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)