Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout662-97 Amend LDC - Telecommunication Towers 1111111 III11III11III11Jill'11111III11III1111111111 97073442 Rcpt: 164724 Rec: 37.50 DS: 0.00 IT: 0.00 07/02/97 Dpty Clerk. ORDINANCE NO.: 6 62 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE OF THE CITY OF ZEPHYRHILLS BY ENACTING SECTION 6417 PROVIDING REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND LOCATION OF TOWERS; ANTENNAS AND ASSOCIATED FACILITIES; PROVIDING FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSE, DEFINITIONS, APPLICABILITY, - LIMITATIONS ON HEIGHTS, SETBACKS AND DISTANCE SEPARATIONS ENCOURAGING CO- LOCATION OF ANTENNAS; PROVIDING FOR RESTRICTIONS ON ILLUMINATION, FINISHED COLORS, LANDSCAPING AND ABANDONMENT OF TOWERS; PROVIDING FOR APPLICATION PROCESS, NONCONFORMING TOWERS AND REVIEW; PROVIDING FOR REGULATION OF AMATEUR AND RESIDENTIAL RADIO ANTENNAS OR TOWERS; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTING ORDINANCES, SEVERABILITY, . APPEALS, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE. NOW THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, - - Florida, sitting in regular session, as follows: -- - JED PITTHAH, PASCO COUNTY CLERK I07/02/97 09:29am 1 of 8 SECTION 641 Z OR BK 3766 PG 1918 1. Name: This Section shall hereinafter be referred to as the"Telecommunication Antennas and Towers Act". 2. Purposes: The purpose of this ordinance is to establish general guidelines for the siting of towers and antennas within the limits of the City of Zephyrhills. The City Council of the City of Zephyrhills intends that this ordinance shall: a. Encourage the location of towers in areas which protect land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers, antennas and associated facilities. b. To minimize adviser visual impacts of towers, antennas, and associated facilities through careful design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques; c. To accommodate the growing need for towers, antennas and associated facilities; d. To promote and encourage-shared use/co-location of existing-and new towers, antennas, and associated facilities as a primary goal rather than construction of additional single-use towers. e. To avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from a towers failure through engineering and careful siting of such structures. f. To regulate the construction and installation of amateur and residential radio antennas or towers. J M. 01i-µ C; 0c hep hyr1- �Ls 1 1 Sri 3 E',03,14 k ._... Ze0\y c kvAk s, (=1 3 3 c ro OR BK 3766 PG 1919 2 of 8 g. The City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, Florida, specifically finds that t h e following regulations are consistent with the City of Zephyrhills Comprehensive Plan. 3. Definitions: Alternative Tower Structure shall mean man-made trees, clock towers, bell steeples, light poles and similar alternative-design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennas or towers. • Antenna shall mean any exterior apparatus designed for telephonic radio or television communications through the sending and/or receiving of electromagnetic waives. FAA shall mean the Federal Aviation Administration. FCC shall mean the Federal Communication Commission. Height shall mean,when referring to a tower or other structure, the distance measured from ground level to the highest point on the tower or other structure, even if said highest point is an antenna. Tower shall mean any structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one (1) or more antennas, including self-supporting lattice towers, guide towers or monopole towers. The term includes radio and television transfer towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular phone towers, alternative towers structures and the like. 4. General Regulation Antenna or Tower Facilities: Applicability: a. All new towers in incorporated Zephyrhills shall be subject to these regulations. For purposes of measurement, tower setbacks and separation distances shall be calculated and applied to facilities located in the City of Zephyrhills irrespective of municipal and county jurisdictional boundaries. b. All towers and associated facilities existing on the effective date of this section shall be allowed to continue their usage as they presently exist but must comply with all applicable FAA and/or FCC rules and regulations. Routine maintenance shall be permitted on such existing towers. c. Towers and antennas shall be regulated and permitted pursuant to this section only. d. For purposes of implementing this section, a tower that has received city approval in the form of either a special exception or building permit, but has not yet been constructed, shall be considered an existing structure for purposes of setback and separation distance, so long as such approval is current and has not expired. e. Towers and associated facilities shall be a Permitted Use in LI, AP-2 and AP-1 districts. Towers in associated facilities shall be a Conditional Use in C-3, C-2, C-1 and RC districts. f. Before construction of any towers or associated facilities, the contractor or owner must apply and obtain a permit pursuant to subsection 11 below. g. This subsection shall not apply to amateur and residential radio antennas and/or 2 "OR BK 3766 PG 1920 • 3of8 towers or earth station antennas controlled by Section 4420 and Section 4424 of the Land Development Code of the City of Zephyrhills. h. All new construction of towers, antennas and/or associated facilities shall comply with current FCC and/or FAA regulations, whichever is applicable. 