As used in this article, the following terms
shall have these meanings:
ALTERNATIVE TOWER STRUCTURE
Man-made trees, clock towers, bell steeples, flagpoles, and
similar alternative-design mounting structures that camouflage or
conceal the presence of antennas or towers.
ANCILLARY FACILITIES
The buildings, cabinets, vaults, closures and equipment required
for operation of telecommunications systems including but not limited
to repeaters, equipment housing, and ventilation and other mechanical
equipment.
ANTENNA
Any exterior device used for transmitting or receiving radio
waves used for wireless communications. Parabolic dish antennas used
for satellite communications shall not be included within this definition.
BACK-HAUL NETWORK
The lines that connect a provider's towers/cell site to one
or more cellular telephone switching offices, and/or long distance
providers, or the public switched telephone network.
BUFFER AREA
The area surrounding a telecommunications tower and ancillary
facilities, which lies between the tower and adjacent lot lines an/or
land uses.
CARRIER
A company that provides wireless services.
COLLOCATION
Two or more receiving and/or transmitting facilities owned
or controlled by different companies placed together in the same location
or on the same antenna support structure.
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration.
FCC
Federal Communications Commission.
FALL ZONE
The area on the ground within a prescribed radius from the
base of a wireless telecommunications tower. The fall zone is the
area within which there is a potential hazard from falling debris
(such as ice) or collapsing material.
FUNCTIONALLY EQUIVALENT SERVICES
Cellular radio, personal communications service (PCS), enhanced
specialized mobile radio, specialized mobile radio and paging, commercial
land mobile radio and additional emerging technologies.
GUYED TOWER
A tower that is supported or braced through the use of cables
(guy wires) that are permanently anchored.
HEIGHT
When referring to a tower, the vertical distance measured
from the lowest finished grade at the base of the tower to the highest
point on the tower, even if said highest point is an antenna.
LATTICE TOWER
A type of mount that is self-supporting with multiple legs
and cross-bracing of structural steel.
MONOPOLE
The type of tower that is self-supporting with a single shaft
of wood, steel or concrete and a platform(s) (or racks) for panel
antennas arrayed at the top.
MOUNT
The structure or surface upon which antennas are mounted,
including the following three types of mounts:
A.
Building-mounted: mounted on the roof or the
side of a building.
B.
Ground-mounted: antenna support (tower) mounted
on the ground.
C.
Structure-mounted: mounted on or in a structure
other than a building.
RADIO FREQUENCY RADIATION (RFR)
The emissions from personal wireless service facilities or
any electromagnetic energy within the frequency range from 0.003 MHz
to 300,000 MHz.
STEALTH DESIGN
Telecommunications facility that is designed or located in
such a way that the facility is not readily recognizable as telecommunications
equipment (see "alternative tower structure").
WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
A facility designed and used for the purpose of transmitting,
receiving, and relaying voice and/or data signals from various wireless
communications devices, including transmission towers, antennas and
ancillary facilities. For purposes of this section, amateur radio
transmission facilities and facilities used exclusively for the reception
of television and radio broadcasts are not telecommunications facilities.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS OR TRANSMISSION TOWER
The monopole, guyed or lattice framework structure designed
to support transmitting and receiving antennas. For purposes of this
section, amateur radio transmission facilities and facilities used
exclusively for the transmission of television and radio signals are
not transmission towers.
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
Any personal wireless services as defined in the Telecommunications
Act of 1996, which includes FCC-licensed commercial wireless telecommunications
services including cellular, personal communications services (PCS),
specialized mobile radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobile radio
(ESMR), paging, and similar services that currently exist or that
may in the future be developed. It does not include any amateur radio
facility that is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur
radio station operator or is used exclusively for receive only antennas,
nor does it include noncellular telephone service.
The following site design standards shall apply
to wireless telecommunications facilities:
A. New towers.
(1) New telecommunications towers shall not be located
closer than 1,000 feet to a residential property line. All antennas
located on existing buildings or structures, including towers, are
exempt from this requirement.
(2) Fall zone. A fall zone shall be established such that
the tower is setback 110% of the height of the tower from any adjoining
lot line or non-appurtenant building.
(3) Security fencing. Towers shall be enclosed by security
fencing not less than eight feet in height. Towers shall also be equipped
with appropriate anticlimbing measures or devices.
(4) Landscaping. The following requirements shall govern
the landscaping surrounding towers:
(a)
Tower facilities shall be landscaped with a
buffer of plant materials that effectively screens the view of the
tower compound. The standard buffer shall consist of a landscaped
strip at least 10 feet wide outside the perimeter of the compound.
