Wireless telecommunication sites, facilities and services may be permitted by special use permit provided the provisions of Article
XIV are compiled with and provided the specific requirements and criteria of this article are met.
This article is designed to provide, with due
consideration given to the Telecommunication Act of 1996, for the
establishment and/or expansion of wireless telecommunication services
within the Town of Orange while protecting neighborhoods and minimizing
the adverse visual and operational effects of wireless telecommunication
facilities through careful design, siting and screening. More specifically,
this regulation has been developed in order to:
A. Maximize use of existing and approved towers and other
structures to accommodate new antennas and transmitters in order to
reduce the number of communication towers needed to serve the community;
B. Encourage providers to co-locate their facilities
on a single tower, or single site;
C. Reduce the number of antennas or towers needed in
the future;
D. Minimize the location of facilities in visually or
environmentally sensitive areas;
E. Encourage creative design measures to camouflage facilities;
F. Protect historic and residential areas from potential
adverse impacts of communication towers;
G. Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from
tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures.
For the purpose of applying the provisions of
this article, the terms below shall be defined as follows:
ALTERNATIVE TOWER STRUCTURE
Man-made trees, clock towers, bell steeples, light poles,
flagpoles and similar alternative design mounting structures that
camouflage or conceal the presence of telecommunications antennas,
towers or devices.
ANTENNA
A device used to receive or transmit electromagnetic waves.
Examples include, but are not limited to, single poles known as whip
antennas, panel antennas and dish antennas.
CO-LOCATION
Locating wireless communication facilities from more than
one provider on a single site.
FALL ZONE
The area or location within which a tower or mounted antenna
would drop, slide or settle in the event the tower or antenna is blown
from its support structure, collapses or is otherwise dislodged from
its foundation or its mounting.
HEIGHT OF TOWER
The vertical distance measured in feet from the average existing
level of the ground surrounding the tower and within 10 feet thereof
to the topmost point of the tower including any antenna or other appurtenances.
The existing elevation shall mean the actual or approved elevations
of the property at the time of application.
TELECOMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT BUILDING
The building accessory to a telecommunications tower in which
the electronic receiving equipment and relay equipment in support
of providing wireless telecommunication services is located.
TOWER
A structure that is intended to support equipment used to
receive and/or transmit electromagnetic waves, including, but not
limited to, telephone, radio, television, telecommunication, personal
communication services or other communication systems. Towers shall
include, without limitation, transmission towers, common carrier towers
and cellular towers. Design examples of towers include self-supporting
lattice, guyed and monopole.
WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES
Licensed wireless telecommunication services including, but
not necessarily limited to, cellular, personal communication services
(PCS), specialized mobilized radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobilized
radio (ESMR), paging and similar services that are marketed to the
general public.
WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION SITE
A facility operated by a licensed wireless telecommunication
service provider which consists of the equipment and structures involved
in receiving or transmitting electromagnetic waves associated with
wireless telecommunication services.
The following uses which generally pose minimum adverse visual effect shall be permitted subject to site plan requirements and the standards set forth in §
383-157.
A. Wireless telecommunication sites located on nonresidential
buildings and shielded from view from all surrounding streets and
driveways used by the general public. The method and materials used
to shield such sites must be approved by the Orange Town Plan and
Zoning Commission as part of the site plan review.
B. Wireless telecommunication sites where the antenna
is mounted to existing towers, utility poles, water towers, light
standards, bridges or other structures not classified as buildings
provided the following standards are met:
(1) No changes are made to the height of such structure.
(2) No panel antenna shall exceed 72 inches in height
and 24 inches in width.
(3) No dish antenna shall exceed three feet in diameter.
(4) All accompanying equipment buildings or boxes shall
be screened and fenced as approved by the Orange Town Plan and Zoning
Commission as part of the site plan review.
Except as allowed subject to the site plan review under §
383-133, no telecommunication tower or facility shall be located within the Town of Orange except upon the granting of a special use permit meeting the requirements of Article
XIV of the Zoning Regulations and the provisions of this article.
Antennae shall be located in a manner to most
effectively comply with the following location preferences in meeting
the telecommunication service needs of the applicant:
A. In all preference categories location on Town of Orange
owned land or buildings shall take priority over other locations.
B. On existing structures such as buildings, smoke stacks,
water towers and ground signs.
C. On existing or approved towers.
D. On new towers located on property occupied by one
or more existing towers.
E. On alternative tower structures in industrial districts
in the following order of priority: Light Industrial District LI-1,
LI-2, LI-3.
F. On new towers in industrial districts in the following
order of priority: Light Industrial District LI-1, LI-2, LI-3.
G. On alternative tower structures in commercial districts
in the following order of priority: Commercial C-1 and C-2, and Local
Shopping Center LSC.
H. On new towers in commercial districts in the following
order of priority: Commercial C-1 and C-2, and Local Shopping Center
LSC.
I. On alternative tower structures in the Business Office
Park District or Office Park District.