5. Height, Setbacks and separation distances: Towers for personal wireless services or other telecommunications purposes shall not exceed 200 feet in height from ground level (including antenna) or forty percent (40%) over the building height when placed on buildings. 6. Setbacks: Setbacks for freestanding structures shall be measured from base of the tower to the property or lease line, whichever is applicable. Except for structures in industrial districts, setbacks shall equal one-third (1/3) of the total height of the tower including antennas. Setbacks in an industrial district or in L-I, shall be to that of a principle structure in the same district. All tower supports and peripheral anchors shall be located entirely within the boundaries of the development site and shall be set back from the development site perimeter a minimum distance of five(5) feet. 7. Separation: Separation distance shall be measured by drawing or following a straight line between the base of the existing tower and the proposed base, pursuant to a site plan, of this tower. There shall be no existing tower within a two thousand (2,000) foot radius of the proposed tower structure regardless of type. 8. Waiver: Waiver on new applications for towers, the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills may waive setbacks, separation distances, or height requirements, if technologically necessary, simultaneous with conditional use approval or as a separate application if use is permitted. 9. Co-location of Communication Antennas: a. No new towers shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the City of Zephyrhills that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna, evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing tower or structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna may consist of any of the following: i. No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area required to meet applicant's engineering requirements. ii. Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet applicant's engineering requirements. iii. Existing towers or structures do not sufficient structural strength to support applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment. iv. The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference 111 with the antenna on existing towers or structures, or the antenna on the existing towers or structures would cause interference with the applicant's proposed antenna. v. The fees, costs or contractual provisions required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. 3 • AOR BK 3766 PG 1921 4 of 8 vi. The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and/or structures unsuitable. b. , All towers over seventy-five (75) feet in height shall bedesigned for co-location. c. A tower which is modified or reconstructed to accommodate the co-location of additional communication antennas shall be of the same or less obtrusive structural type as the existing tower. 10. Miscellaneous: a. Illumination. Towers shall not be artificially lighted except to assure human safety or as required by the FAA and/or FCC, whichever is applicable. b. Finished color. Towers not requiring FAA painting/marking shall have either a galvanized finish or shall be painted a non-glare finish. c. Structural design. Towers shall be constructed to the EIT-TIA 222-E standards, as published by the Electronic Industries Association,which may be amended from time to time, and all applicable City of Zephyrhills Construction/Building Codes. Towers shall require submission of tower structural drawings sealed and verified by a professional engineer which demonstrate compliance with the EIT/TIA 222-E standards in effect at the time of said tower construction. Said drawings shall be submitted and reviewed for approval at the time of building permit application. Utility poles and electric transmission towers shall be considered existing towers or buildings upon which antennas and/or towers are permitted to be located without conditional use application approval. d. Fencing. Except for previously enclosed sites where the tower/structure is located, a chain link fence or wall not less than eight (8) feet in height from finished grade shall be provided around each tower, including support structures and/or facilities. Access to the structure shall be through a locked gate. e. Landscaping. The visual impacts of a tower and associated facilities shall be mitigated for nearby viewers through requirement of landscaping and other screening materials at the base of the tower and ancillary structures pursuant to Section 4300 of the Land Development Code of the City of Zephyrhills. Such standards may be waived, however, by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills at the time of conditional use approval, if applicable or if a permitted use by applicant. Landscaping shall be installed on the outside of required fencing. Further, the use of existing vegetation shall be preserved to themaximum extent practicable and may be used as a substitute for or as a supplement towards meeting landscaping requirements. F. Signs and Advertising. The use of any portion of a tower for signage or advertising purposes including, without limitation, company name, however, or streamer is prohibited. g. Osprey Nesting. New towers are encouraged, but not required, to incorporate a design that provides an integral nesting.platform to direct the most likely site for osprey nesting to a location on the tower which will reduce the.risk of interference'with tower equipment and maintenance. 