The purpose of this article is to establish general guidelines
for the setting of telecommunications towers and antennas. The goals
are to: (a) protect residential areas and land uses from potential
adverse impacts of telecommunications towers and antennas; (b) minimize
the total number of telecommunications towers throughout the community;
(c) strongly encourage the joint use of new and existing telecommunications
tower sites as a primary option rather than the construction of additional
single-use telecommunications towers; (d) encourage users of telecommunications
towers and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas
where the adverse impact to the community is minimal; (e) encourage
users of telecommunications towers and antennas to configure them
in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of telecommunications
towers and antennas through careful design, setting, landscape screening
and innovative camouflaging techniques; (f) enhance the ability of
the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services
to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently; (g) consider
the public safety of telecommunications towers; and (h) minimize potential
damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering
and careful siting of telecommunications tower structures. In furtherance
of these goals, the Township shall give due consideration to existing
land uses and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for
the location of telecommunications towers and antennas.
The following provisions apply to all communication towers,
irrespective of height.
A. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a tower or
antenna complies with zoning district regulations, including but not
limited to setback requirements, lot coverage requirements, and other
such requirements, the dimensions of the entire lot shall control,
even though the antennas or towers may be located on leased parcels
within such lot.
B. Inventory of existing sites. Each applicant for an antenna and/or
tower shall provide to the Township an inventory of its existing towers,
antennas, distributed antenna systems or sites approved for towers
or antennas, that are either within the jurisdiction of the Township
or within five miles of the border thereof, including specific information
about the location, height, and design of each tower. The Township
may share such information with other applicants applying for approvals
under this article or other organizations seeking to locate antennas
within the jurisdiction of the Township; provided, however, that the
Township is not, by sharing such information, in any way representing
or warranting that such sites are available or suitable.
C. Towers and antennas shall meet the following requirements:
(1)
Towers shall either maintain a galvanized steel finish or, subject
to any applicable standards of the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), be painted a neutral color so as to reduce visual obtrusiveness,
or colored to blend into the natural setting and surroundings. Towers
shall be context sensitive, employ stealth technology and be designed
to minimize their aesthetic impact, utilizing means subject to approval
of the Township.
(2)
At a tower site, the design of the buildings and related structures
shall, to the extent possible, use materials, colors, textures, screening,
and landscaping that will blend them into the natural setting and
surrounding buildings.
(3)
If an antenna is installed on or within a structure other than
a tower, the antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment
must be of a neutral color that is identical to, or closely compatible
with, the color of the supporting structure so as to make the antenna
and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as possible.
(4)
Towers shall not be artificially lighted, unless required by the FAA, the Township or other applicable authority and, with respect to a tower 40 feet or less in height, unless the antennas are attached to an existing, operating light pole. If lighting is required, the lighting alternatives and design chosen shall be approved by the Township and conform to FAA regulations and §
167-66 of the Township Code (the Lighting Ordinance) acknowledging the FAA requirements prevail.
D. All towers must meet or exceed current standards and regulations
of the FAA, the FCC, and any other agency of the state and 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 different compliance schedule is mandated by the controlling
state or federal agency. Failure to bring towers and 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.
E. 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 state or local building codes and the applicable standards
for towers that are published by the Electrical Industry Association,
as amended from time to time. 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.
F. For purposes of measurement, tower setbacks and separation distances
shall be calculated and applied to facilities located in the Township
irrespective of municipal and county jurisdiction boundaries.
G. Owners and/or operators of towers or antennas shall certify that
all franchises required by law for the construction and/or operation
of a communication system in the Township have been obtained and shall
file a copy of all required franchises with the Township.
H. No signs shall be allowed on an antenna or tower, except where required
by law or approved by the Township.
I. All communication towers shall be monopole construction, but the
upper portions of towers may have designs intended to camouflage the
tower, when approved by the Township.
J. All towers must meet American National Standards Institute, Electrical
Industry Association, Telecommunications Industry Association tower
specifications requirements. Further, the tower must be built to withstand
100 mph sustained winds with a uniform loading of 50 pounds, or short
duration gusts of up to 150 mph. The tower shall be constructed with
consideration of seismic conditions in the Township. An independent
structural engineer registered in Pennsylvania shall attest to the
proposed tower's ability to meet these requirements, certify proper
construction of the foundation and erection of the tower, and certify
the tower can structurally accommodate the proposed uses of the tower.
