this article. All wireless communications facilities shall require the issuance of a special permit. For the purposes of this article, the Town Council shall be the special permit granting authority.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated below:
ANTENNA The surface from which wireless radio signals are sent and received by a wireless communications facility, including, but not limited to, cross-polarized (or dual-polarized) antenna, omnidirectional (whip) antenna and panel antenna.
CAMOUFLAGED A wireless communications facility that is disguised, hidden, part of an existing or proposed structure or placed within a preexisting or proposed structure is considered to be "camouflaged."
CARRIER A company that provides wireless communications services.
CO-LOCATION The use of a single mount on the ground by more than one (1) carrier (vertical co-location) and/or several mounts on a preexisting building by more than one (1) carrier.
ELEVATION The measurement of height above mean sea level.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (EA) The document required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when a wireless communications facility is placed in certain designated areas.
EQUIPMENT SHELTER An enclosed structure, cabinet, shed or box at the base of the mount within which are housed batteries and electrical equipment.
GUYED TOWER Any tower that is tied to the ground or other surface by diagonal cables.
LATTICE TOWER A type of mount that is self-supporting with multiple legs and crossbracing of structural steel.
LICENSED CARRIER A company authorized by the FCC to construct and operate a commercial mobile radio service system.
MONOPOLE The type of mount that is self-supporting with a single shaft of galvanized steel and a platform (or racks) for antennas.
MOUNT The structure or surface upon which antennas are mounted, including the following four (4) types of mounts:
A. Roof-mounted: mounted on the roof of a building.
B. Side-mounted: mounted on the side of a building.
C. Ground-mounted: mounted on the ground.
D. Structure-mounted: mounted on a structure other than a building.
PANEL ANTENNA A flat surface antenna, usually developed in multiples.
PCS Personal communications services. Broadband radiowave systems that operate at a radio frequency in the 1850 to 1900 megahertz range.
PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICES Wireless telecommunications services regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and defined as "personal wireless services" in Section 704 or other sections of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 as amended, including, but not limited to, commercial mobile radio services, unlicensed wireless services, and common-carrier wireless exchange access services.
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY Facilities for the provision of wireless communications services, including, but not limited to, transmitting and receiving equipment; towers; poles; antennas; antenna structures and supports; and other equipment, equipment shelter, structures and installations accessory to such facilities.
RADIOFREQUENCY (RF) ENGINEER An engineer specializing in electric or microwave engineering, especially the study of radio frequencies, who is a professional engineer registered to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
SCENIC VIEWPOINTS Site lines of scenic, historic, environmental and natural or man-made resources as designated from time to time by the Town Council and/or Historical Commission as being of particular importance to the preservation of the character and appearance of the Town of Randolph.
SECURITY BARRIER A locked, impenetrable wall, fence or berm that completely seals an area from unauthorized entry or trespass.
SEPARATION The distance between one (1) array of antennas and another array.
UTILITY A system of wires or conductors and supporting structures that functions in the transmission of electrical energy or communications services (both audio and video) between generating stations, substations, and transmission lines or other utility services.
The following shall be exempt from the provisions of this article:
A. Wireless communications facilities used only for Town or state public safety purposes.
B. Wireless communications facilities used by a conforming, federally licensed amateur radio used in accordance with said FCC license as protected by MGL c. 40A, § 3, provided that:
(1) Any such wireless communications facility is not used or licensed for any commercial purpose; and
(2) Any mount used in connection with said federally licensed amateur radio use must be removed upon loss or termination of said FCC license.
C. Television antennas, including so-called "dish antennas."
D. Licensed commercial mobile radio services primarily used in support of the licensee's own business purpose, provided that (i) such services are not used as a dispatching or communications service for third parties and (ii) any
wireless communications facilities used in connection therewith do not exceed the dimensional requirements under §
200-65. By way of example, but not limitation, exempt commercial mobile radio services would include such services used by a taxi or limousine company to communicate with its vehicles and repair, service, delivery, towing and fuel delivery companies to communicate with their respective vehicles.
Wireless communications facilities are permitted in Industrial Districts and on Town-owned property.
Wireless communications facilities shall be camouflaged as follows:
A. Camouflage by preexisting buildings or structures.
(1) Camouflaging, roof-mounted. When a wireless communications facility extends above the roof height of a building on which it is mounted, every effort shall be made to conceal the wireless communications facility within or behind existing architectural features to limit its visibility from public ways. Wireless communications facilities mounted on a roof shall be stepped back from the front facade in order to limit their impact on the building's silhouette.