However, at a minimum, the facility should be shielded from public
and private view by evergreen trees at least 10 feet high at planting
and planted in staggered double rows 10 to 15 feet on center.
(b)
Existing mature tree growth and natural landforms
on the site shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. In
some cases, such as towers sited on large wooded lots, natural growth
around the property perimeter may be a sufficient buffer.
(5) Ancillary buildings. Any proposed building(s) enclosing
related electronic equipment for one or more carriers shall not exceed
10 feet in height and 200 square feet in area for each carrier at
a facility. When a carrier's equipment is to be contained by itself
in a separate, individual building, each carrier shall be limited
to one such building. Such buildings must satisfy the minimum setback
requirements for accessory buildings in the zoning district. Where
multiple buildings are proposed at a facility serving multiple carriers,
the placement of each such building shall be done in a visually and
functionally coordinated manner, with the goal being that of maximizing
the number of possible carriers at a facility while minimizing the
area of the overall compound required for such facility.
(6) Aesthetics. Towers and antennas shall meet the following
requirements:
(a)
Towers shall either maintain a galvanized steel
finish or, subject to any applicable standards of the FAA, be painted
a neutral color so as to reduce visual obtrusiveness, as determined
appropriate by the Planning Board.
(b)
At a tower site, the design of the buildings
and related structures shall, to the extent possible, use materials,
colors, textures, screening, and landscaping that will blend them
into the natural setting and surrounding buildings.
(7) Lighting. No lighting is permitted except as follows,
which shall be subject to review and approval by the Planning Board
as part of the site plan application:
(a)
The building enclosing electronic equipment
may have one light at the entrance to the building, provided that
the light is attached to the building, is focused downward and is
switched so that the light is turned on only when authorized personnel
are at the building; and
(b)
No lighting is permitted on a tower except lighting
that specifically is required by the FAA, and any such required lighting
shall be focused and shielded to the greatest extent possible so as
not to project towards adjacent and nearby properties.
(8) Signs. No signs are permitted except those required
by the Federal Communications Commission, the Electronic Industries
Association (ETA) and/or the Telecommunications Industry Association
(TIA) or by law, such as warning and equipment information signs.
B. Antennas mounted on existing buildings or structures.
(1) Antennas on existing buildings or structures. Any
antenna which is not attached to a tower may be attached to any existing
business, industrial, office, utility or institutional building or
structure in the Township, provided that:
(a)
Side- and roof-mounted personal wireless service
facilities shall not project more than ten feet above the height of
an existing building or structure nor project more than ten feet above
the height limit of the zoning district within which the facility
is located. Personal wireless service facilities may be located on
a building or structure that is legally nonconforming with respect
to height, provided that the facilities do not project above the existing
building or structure height.
(b)
The antenna complies with all applicable FCC
and FAA regulations.
(c)
The antenna complies with all applicable codes.
(d)
The equipment structure shall not contain more
than 200 square feet of gross floor area or be more than 10 feet in
height. In addition, for existing buildings and structures that are
less than 35 feet in height, the related unmanned equipment structure
shall be located on the ground and not on the roof of the building
or structure.
[1]
If the equipment structure is located on the
roof of a building, the area of the equipment structure and other
equipment and structures shall not occupy more than 10% percent of
the roof area.
[2]
Equipment storage buildings, structures or cabinets
shall comply with all applicable building codes.
(2) Aesthetics. If an antenna is installed on a structure
other than a tower, the antenna, supporting electrical and mechanical
equipment, as well as any equipment storage buildings, structures
or cabinets, must be of a color that is identical to or closely compatible
with the color of the supporting building or structure, so as to make
the antenna and related equipment and structures as visually unobtrusive
as possible.
(3) While it is anticipated that antennas mounted on buildings or structures as referenced in §
101-227B(1) above would involve existing buildings or structures, their placement on new buildings or structures is permitted where such facilities are otherwise permitted pursuant to §
101-226A and subject to the requirements of Subsections
B(1) and
B(2) immediately above.
C. Antennas on existing towers. An antenna may be attached
to an existing tower and, to minimize adverse visual impacts associated
with the proliferation and clustering of towers, collocation of antennas
by more than one carrier on such towers shall take precedence over
the construction of new towers, provided such collocation is accomplished
in a manner consistent with the following:
(1) A tower that is modified or reconstructed to accommodate
the collocation of additional antennas shall be of the same tower
type as the existing tower, unless reconstruction as a monopole is
proposed.
(2) An existing tower may be modified or rebuilt to a
taller height, not to exceed the maximum tower height established
by this article. After the tower is rebuilt to accommodate collocation,
only one tower may remain on the site.
