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Telecommunications Ordinance 2 09/02/98 A-98-3 The majority of sites are located on the rooftop of office, commercial or industrial buildings where they are virtually invisible to neighbors. Other locations are water tanks, hospitals, billboards, church spires and steeples, or man-made trees. These are considered "alternative tower structures." In some instances, the only engineering option is to construct a monopole, a steel pole resembling a light standard or a lattice tower. The present Zoning Code does not make any statement acknowledging the wireless telecommunication industry. Thus, staff has prepared the Ordinance with the following objectives: 1. It seeks to reduce the total number of towers located throughout the City; 2. It encourages service providers to minimize adverse visual impacts; 3. It sets standards upon which staff may approve the placement of telecommunications facilities; 4. It enhances customer service to service providers and the general public. Comments Raised at the Planning Commission Meeting The Planning Commission expressed the following concerns and included the necessary changes in its motion for the recommended ordinance: Towers in R Residential Districts should not be permitted at all. They would be visually obtrusive and detract from an established residential neighborhood. This is an acceptable requirement due to the fact that there are other opportunities in the Commercial and Industrial Districts in the City, to construct the telecommunication facilities. 2. Towers, antennas and alternative tower structures in the Public and Semipublic Districts should require a conditional use permit, due to the fact that most of these areas are adjacent to or near residential neighborhoods. DISCUSSION The proposed amendment to the Zoning Code is comprehensive in including the following: 1. It has definitions using the industry's nomenclature; 2. It specifies the types of wireless telecommunications alternatives in each base zoning district and if they are permitted, require administrative review, or are conditionally permitted (see the table on the next page); 3. It contains guidelines and requirements for installation such as height, finishes, colors, and landscaping to assure that impacts are minimized; 4. It outlines standards for staff to consider for administrative approvals and factors for the Board of Zoning Adjustments to consider in granting conditional use permits; 5. It requires the service provider(s) to show that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the proposed antennae; and 6. It requires that abandoned antennas and towers that have not been operated for a continuous period of 12-months must be removed and the site restored to its pre -installation condition. 2