J. On new towers located in the Business Office Park
District or Office Park District.
K. On alternative tower structures located in the residential
district.
L. On new towers located in the residential district.
In addition to the submission requirements of Article
XIII, all proposals for wireless telecommunication sites and facilities permitted by site plan review under §
383-152 shall contain the following supplemental information:
A. A plan showing where and how the proposed antenna
will be affixed to a particular building, structure or tower.
B. Details of all proposed antenna and mounting equipment
including size and color.
C. Elevations of all proposed shielding and details of
materials including color.
D. An elevation of all proposed equipment buildings or
boxes.
E. Details of all proposed fencing including color.
F. A landscape/buffering and a lighting plan.
G. An engineering report of the structural integrity
of the tower or other structure and its ability to support the proposed
antenna or antennas.
In addition to the submission requirement of Article
XIV, all proposals for wireless telecommunication sites and facilities requiring special permit approval under §
383-153 shall contain the following supplemental information:
A. All of the information required under §
383-155.
B. A design drawing including cross section and elevation
of all proposed towers. A description of the tower's structural integrity
and load capacity including the number and type of antennas it can
accommodate as well as the proposed location of all mounting positions
for co-located antennas and the minimum separation distances between
antennas. Where a monopole is proposed, the design shall illustrate
how the tower will collapse upon itself without encroaching upon any
adjoining property line.
C. A geotechnical report of soil borings by a licensed
professional engineer demonstrating the appropriateness of proposed
design specifications for any tower foundation, support structures,
anchors, etc.
D. A report from a licensed professional engineer indicating
that the installation of such site will not interfere with public
safety communications, radio or television transmissions or other
existing communication systems and meets all standards of the Federal
Communication Commission.
E. An analysis of the fall zone for the proposed tower
prepared by a licensed professional engineer.
F. All applications shall include proof that either the
applicant or co-applicant holds bona fide license from the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) to provide the telecommunication services
that the proposed tower is designed to support.
G. A report or letter from the Federal Aviation Administration
that the proposed tower complies with all airport safety requirements.
H. A map depicting the extent of the provider's planned
coverage within the Town of Orange and nearby towns, approved or proposed
locations in nearby towns and the service area of the proposed wireless
telecommunication site.
I. A map indicating the search radius for the proposed
wireless telecommunication site, including all existing and potential
sites which have overlapping search area radius, and a description
of the narrowing process that eliminated other potential sites in
sufficient detail to demonstrate the rationale for such determination.
J. A current radio frequency coverage map showing the
area to be served before the addition of the new wireless telecommunication
site and after in sufficient detail for an engineer to determine signal
levels from the map.
K. A study of the results of drive-out tests to confirm
or refute coverage maps.
L. Submission by the applicant of the applicant's records
of the number of calls dropped, failed hand-offs between existing
antennae in the area and number of mobile reorders.
M. A view shed analysis showing all areas from which
the tower would be visible. The analysis also shall describe efforts
that have been made to avoid prominent ridge lines and plans that
have been made to screen the proposed site, camouflage proposed facilities
and otherwise minimize adverse visual impacts.
N. Upon request of the Commission, the applicant shall
provide a simulation of the proposed wireless telecommunication site
in order to help the Commission ascertain the visual impacts associated
with such proposal.
O. All applications shall include information on the
status of any application filed or to be filed with the Connecticut
Siting Council.
Each wireless telecommunication site located
in a Residence District and containing a tower shall comply with the
following requirements:
A. Lot size:
(1) Each tower shall be located on a lot that has at least
200 feet of lot frontage.
(2) Each tower shall be located on a lot that has at least
the minimum lot area of 80,000 square feet per tower, exclusive of
all other uses.
(3) Any other uses on a lot with a tower shall comply with the area requirements of Article
II exclusive of the tower(s) area requirements.
B. Height:
(1) The maximum height of a tower proposed under this
regulation shall be 199 feet including the antenna and all other appurtenances.
(2) The maximum height of any telecommunication equipment building shall be as required by Article
II.
C. Setbacks:
(1) All towers shall be located a minimum distance from
any property line equal to 125% of the proposed tower height.
(2) All equipment buildings/boxes or equipment areas shall
comply with the minimum property line setbacks for a principal building
in the underlying zone.
D. Building size: The lot coverage area of all buildings
for wireless telecommunication services shall not exceed 100 square
feet for each antenna located on a tower.
A wireless telecommunication site that is determined
by the Commission or its agent to be not in use for 12 consecutive
months shall be removed by the service facility owner. The Commission
shall send the service facility owner a notice of abandonment by certified
mail. This removal shall occur within 90 days of the date that the
notice of abandonment is sent. Upon removal the site shall be restored
to its previous appearance and where appropriate revegetated to blend
with the surrounding area.
Any telecommunication tower, facility or building
that has as a co-applicant the Town of Orange may be exempted from
such provisions of these regulations as the Commission may determine
is in the best interests of the town.