[Added 11-17-1997 STM by Art. 21]
B.
Intent. This article contains specific requirements
to guide the special permit process for wireless communications facilities.
These guidelines are intended to provide maximum wireless communication
coverage, as mandated by Section 704 of the Federal Telecommunications
Act of 1996, while protecting the general welfare and aesthetic integrity
of the Town of Belchertown.
A.
The Belchertown Planning Board shall be the special permit granting authority for all purposes under this article and shall adopt rules and regulations with respect to the administration of applications or special permits under this article, subject to the conditions set forth below and in accordance with the provisions of § 145-62 of this article and MGL c. 40A, §§ 9 and 11, as amended.
B.
Waiver of compliance.
(1)
The Belchertown Planning Board, acting as the special
permit granting authority under this article, in appropriate cases,
may waive strict compliance with such requirements of this article,
as provided in MGL c. 40A, § 9, where such action is in
the public interest and not inconsistent with the purpose and intent
of the Zoning Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 40A.
(2)
Waiver requests shall be submitted in writing with
the application for a wireless communication facility. Waivers granted
by the Planning Board under this subsection may be limited by conditions
which shall be endorsed on the plan to which said conditions relate
or set forth in a separate instrument attached to the plan.
A.
Wireless communications facility other than a tower.
A wireless communications facility other than a wireless communications
tower may be erected upon the issuance of a special permit by the
Planning Board, subject to all of the following conditions:
(1)
Installations on existing buildings shall be camouflaged
or screened and designed to be harmonious and architecturally consistent
with the building. Any equipment associated with the facility shall
be located within the building or otherwise so hidden as to be invisible.
(2)
No facility shall project more than 10 feet above
the existing roofline of the building or more than 10 feet above the
top of the existing structure upon which it is mounted or more than
five feet out from the plane of the existing wall or facade to which
it is attached, provided that such projections do not otherwise violate
existing yard dimensions or setback requirements.
(3)
Any proposed addition of cells, antennas or panels
or replacement of a facility shall be the subject of a new application
for an amendment to the special permit.
(4)
All building-mounted facilities shall be designed
and located so as to appear as an integral part of the existing architecture
of the building.
(5)
All wireless communication facilities shall be protected
against unauthorized access by the public.
B.
Wireless communications facility tower. A wireless
communications tower, including antennas and accessory structures,
may be erected upon the issuance of a special permit by the Planning
Board and is subject to all of the following conditions:
(1)
To the extent feasible, all service providers shall
co-locate on a single tower. Towers shall be designed to structurally
accommodate the maximum number of foreseeable users technically practicable
within a ten-year period.
(2)
New towers shall be considered only upon a finding
by the Planning Board that existing or approved towers cannot accommodate
the wireless communication equipment planned for the proposed tower.
(3)
No tower shall be located closer than two miles to
any other such tower.
(4)
Tower height shall not exceed 150 feet above the existing
terrain.
(5)
The base of a tower shall be a distance of at least
equal to two times the tower's height from the property line or existing
dwelling unit.
[Amended 5-9-2016 ATM
by Art. 32]
(6)
One tower only is permitted on any lot.
(7)
The size of accessory structures housing support equipment
for towers shall be determined individually under each special permit
application.
[Amended 5-11-2009 ATM by Art. 15]
(8)
Existing vegetation shall be preserved as much as
possible.
(9)
The Planning Board may impose conditions to ensure
that wireless communications facilities are as visually unobtrusive
as possible from all perspectives. These conditions may include structural
design, painting, lighting and landscaping standards.
(10)
Any proposed extension in the height, addition
of cells, antennas or panels, construction of a new facility or replacement
of a facility shall require a new application for an amendment of
the special permit.
(11)
No tower or other facility structure shall contain
any signs or other devices for advertising.
(12)
Announcement signs, "no trespassing" signs and a sign with the owner's telephone number are required. The area of these signs will conform to § 145-22 of this chapter.
(13)
Except as required by the Federal Aviation Administration,
towers shall not be artificially lighted.
(14)
The tower's height may not be greater than the distance from
the tower's base to the boundary of the tower owner's legal lease
or ownership area.
[Added 5-8-2017 ATM by
Art. 28]
All unused towers or parts thereof, or accessory
facilities and structures which have not been used for one year, shall
be dismantled and removed at the owner's expense. Prior to issuance
of a building permit for a wireless communications tower, the applicant
is required to post with the Town Treasurer-Collector a bond or other
form of financial security acceptable to the Town Treasurer-Collector
in an amount set by the Building Inspector. The amount shall be suitable
to cover demolition, removal and disposal of the tower and its accessories
in the event that the Building Inspector condemns the tower, parts
of the tower or any part of the tower's accessories or deems it unused
for more than one year. The Building Inspector shall give the tower's
owner 45 days' written notice by registered mail before demolition
commences. All demolition and removal costs will be billed to the
tower's owner, and any unpaid amounts will become an encumbrance on
the property.
After notice and public hearing in accordance with Section 9 of the Zoning Act (MGL c. 40A, § 9), the Planning Board may, after due consideration of the reports and recommendations of the Conservation Commission, Town Engineer and Building Inspector, grant such a special permit, provided that the conditions in this Article XII and any special conditions placed by the Planning Board have been adequately met.
[Amended 5-8-2017 ATM
by Art. 28]
B.
The Planning
Board may retain an engineer and/or other professional consultant
for guidance at the expense of the applicant.
C.
The applicant
shall submit an operation and maintenance plan and shall annually
submit a report, starting 12 months from the date of receiving a certificate
of use or certificate of occupancy, demonstrating compliance to the
operation and maintenance plan. Any change to the operation and maintenance
plan must be approved by the Planning Board.
The Planning Board may periodically amend or
add rules and regulations relating to the procedures and administration
of this article.