(2) Camouflaging, side-mounted. Wireless communications facilities which are side-mounted shall blend with the building's architecture and, if over five (5) square feet, shall be shielded with material which is consistent with the design features and materials of the building.
B. Camouflage by vegetation. If
wireless communications facilities are not camouflaged from public viewing areas by existing buildings or structures, they shall be surrounded by buffers of dense tree growth and understory vegetation in all directions to create an effective year-round visual buffer. Ground-mounted
wireless communications facilities shall provide a year-round vertical evergreen vegetated buffer of fifty (50) feet, or seventy-five percent (75%) of the overall height of the structure, in all directions, whichever is less. Trees and vegetation may be existent on the subject property or installed as part of the proposed
wireless communications facility or as combination of both. Vegetation should be natural in appearance and consistent with surroundings, and be reviewed and receive approval from the Town of Randolph Planning Department.
[Amended 4-23-2001 ATM by Art. 22, approved 12-21-2001]
C. Color.
(1) Wireless communications facilities which are side-mounted on buildings shall be painted or constructed of materials to match the color of the building material directly behind them.
(2) To the extent that a wireless communications facility extends above the height of the vegetation immediately surrounding it, it shall be painted in a light gray or light blue hue which blends with sky and clouds.
Equipment shelters for wireless communications facilities shall be designed consistent with one (1) of the following design standards:
A. Equipment shelters must be located in underground vaults when reasonably practicable;
B. Equipment shelters must be designed consistent with the traditional materials, color and design of the area; and
C. Equipment shelters must be camouflaged behind an effective year-round landscape buffer, equal to the height of the proposed building, and/or wooden fence.
All equipment proposed for a wireless communications facility shall comply with the FCC Guidelines for Evaluating the Environmental Effects of Radiofrequency Radiation (FCC Guidelines) and any other applicable FCC guidelines and regulations.
[Amended 5-9-2011 by Ord. No. 2010-046]
The applicant shall comply with the application filing requirements as may be established by rule or regulation of the special permit granting authority, including that all applications made to a SPGA shall identify the owner of the property and the applicant, and their interests in the property. A purchase and sale agreement, lease agreement, or letter of intent may be submitted to satisfy this requirement. No application shall be considered complete until this requirement is met.
The Town of Randolph's water towers and reservoirs represent a large public investment in water pressure stabilization and peak capacity reserves. Protection of the quality of the Town's water supply is of prime importance to the Town. As access to the Town's water storage systems increases, the potential for contamination of the public water supply also increases. For these reasons, an applicant that seeks to place, construct, or modify a wireless communications facility on water tower or reservoir sites must demonstrate the following:
A. The applicant's access to the wireless communications facility will not increase the risks of contamination to the Town's water supply;
B. There is sufficient room on the structure and/or the ground to accommodate the applicant's wireless communications facility;
C. The presence of the wireless communications facility will not increase the water tower maintenance cost to the Town; and
D. The presence of the wireless communications facility will not be harmful to the health of workers maintaining the water tower or reservoir.
Wireless communications facilities that were in existence at the time of the adoption of this article may be reconstructed, altered, extended or replaced pursuant to special permit, provided that the special permit granting authority finds that such reconstruction, alteration, extension or replacement will not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood and/or the Town than the preexisting nonconforming structure. In making such a determination, the special permit granting authority shall consider whether the proposed reconstruction, alteration, extension or replacement will create public benefits such as opportunities for co-location, improvements in public safety, and/or reduction in visual and environmental impacts.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this article,
wireless communications facilities installed wholly within, and not protruding from, the interior space of an existing structure, excluding buildings used for residential use, shall be allowed as of right in all zoning districts, subject to all other applicable bylaws and regulations of the Town and the following sections of this article: §§
200-67,
200-68,
200-69,
200-70,
200-71,
200-72,
200-74,
200-75,
200-76,
200-78,
200-79 and
200-82.
The provisions of this article are severable, and the invalidity of any section or provision of this article shall not invalidate any other section or provision thereof.
The applicant shall pay a fee to the Town with its application in an amount to be determined by rule or regulation of the special permit granting authority.
[Added 4-23-2001 ATM by Art. 20, approved 12-21-2001]
(Reserved)