[Adopted 4-3-2014 by Ord.
No. 2014-08]
The purpose of this article is to provide sound land use policies
and establish guidelines for the siting of wireless telecommunications
towers and antennas and ancillary facilities.
A.
To protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse
impacts of towers and antennas;
B.
To encourage the location of towers on municipally owned property
where appropriate or in other nonresidential areas;
C.
To encourage the location on existing buildings, telecommunication
towers and water towers as opposed to construction of new telecommunications
towers;
D.
To encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the
extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community
is minimal;
E.
To ensure that all telecommunications facilities, including towers,
antennas and ancillary facilities, are located and designed to minimize
the visual impact on the immediate surroundings and throughout the
community by encouraging developers of towers and antennas to configure
them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers
and antennas through careful design, siting and landscape screening;
and
F.
To secure the removal of towers once they become obsolete or unused
for an extended period of time.
Entities seeking approval of new personal wireless telecommunications
facilities shall, in addition to their compliance with existing legal
and regulatory requirements, show that the planned facilities also
comply with the following objectives:
A.
To the extent that is practical, use of existing facilities inside
the Township and its immediate vicinity.
B.
If such usable facilities exist, then also to the extent that it
is practical, use of facilities that are owned by the Township.
C.
If usable existing facilities do not exist, then to the extent that
is practical, use of property owned by the Township.
F.
If a new tower is on lands not owned by the Township of West Deptford,
then they shall be permitted in the M-2 Heavy Manufacturing Zone.
A.
Co-location goals.
(1)
To the extent possible, each provider shall make its existing facilities
available and will design and make all future structures available
for use by other providers in accordance with the policies set forth
in this section.
B.
Limiting principle. The Township recognizes that a lessee may grant
no more rights than it has under a lease. The co-location policies
under this section are always subject to the basic limiting principle.
C.
Equal access.
(1)
Space on existing and proposed facility structures shall be made
available to other providers in accordance with the process described
below.
(2)
Request for co-location shall be considered in a timely manner.
(3)
No reciprocal agreements (i.e., quid pro quo access to another structure
owned by the party requesting co-location) shall be required to make
an applicant eligible for co-location.
(4)
To facilitate initial and future co-locations, master agreements
are encouraged.
(5)
The primary provider on a proposed facility structure shall attempt
to ensure that the lease allows for co-location by proposing and advocating
lease agreement language that permits subleasing. Where the lessor
does not permit subleasing, the provider agrees to be supportive of
potential users in their attempts to work with the lessor.
(6)
Notice of construction of new structures shall be provided in accordance
with site plan review regulations.
E.
Design of tower structures.
(1)
Tower structures shall be load designed to allow sufficient room
for cables, antennas and equipment of future co-locations and to support
the anticipated weight and wind load of their future additional facilities.
Space for ground-level maintenance, equipment shelters, and switching
facilities shall be reserved for future co-locators to the extent
practical.
(2)
The tower structure shall be designed to allow antenna attachment
and independent maintenance at various heights.
(3)
In general, tower structure shall be designed so as to be easily
expandable to a height of 180 feet above ground level.
(4)
Relocation of existing antennas on a tower structure to accommodate
a new co-locator is permitted if the new location(s) meet the existing
co-locator's needs and the cost of the relocation is borne by the
new co-locator. The relocation plans and schedules must be coordinated
with the tower structure owner and in compliance with the lease agreement.
(5)
If any modifications (such as lease, structure, ground space) are
required for an existing structure, the provider shall attempt, at
the time such modification is made, to make the site and structure
suitable for co-location, both within the existing lease and otherwise.
F.
Access and utilities.
(1)
Each co-locator shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining
its respective required electric and telephone utility services independently.
The facility structure owner or the first provider to use the facility
shall inform the telephone and electrical companies, at the time of
its utility installation, of the fact that the site may be occupied
by other users in the future. Co-locator shall have:
(a)
A nonexclusive right of access for ingress and egress, seven
days a week, 24 hours a day, for the installation and maintenance
of utility wires, poles, cables, conduits and pipes either over the
ground or underground, extending from the most appropriate public
right-of-way to the tower structure area; and
(b)
Access privileges to the facility area for all authorized personnel
of co-locators for the maintenance and operation of their respective
facilities.
G.
Co-location procedures.
(1)
Application. When a provider has identified a need for service in
an area where there is an existing or proposed facility structure,
the provider (the new provider in the sequel) may contact the user
of an existing facility (the existing provider in the sequence) and
request key information, such as the exact location, geographical
coordinates, height and available ground space within the structure
lease area. Contact information of existing providers shall be maintained
by the Township. If the new provider decides to pursue co-location
on the structure, a formal application that contains information about
the new provider's radio frequency requirements, antenna specification,
equipment shelter dimensions, height of antennas, and other relevant
parameters shall be provided to the facility owner and the existing
provider. The application shall be reviewed by the facility owner
and the existing provider for any potential radio frequency interference
issues, facility structural effects, utility concerns, security or
access issues, space availability, and lease terms and regulatory
compliance.