Special consideration shall be given to wireless
telecommunications facilities located in accordance with the following
prioritized locations:
A. The first priority shall be on existing telecommunications
towers, existing water towers or standpipes, high-voltage lines support
towers, or railroad right-of-way catenary structures, located within
or near the Township and owned by either a public or private utility,
a railroad corporation, or the Township or other municipality.
B. The second priority shall be on existing nonresidential
buildings and structures in the PMUD and I-100 Zones.
C. The third priority shall be on existing nonresidential
buildings and structures in all other permitted zones.
D. The fourth priority shall be on new telecommunications
towers on lands owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Township.
In addition to the site plan submission requirements in Chapter
85 of the Township Code, the following information shall be submitted in conjunction with site plan approvals for all wireless telecommunications facilities:
A. Comprehensive service plan. In order to provide proper
evidence that any proposed location for a new wireless telecommunications
facility (including supporting tower, antennas, and/or ancillary buildings
enclosing related electronic equipment) has been planned to result
in the fewest number of towers within the Township at the time full
service is provided by the applicant throughout the Township, the
application shall submit a comprehensive service plan. Said comprehensive
service plan shall indicate how the applicant proposes to provide
full service throughout the Township and, to the greatest extent possible,
said service plan shall also indicate how the applicant's plan is
coordinated with the needs of all other providers of telecommunications
services both within and near the Township. The comprehensive service
plan shall indicate the following:
(1) Whether the applicant's subscribers can receive adequate
service from antennas located outside of the borders of the Township.
(2) How the proposed location of the antennas relates
to the location of any existing towers within and near the Township.
(3) How the proposed location of the facility relates
to the anticipated need for additional antennas and supporting towers
within and near the Township by both the applicant and by the other
providers of telecommunications services within the Township.
(4) How the proposed location of the antennas relates
to the objective of collocating the antennas of different service
carriers on the same tower.
(5) How the proposed location of the facility relates
to the overall objective of providing full telecommunications services
within the Township, while at the same time limiting the total number
of towers in the Township to the fewest possible.
B. A scaled site plan clearly indicating the location,
type and height of the proposed tower, on-site land uses and zoning,
adjacent land uses and zoning (including when adjacent to other municipalities),
and all properties within the applicable fall zone, adjacent roadways,
proposed means of access, setbacks from property lines, elevation
drawings of the proposed tower and any other proposed structure, topography,
parking and other information deemed by the Planning Board to be necessary
to assess compliance with this article.
C. Legal description of the entire tract and leased parcel
(if applicable).
D. The setback distance between the proposed tower and
the nearest residential property line and dwelling unit.
E. The separation distance from other towers and antennas.
F. A landscape plan showing specific landscape materials,
including but not limited to species type, size, spacing and existing
vegetation to be removed or retained.
G. Method of fencing and finished color and, if applicable,
the method of camouflage.
H. A description of compliance with all applicable federal,
state or local laws.
I. A notarized statement by the applicant as to whether
construction of the tower will accommodate collocation of additional
antennas for other carriers, with an estimate as to the total number
of collocations possible.
J. Identification of the entities providing the back-haul
network for the tower(s) described in the application and other telecommunications
sites owned or operated by the applicant in the Township.
K. A letter of commitment to lease excess space to other
potential users at prevailing market rates and conditions. The letter
of commitment shall be in a form suitable for recording with the County
Clerk prior to the issuance of any permit and shall commit the tower
owner(s), property owner(s) and their successors in interest.
L. A visual impact study containing, at a minimum, a
photographic simulation showing the appearance of the proposed tower
with at least three antenna arrays attached thereto, in addition to
any visible ancillary facilities, as viewed from at least eight locations
within a one to three mile radius of a proposed tower, taken from
locations within the Township where such tower will be most visible.
Such locations shall be chosen by the carrier with review and approval
by the Planning Board or designee to ensure that various potential
views are represented.
M. During the public hearing process, at the request
of the Planning Board, the applicant shall schedule a crane or balloon
test in order to provide members of the Board and the general public
the opportunity to view a crane or balloon at the location and height
of the proposed tower.
N. An analysis of the RFR levels at the facility as a
means of assessing compliance with the FCC's RE safety criteria. This
analysis shall:
(1) Take into consideration all collocated radio frequency
transmitting antennas and/or nearby antennas that could contribute
to RFR levels at the facility.
(2) Be performed by a RF engineer, health physicist or
similar knowledgeable individual.
(3) Follow current methods recommended by the FCC for
performing such analyses.