[Added 9-18-2019 by Ord.
No. 8-2019]
The purpose of this article is to regulate the location, placement, operation and maintenance of commercial communications antennas (CCAs), any related towers, masts, poles, to include, but not limited to, utility poles, monopoles, or similar structures used primarily to support and raise the vertical elevation of the antenna, CCA equipment and CCA buildings within the Township of Fairfield. This chapter is intended to meet the requirements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, in the context of this Act, while reasonably regulating CCA technology within the Township so as to permit the use in appropriate locations so as to avoid the proliferation of CCA towers and to safeguard aesthetics and public safety. The definitions of the following terms are contained in Article I, § 450-3, of this chapter:
A.
CCA installations are potentially necessary based upon the range
of wireless antennas dictating limited functionality in many areas.
(1)
A hierarchy of potential locations to be considered for new CCAs
is as follows:
(a)
Co-locating on an existing tower or structure industrially zoned
property.
(b)
Municipal property or Fairfield Rescue Squad or Fairfield Fire
Companies property.
(c)
Industrially zoned property.
(d)
Planned Business Industrial (PBI).
(e)
Agriculturally zoned property.
(f)
Commercially zoned property.
(g)
Marine resort.
(h)
Residentially zoned property.
(2)
The hierarchical list is provided such that the applicant is directed
to go through the list and demonstrate that it would be infeasible
to use a site at the top of the list before moving down the list.
The hierarchical list in this section is provided by way of providing
for an analysis on the basis of the proposed installation being a
conditional use. All locations are subject to Federal Communications
Commission requirements, any applicable state requirements and regulations
and pursuant to the requirements provided herein.
B.
New CCA installations shall be permitted on monopoles or towers that
have been approved by the Fairfield Township Planning and Zoning Board
prior or subsequent to the adoption of this article.
C.
CCAs are permitted to be mounted on buildings, when permitted, are
to be mounted to a façade of a building and are designed to
blend into the existing architectural detailing and coloring of the
building. Façade-mounted antennas shall not extend above the
roof line.
D.
CCAs may be mounted on public water storage structures and shall
not extend higher than 20 feet above the highest portion of the structure.
A.
The applicant shall be required to demonstrate that the development
is the minimal necessary to provide adequate communications as may
be authorized by the Federal Communications Commission. Included as
part of this requirement, the applicant shall demonstrate at least,
but not necessarily limited to, the following:
(1)
That the technology proposed is the least visually intrusive of various
suitable technologies.
(2)
That the height of the antennas is the minimum necessary given the
carrier's network and requirements.
(3)
That collocation of the antenna on other existing structures, or
that location at a less visible site, or that the use of micro cells,
providing more numerous antennas at lower heights, either within or
outside of the Township of Fairfield, is either not practical in order
to provide adequate communications or that the visual impact to the
community on the proposed site is less than would exist at such alternative
site.
(4)
That the use of digital technology for other existing and pending
antennas in the area would not eliminate the need for the proposed
antenna.
B.
In addition to submission of all applications required by Chapter 400, Subdivision of Land and Site Plan Review, all applications for the installation, construction, erection, movement, reconstruction or modification of any CCA shall submit the following:
(1)
Needs analysis. The needs analysis shall contain documentary evidence
demonstrating the need for the proposed installation, construction,
erection, movement, reconstruction, or modification of any CCA within
the Township. This evidence shall include, at a minimum:
(a)
The CCA service provider's wireless telecommunications network
layout and coverage areas for a radius of at least 10 miles from the
proposed site, identifying all locations:
[1]
In operation as of the filing date of the development application.
[2]
Under construction as of the filing date of the development
application.
[3]
Pending approval before any licensing authority as of the date
of the development application.
[4]
The Planning and Zoning Board may appoint, at the applicant's
expense, a qualified independent engineer to review and analyze its
supporting data and its underlying assumptions.
[5]
Planned or projected approval and construction within the next
10 years following the filing date of the development application.
(b)
All results and to the extent requested by the Planning and
Zoning Board, supporting data derived from tests which must be conducted
to determine before and after signal strength plots. Those results
and data:
[1]
Shall demonstrate the actual existing signal coverage in effect
at the time of application, contrasted with the proposed signal coverage
which would result from the proposed installation, construction, erection,
movement, reconstruction, or modification of the CCA within the Township
of Fairfield.
[2]
Shall be certified by a qualified, independent radio frequency
engineer. The Board reserves the right to retain a radio frequency
engineer on its own behalf at the applicant's expense to review the
results or data submitted by the applicant.
(c)
A search ring of the zones and locations in which the use is
permitted prepared by a professional radio frequency engineer and
overlaid on an appropriate background map demonstrating the area within
the permitted locations where the CCA needs to be located in order
to provide reasonably necessary signal strength and coverage to the
target cell.
(d)
In connection with the signal strength plots and search ring
described above, the applicant must provide a report prepared by a
qualified independent professional engineer which explains why the
proposed location was selected.
(2)
Maximum RF exposure analysis. The maximum RF exposure analysis shall
be a written report prepared by a qualified engineer with expertise
in radio frequency (RF) radiation safety. The report shall identify
all applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards establishing
maximum exposure levels for RF radiation. The report shall calculate
the maximum RF exposure levels at the lot or lease lines of the proposed
site, based upon the maximum power output of the full complement of
commercial communication antennas which the tower or other supporting
structure is capable of accommodating. The analysis shall demonstrate,
to the satisfaction of the Planning and Zoning Board that the maximum
RF exposure at the lot or lease lines of the proposed site would not
exceed the applicable maximum RF exposure levels established by federal
or state law or regulation or by generally recognized industry safety
standards. In the event that the analysis does not demonstrate that
the maximum RF exposure at the lot or lease lines is less than the
lowest applicable maximum level by at least a factor of 10, the Planning
and Zoning Board may appoint, at the applicant's expense, a qualified
independent engineer to review the analysis, its supporting data,
and its underlying assumptions.