(2)
Approval. The application shall be approved if there are no significant
service disruptions or service-affecting interference with existing
signals, site operations, lease terms, regulatory conditions, or structural
integrity of the facility. It is recognized that existing site restrictions
and technical incompatibility may not always permit co-location. Should
a structural analysis prove that the facility structure would not
hold the additional antennas and equipment requested, the new provider
may investigate with the facility owner and the existing provider
the possibility, feasibility and cost of modifying the facility structure
or increasing the height up to 180 feet, and relocating all existing
users as necessary to accommodate the new provider's needs, as well
as the existing facilities and possible future co-locators. If the
new provider is able to pursue such reconstruction and/or relocation
of antennas, and these activities are feasible, the existing provider
will allow them, provided such actions do not cause significant service
disruptions or long-term service causing interference with existing
signals and do not cause significant interference with site operations,
lease terms, regulatory conditions, or future needs to the existing
provider. Unless otherwise negotiated and modified, the existing provider
and the owners of the facility would retain all rights previously
held, including, but not limited to, those regarding facility ownership.
Reasons for any denial of co-location requests shall be provided to
the applicant by the facility structure owner in writing.
(3)
Contract and site development. Once the facility owners and the existing
provider approve the co-location application, a co-location package
shall be supplied to the applicant by the owner, including site plans
and facility drawings. Concurrently, a license, sublease or other
appropriate agreement shall be prepared, reviewed and executed by
the parties.
Once an agreement for the specific site has been executed, site
development and design shall be coordinated between the facility owner
and the applicant. Right-of-way access shall be provided in accordance
with the agreement. The new provider shall also contract with a design
firm to prepare site plans and construction drawings, as required,
and prepare the application for all required regulatory site plan
approvals. When the new provider has secured permits, a preconstruction
meeting will be scheduled to ensure that all guidelines are followed
in the planning and construction process, with emphasis on safety
and security. Once construction is completed, access privileges to
the secured lease area shall be provided for all authorized personnel
of the users of the facility for maintenance and operation in accordance
with the agreement.
(4)
Application period; emergency services; compliance with law. Applications
to co-locate will continue to be accepted by the facility owner for
a site as long as support structure space and underground space are
still available. If sufficient ground space is not available, the
existing provider agrees to be supportive of potential users in their
attempts to negotiate with the lessor. Applications will be accepted
on a first-come, first-served basis until the support structure can
no longer hold additional facilities without compromising the service
of existing co-locators or the structural integrity of the facility
structure. Co-location opportunities may be offered to emergency service
providers free of facility rental charges; using the procedures outlined
in this section. All providers must operate in compliance with all
applicable local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations.
A.
In an effort to minimize the negative impacts of personal wireless
facilities, providers shall adhere to the following policy regarding
facility erection and construction, facility dismantling, and usage
reporting.
(1)
If the entity requesting the erection of an antenna tower or similar
facility (the applicant) is not a provider, then no facility may be
constructed unless there exists a signed agreement between the applicant
and at least one provider for the immediate and continuous use of
the facility by the provider.
(2)
A report on usage of the facility by the provider and others shall
be filed annually, on or before the first of May, with the Township
Clerk indicating usage of the antenna site. The report shall include
the names and addresses of providers and other who use the site. Suspensions
of service and service discontinuances exceeding two weeks shall be
reported as well.
(3)
Should the facility not be used by any exclusive provider, or all
providers at a given site for a period exceeding six months, the facility
and all related systems and structures, including foundations, shall
be dismantled at the applicant's expense. "Dismantle" shall be defined
as the removal of any and all improvements. Said improvements shall
be removed from the subject site and the affected property restored
to its original condition and appearance within six months after being
notified by the Township of the applicant's obligation to dismantle
said site. Proper disposal of waste materials from the site shall
be in accordance with local, county and state solid waste disposal
regulations.
A.
A fundamental assumption of this article is that, if new personal
wireless telecommunications facility in West Deptford were needed,
then they would improve the level of service to customers where this
level was inadequate without the proposed facilities. Currently, portions
of the Township receive either inadequate or limited wireless service,
and the Township's goal for the personal wireless telecommunications
facility plan is to provide adequate service inside the Township while
minimizing the negative effects of these facilities. Adequate service
does not necessarily mean optimal service.
B.
In evaluating the need for service, the providers shall rely upon
two widely recognized parameters that help to define service levels.
These are to be used uniformly by the providers in applications consisting
of:
(1)
Signal-to-interference ratio at audio. This parameter describes the
ratio of power of the intended (desired) audio signal in the customer
audio band (typically 30 to 3,400 Hz) to the power level of interference
from all other sources in the same frequency band. In personal wireless
radio, interference is typically the result of other signals in the
same (RF) frequency band present due to the practice of frequency
reuse in other cells. If non-audio services are provided in addition
to audio services, the signal-to-noise interference ratio at audio
will be considered as the primary criterion (compared to signal to
interference ratios in other bands). If only non-audio services are
provided, determination of signal to interference ratio in other than
the audio band shall be taken into consideration.
(2)
Dropped call rate. This parameter represents the ratio of dropped
calls to the total number of active calls in a service area. The dropped
call rate is measured over a period of time. A dropped call is a previously
active call, which was ended due to a non-availability of personal
wireless services to customers in the service area. For purposes of
this plan non-availability in the service area refers to customers
(and equipment that serves customers) who are physically present inside
West Deptford Township and is limited to services and equipment of
the providers who service these customers.