4 • 7OR BK 3766 PG 1922 5 of 8 h. Development Criteria. Towers or freestanding antennas shall comply with the minimum development criteria of the district in which they are located. is Abandonment. In the event the use of any tower has been discontinued for a period of one hundred eighty(180)consecutive days,the structure shall be deemed to be abandoned. Determination of the date of abandonment shall be made by the building official who shall have the right to request documentation and/or affidavits from the structure owner/operator regarding the issue of usage. Upon such abandonment, the owner/operator of the structure shall have an additional one hundred eighty (180) days within which to: (1) reactivate the use of the tower ortransfer the structure to another owner/operator who makes actual use of the structure, or (2) dismantle and remove the structure. At the earlier, on one hundred eighty one(181)days from the date of abandonment without reactivation or upon completion of dismantling and removal, any conditional use and/or variance approval for the tower shall automatically expire. j. Antennas. Any communication antenna which is not attached to a tower and which exceeds fifteen (15) feet over the building height.shall_be approved as a conditional use ancillary to any commercial, industrial, professional, institutional, or multi-family structure provided: (1)the communication antenna does not exceed more than forty percent (40%) over the building height; (2) the communication antenna complies with all applicable FCC and FAA regulations; and (3) the communication antenna complies with all applicable building codes. Antennas measuring less than fifteen feet (15) over the building height shall not require a conditional use. - 11. Variances and Replacement Structures: - a. Variances. Any request to deviate from any requirements of this section not previously waived by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills shall require, variance approval from the Board of Adjustments. Variance requests shall not besubject to variance criteria as set forth in the City of Zephyrhills Land Development Code. In order.to qualify for a variance, notice provisions set forth in the Land Development Code will be followed. Applicant must, however, clearly demonstrate one of the following: i. The requirements of this section mandate a.location of the tower, antenna or associated facilities such that reception is severely restricted or impaired; or ii. The requirements of this section may be satisfied in another manner as demonstrated through written technical justification including pertinent support data. b. Replacement Structures. Upon approval by the building official, an existing tower may be replaced for purposes of accommodating co-location or otherwise without additional conditional use, rezoning, or variance action provided that: i. An existing tower may be modified, rebuilt, or replaced to a taller lieight, not to exceed twenty (20)feet over the structure's existing height, to accommodate the co-location of additional communication antennas. Such additional height shall not require an additional setback or distance separation., Otherwise, the height of a tower 5 OR BK 3766 PG 19.23 6of8 may be increased to the maximum height allowed under subsection 5, herein if required setbacks can be met. ii. The replacement facility is located within the sameparcel or leased area as to the existing facility and is located so as to maximize compliance with existing setbacks. iii. The existing facility is removed within ninety(90) days of the completion of the replacement tower and the relocation of the antenna. • iv. If the location of the replacement facility is such that the existing facility must be removed before the replacement facility is constructed, any temporary portable antenna support facilities used must be removed within thirty (30) days of the completion of the replacement tower and the relocation of the antenna. 12. Application for Permits: A permit, issued by the City of Zephyrhills shall be required before the construction, rebuild, replacement or structural modification of a tower. Each application for a permit to construct or replace a tower or antenna shall submit, concurrent with conditional use applications,if applicable, the following: a. Written documentation from the FAA stating that the tower, as proposed, meets or will meet all applicable federal requirements. Certification of Compliance with current FCC Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation (VIER) shall be submitted prior to receive final inspection by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills. b. A scaled site plan clearly indicating the location, type and height of the proposed tower, oh-site land uses and zoning,`adjacent land uses and zoning (including when adjacent to other municipalities), adjacent roadways, proposed means of access, setbacks from the property lines or leased area, elevation drawings of the proposed tower and any other ' proposed associated structures and facilities. c. If the proposed tower is within separation distance from another existing tower, then the distance, location, and identification of other towers shall be shown on an updated tax map. d. : The application must include a statement in the application of its intent to allow the co-location of antennas of other entities and the maximum number that the tower can accommodate. e. Written documentation as to the feasibility of the use of alternative tower structure, in lieu of conventional tower structure. 