A.
CCAs mounted on freestanding monopoles and towers shall be consistent
with the following requirements:
(1)
The minimum lot area required for the placement of a CCA monopole
or tower is one acre.
(2)
The maximum height for a CCA monopole or tower on which antennas
may be placed is 150 feet and antennas mounted on such monopoles shall
not extend beyond the maximum height.
(3)
Freestanding CCA monopole or tower and related equipment shall not
be located in the front yard.
(4)
The location of the CCA monopole or tower and any supporting equipment
shall conform to the side and rear setbacks for the zone in which
it is located or 1/2 the height of the tower, whichever is greater.
(5)
New CCA monopole and tower installations shall be limited to monopole
designs only. Freestanding lattice towers and guyed towers of any
kind are prohibited.
(6)
To the maximum extent practicable, CCA monopoles and towers shall
be designed to permit co-location of additional antennas.
(7)
No CCA monopole or tower shall be lighted except as may be required
by state or federal law.
(8)
The base of the CCA monopole or tower support structure and any related
structures and equipment shall be screened by a landscaped buffer
and/or fencing material and secured from the street and adjacent properties
in a manner acceptable to the Fairfield Township Planning and Zoning
Board. If deemed necessary by the Planning and Zoning Board to reasonably
mitigate the visual impact of the CCA monopoles or towers, its antenna
and related structures and equipment may be required to be modified
in appearance so as to blend in with the surroundings as determined
by the Planning and Zoning Board to be appropriate to the site in
the particular situation. The foregoing may include, but shall not
necessarily be limited to, such modifications as special paint treatment,
concealment through architectural means such as a bell tower, steeple,
flag pole, etc., or the use of other "stealth technologies."
(9)
Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter to the contrary, a
CCA monopole or tower is a principal use permitted on the same lot
as any other permitted principal use or structure in the permitted
locations identified in this article.
B.
CCA equipment and CCA equipment compound shall conform to the following:
(1)
CCA equipment compounds shall be enclosed within a locked security
fence no greater than eight feet in height, unless enclosed within
a building.
(2)
No CCA equipment compound or enclosure or any CCA equipment housed
therein shall exceed 10 feet in overall height. If the enclosure is
to be installed on the rooftop of a building or structure, then the
facility shall not exceed 10 feet in height over the roofline and
shall be set back the distance of the height of the roofline. If a
larger enclosure is necessary, it shall be located on the ground.
(3)
Reasonable efforts, including landscaping and buffering, shall be
employed to camouflage and minimize the visual impact of any CCA equipment
installed or constructed pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
(4)
CCA technology shall fully conform to all applicable federal, state
and local laws.
(5)
Routine maintenance of CCA installations shall be limited to the
hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
C.
Additional requirements. In addition to compliance with all applicable
zoning and site plan regulations, applications for approval of CCA
installations shall include the following:
(1)
An access driveway to safely accommodate one vehicle, as may be necessary
to provide emergency and maintenance access, should be provided in
a location approved by the Planning and Zoning Board.
(2)
The color or colors of the proposed CCA, monopole or tower and equipment
shall be provided.
(3)
A visual impact analysis shall be provided, with particular attention
given to the visibility of the proposed CCA installation from key
viewpoints in the neighborhood.
(4)
A map of existing CCA installations within the Township of Fairfield
which are owned, leased or otherwise under the custody, control or
use of the applicant or other CCA service providers at the time of
the application, and other sites within the Township of Fairfield
where CCA facilities are proposed or projected to be installed.
(5)
A certified load analysis report prepared, signed and sealed by a
professional engineer, for the building, structure, existing monopole
or proposed monopole upon which the CCA antenna is proposed to be
located, indicating its ability to support possible future co-located
CCAs.
(6)
The Planning and Zoning Board may, where appropriate, require the
applicant to conduct a simulation of the visibility of the proposed
CCA installation in order to better assess the visual impact of the
installation.
D.
Abandonment and removal. The applicant shall annually notify the
Township Planning Office of the number of users. CCA installations
and equipment which are not operated for CCA purposes for a period
of 120 days or four months shall be considered abandoned and shall
be removed by the owner, at the owner's expense. This removal shall
occur within 10 days at the end of such four-month period of inactivity.
If such CCA installation is not removed within the ten-day period,
the Municipality may remove the tower and its structures at the owner's
expense. If the CCA installation is to be retained, the owner shall
provide proof that the CCA installation will be reused no later than
three months of the expiration of the ten-day notice described above.
If the CCA installation is not used within the calendar year, a demolition
permit shall be obtained and CCA installation removed. Upon removal,
the site shall be cleaned, cleared, restored and landscaped to preconstruction
conditions. To ensure the removal of CCA installations, the owner
thereof shall post a bond, to be reviewed by the Township Engineer
and in a form acceptable to the Township Attorney and Township Engineer
at the time a construction permit is issued to cover the costs of
the CCA installation removal, disposal and site restoration. The owner
shall provide annual written demolition cost estimates for the purpose
of adjustments to such bond.
