The County finds that the provisions of this
article are necessary in order to:
A.
Minimize the number of communications towers in Harford
County.
B.
Encourage the co-location of telecommunications facilities.
C.
Encourage the use of existing buildings, towers, lights,
utility poles, water towers and other similar structures for antennas.
D.
Allow telecommunications providers to build out their
systems over time.
E.
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 County.
F.
Require the County to create a government information
system database that contains information regarding the location of
all communications antennas, the location of all communications towers
and information relative to the carrying capacity of each tower.
G.
Ensure that all telecommunications facilities, including
towers, antennas and ancillary facilities, are installed in such a
manner as to minimize disturbance to existing vegetation and designed
to include suitable landscaping to buffer the facility, where necessary.
H.
Ensure that if a new communications tower must be
built, the tower should be:
(1)
Constructed to accommodate 3 or more providers when
practical;
(2)
Erected in a medium or high intensity commercial zone
when practical;
(3)
Located and designed to minimize visibility from residential
properties; and
(4)
Available for co-location for a government sanctioned
public safety use prior to its availability to another provider.
Communications antennas may be placed, as accessory
uses, upon any existing structure in any district as a matter of right,
subject to the following restrictions:
A.
Communications antennas and any related mounting structures
may not be more than 12 feet in total height without a variance.
B.
No communications antennas shall be placed upon any
single-family residence.
C.
If the addition of communications antennas to an existing
structure triggers a governmental lighting requirement, with respect
to a facility that is not already subject to such a requirement, the
addition will be allowed only by special exception through the granting
of an area variance.
D.
A building permit shall be required.
E.
Certification from the applicant that its equipment
will meet all applicable federal standards governing the emission
of energy.
F.
Equipment buildings that do not exceed 560 square
feet per building, per provider, or a single equipment building that
does not exceed 560 square feet, per provider, are permitted in any
district as accessory uses.
A.
Communications towers shall be allowed by right, up
to 199 feet, in the B3, CI, LI, GI and MO Districts.
B.
A communications tower shall be allowed by right within
an existing overhead transmission line right-of-way provided that
the height of the communications tower does not exceed the height
of the existing structure by more than 20%.
C.
Communications towers shall be allowed by special
exception, up to 199 feet, in all other districts.
[Amended by Bill No. 17-018]
A.
All communications towers shall be structurally designed
to accommodate for co-location, which shall mean the ability of the
structure to allow for the placement of antennas for 3 or more carriers.
This provision may be waived by the approving body if it is determined
that a co-location design will have an adverse impact on the surrounding
area.
B.
No aviation-related lighting shall be placed upon
any communications tower unless specifically required by the Federal
Aviation Administration or other governmental entity.
C.
Monopoles shall be the preferred communications tower
structure type within the County.
D.
To the extent practical, communication towers shall
have suitable landscaping in order to buffer the site from adjoining
properties.
E.
The only signage permitted on any communications tower
shall be a single sign, no larger than 6 square feet, affixed to the
equipment building or fence enclosure that identifies the tower owner,
each locating provider and the telephone number for the person to
contact in the event of an emergency.
F.
All zoning certificate applications for the construction
of new communications towers shall be subject to the Development Advisory
Committee (DAC) review process, with the following additional requisites:
(1)
Whether an applicant has satisfied the radio frequency
need requirements identified in this section shall be reviewed by
a radio frequency engineer. The engineer shall be retained by the
County from an approved panel of such engineers to be created and
maintained by the County. The engineer shall determine whether the
applicant has shown a radio frequency need, based on coverage and/or
capacity issues or other engineering requisites, to construct a new
communications tower.
(2)
When the communications tower is permitted by right,
the engineer's determination shall be made in the ordinary course
of DAC review.
(3)
When the communications tower is allowed by special
exception, the County's radio frequency engineering review shall be
made in connection with the staff report review pursuant to § A274-1D
of the Harford County Code, as amended. Such review will be completed
prior to any zoning hearing and will preclude further DAC review of
radio frequency issues.
(4)
The County's radio frequency engineer shall ensure
that any new tower does not interfere with or obstruct existing or
proposed communications towers designed for public safety use.
G.
The applicant shall be responsible for maintaining
the communications tower in a safe condition.
H.
Communications towers shall be utilized continuously
for wireless communications. In the event that a communications tower
ceases to be used for wireless communications for a period of 6 months,
the approval will be revoked. In the event that the Director of Planning
is presented with evidence that further viability of the tower is
imminent, the Director of Planning may grant 1 extension of the approval
for a period not to exceed 6 months beyond the revocation of the use.