Maximum live and dead load potential of the tower shall be determined
by the applicant's design engineer to the satisfaction of the Township's
Engineer.
K. Any applicant proposing to construct a communications equipment building that cannot be located underground shall screen the structure using vegetative plantings to be approved by the Zoning Officer in accordance with the landscaping standards set forth in §
167-66.1 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance.
[Amended 1-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
The following regulations apply to towers that are 40 feet or
less in height.
A. Towers and antennas that are 40 feet or less in height shall be permitted only by special exception in the side yard or rear yard (but not within the front yard) in all zoning districts, provided that they are set back from lot lines a distance equivalent to 1.1 times their height or the setback for principal structures applicable to the property's zoning district, whichever is greater, and subject to the standards set forth in Subsection
B(4) through
(11) below.
(1)
Towers and antennas shall be located a minimum of 10 feet plus
the height of the tallest portion of the communications tower or antennas
from any habitable structure.
B. Towers and antennas that are 40 feet or less in height are only permitted
by conditional use within a public right-of-way, approval by the Township,
subject to the applicant establishing the following.
(1)
Applicant shall demonstrate compliance with §
200-198, above.
(2)
With respect to towers and antennas proposed in residential
zoning districts (R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4), the towers and antennas
shall be situated so that they are not located directly in front of
any residential dwelling unit or occupied building, but are instead
located in the rear yard adjacent to any residential dwelling unit
or occupied building or so that they align with gaps between residential
dwelling units and buildings.
(3)
To the extent feasible and practical, towers and antennas shall
be located on existing utility poles or structures.
(4)
Towers, antennas and all supporting facilities shall be designed
in a manner to be aesthetically consistent with the surrounding neighborhood,
and stealth technology shall be utilized to minimize its visual impact.
(5)
Towers shall not interfere with stormwater management facilities
or other utilities.
(6)
Towers and antennas shall not interfere with public safety communications
or the reception of cable, internet, broadband, television, radio
or other communication services enjoyed by occupants of nearby properties.
(7)
Ground facilities necessary for towers and antennas shall be located underground. To the extent that the applicant establishes that such facilities cannot be located underground, all supporting ground facilities for towers and antennas shall be fully screened through landscaping, in compliance with §
167-66.1 of the Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. The applicant shall be responsible for maintaining such landscaping in perpetuity.
[Amended 1-21-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
(8)
In no case shall towers, antennas or supporting ground equipment,
facilities or landscaping be located within 24 inches of the edge
of the cartway or the edge of the curbing or shoulder, whichever is
greater.
(9)
In no case shall towers or antennas installed in a public right-of-way
extend into the yard of an adjacent property.
(10)
The owner of such towers and antennas shall provide a minimum
of three business days' notice to the Township and the property owner
of any construction related to the tower or antennas.
(11)
Applicant shall establish compliance with §
200-200C,
E,
F and
G of this article.
(12)
The Township shall determine the time, place and manner of construction,
maintenance, repair and/or removal of all facilities within the right-of-way,
based on public safety, traffic management, physical burden on the
right-of-way and related considerations. For public utilities, the
time, place and manner requirements shall be consistent with the police
powers of the Township and the requirements of the Public Utility
Code.
C. Applicants for a tower and/or antenna shall submit the following:
(1)
A scaled site plan clearly indicating the location, type and
height of the proposed tower, on-site land uses and zoning, adjacent
roadways, proposed means of access, setbacks from property lines,
elevation drawings of the proposed tower and any other structures,
topography, and other information necessary to assure compliance with
this article.
(2)
The setback distance between the proposed tower and the nearest
residential unit and lot lines.
(3)
A landscape plan showing specific landscape materials.
(4)
Method of fencing, finished color and the method of camouflage
and illumination.
(5)
A description of compliance with all applicable subsections
and all applicable federal, state and local laws.
Notwithstanding any provision in this chapter to the contrary,
any exemption created for a public utility corporation shall not apply
to communication towers. In other words, a public utility corporation
shall comply with all regulations applicable to communication towers
set forth elsewhere in this article.