The applicant shall take all necessary steps to dismantle the tower
and remove and dispose of all visible remnants and materials from
the subject parcel within 90 calendar days after termination. The
applicant shall ensure removal of the tower and all associated accessory
structures by posting an acceptable monetary guarantee with the County
on forms provided by the Department of Planning and Zoning. The guarantee
shall be submitted prior to the issuance of a building permit and
shall be for an amount equal to a cost estimate approved by the Director
of Planning for the removal of the tower, plus a 15% contingency.
I.
Every application for the construction of a new communications
tower shall include the following:
(1)
Information demonstrating the applicant's radio frequency
need for the facility, including computer modeling information, an
explanation as to why co-location is not feasible and a list of alternative
sites considered;
(2)
A checklist prepared, in conformity with Section 106
of the National Environmental Policy Act, and any other documents
filed by the applicant with the FCC related to this site if requested
by the Department;
(3)
A site plan, including the layout of the site, a drawing
or other physical depiction of the proposed communications tower and
any equipment buildings, and a map showing the area within a 1-mile
radius of the tower;
(4)
A description of the number of carriers' equipment
that the tower can accommodate and a statement as to whether the applicant
will allow other carriers to co-locate on the facility;
(5)
Documentation demonstrating the tower shall be designed
and constructed in accordance with any applicable American National
Standards Institute standards;
(6)
Proof that the applicant owns, or otherwise has permission
to use, the site, along with any easements necessary to access the
site;
(7)
A certification from each carrier that will utilize
the facility that its equipment will meet all applicable federal standards
governing the emission of energy from such facilities; and
(8)
A nonbinding 5-year plan showing the applicant's existing
and proposed communications network within the County. In accordance
with state law on access to public records, § 10-611 et
seq. of the State Government Article, the Department shall treat the
5-year plan it obtains as confidential and shall not permit public
inspection of that information.
J.
When proposing a new communications tower, the applicant
must demonstrate a radio frequency need for such a facility by showing:
(1)
That the applicant has researched the co-location
possibilities in the area, including in its research a review of the
County's database of structures; and
(2)
That due to the absence of sufficiently tall structures
in the search area, the absence of structural capacity on existing
structures or other valid engineering or economic factors, no viable
co-location opportunities exist in the search area.
K.
Communication towers shall not be located within 1,000
feet of a historic landmark.
L.
Communications towers shall be set back from existing dwellings and
any structures attached thereto by a distance equal to 125% of the
height of the tower.
[Added by Bill No. 17-018]
[Amended by Bill No. 17-018]
An applicant proposing a new communications tower in the RR,
R1, R2, R3, R4, RO, VR, VB, B1, B2 or AG Districts shall demonstrate
that the request complies with the following conditions:
A.
The placement of the communications tower, at the
proposed location, will not have a material negative impact on the
value, use or enjoyment of any adjoining parcel.
B.
The applicant has made a diligent attempt to locate
the applicant's antenna on an existing tower or nonresidential building
or structure.
C.
The applicant shall provide the following additional
information in support of its application:
(1)
Photographs of existing site conditions;
(2)
Photographs demonstrating that a balloon test has
been conducted, or other evidence depicting the visual impact of the
proposed tower within a 1-mile radius of the tower; and
(3)
A map describing the topography of the site and the
area within a 1-mile radius of the proposed tower.
[Amended by Bill No. 17-018]
Applications proposing new communications towers
in the RR, R1, R2, R3, R4, RO, VR, VB, B1 and B2 Districts shall be
presumed not to be favored unless the applicant can demonstrate that
no suitable alternative site exists. In order to obtain a special
exception in one of these districts, the applicant must demonstrate,
in addition to the requisites applicable to all other tower requests,
the following:
A.
There exists no suitable alternative location in a
B3, CI, GI, LI or AG District identifying with particularity any other
sites considered;
B.
There is something unique about the proposed location,
such as its size, the nature of surrounding uses or other factors,
that negates the presumption that such facilities are generally incompatible
with residential zoning; and
C.
That due to the location, elevation, engineering,
technical feasibility or inability to obtain a lease or ownership
of a location elsewhere, the construction of a tower at the proposed
location is warranted.
[Amended by Bill No. 17-018]
The construction of communications towers, determined to be necessary, in accordance with a plan approved by the County Council, for government-sanctioned public safety use or the mounting of communications antennas for government-sanctioned public safety use is exempt from the provisions contained in § 267-97 (Additional special exception requirements) and § 267-98 (Additional provisions applicable to proposed sitings in RR, R1, R2, R3, R4, RO, VR, VB, B1 and B2 Districts) of this legislation. Public safety use is defined as local and state law enforcement agencies and emergency operations center, including the oversight of the fire companies and medical services, designed to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public but does not include the operations of the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits or the Humane Society.