13. Nonconforming uses:Bona fide nonconforming towers or antennas that are damaged or destroyed may be rebuilt without having to meet the separation or setback requirements specified in this section. The type, height, and location of the structure, however, shall be of the same type, height, and similar dimensions, and intensity as the original structure. Building permits to rebuild the structure or antenna shall comply with the current Building Code and shall be obtained within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date the structure or antenna is damaged or destroyed. If no permit is obtained or if said permit expires, the tower or antenna shall be deemed abandoned. 6 y . OR BK 3766 PG 14324 7 of a i 14. Review Criteria: Certain criteria shall be considered in determining the need for a conditional use for a new tower. A new tower shall not be approved-unless it can be demonstrated by the applicant that there is a technological need'for the new tower which cannot be met by placing an antenna on an existing'tower'or on other structures, or by replacement or modification of an existing tower. Information concerning the following factors shall be considered in determining that ii- such need exists: II a. Insufficient structural capacity of existing towers or other suitable structures, and infeasibility of reinforcing or replacing an existing tower. . b. ' Unavailability of suitable locations to accommodate system design or engineering on existing towers or other structures. c. Radio frequency interference or other signal interference problems at existing towers or other structures. ! r d. , The cost of using an existing tower or other structure exceeds the costs of permitting -and constructing a new tower.: : . . e. Other factors which demonstrate the technological need for the new tower. 15. General regulation amateur/and residential radio antennas or towers: This subsection shall apply to amateur and residential radio antennas or towers. This subsection shall not apply to earth station antennas which are regulated pursuant to Section 4420- 4424 of the Land Development Code of the City of Zephyrhills. - a. Towers shall be considered as accessory structures and must. meet all required - setbacks and/oriocation limitations set forth,in this Code. Antennas-aldloitowers shall be located only in side or rear yard areas on any residential lot 1ess than 20,000 square feet in size. Restrictions regarding the height and number of antennas shall be,oily.as set forth in this Code. However, certain types of towers require "buying" and,_all antennas and associated"guys" or"guy wires" shall be allowed to project into;and onto the setback areas. Towers,when attached to the primary building of the lot, shall be deemed in compliance with setbacks when so fixed. b. Temporary antennas.must be securely anchored. Use.;of such temporary antennas shall be limited to a thirty(30) day period during any one(i') calendar year. ; c. All parts of the antenna and/or tower shall have vertical and horizontal clearance from any electrical lines in accordance with the National Electrical Safety Code. d. Construction, installation, repair, or maintenance of antennas and/or towers shall not require a building permit; however, such activity shall be pertoimed in:Rccordairce with-all manufacturer's specifications. e. Antennas and/or towers shall not be mirror-like and shall contain no advertising or signage of any type except for.owner identification, manufacturer, sales, repair logos, or signage required by state and/or federal regulations. f. All antennas and/or towers shall be subject to appropriate FCC and/or FAA requirements. 7 UR BK 3766 PG 19-25 8 of 8 g. This section shall not apply to earth station antennas as defined and regulated by Section 4420-4424 of the Land Development Code of the City of Zephyrhills. 16. Repealer: Any ordinance, code provision, or resolution in conflict with the language herein are hereby repealed in their entirety. 17. Severability: It is declared to be the intent of the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills that if any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or provision of this ordinance shall be declared invalid, the remainder of this ordinance shall be construed as not having contained said section, subsection, sentence, clause, or provision, and shall not be affected by,such holding. 18. Appeal: Any person adversely affected by this ordinance may seek judicial relief-in the Sixth Judicial Circuit, in and for Pasco County, Dade City,Florida, or the Federal District Court in and for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa, Florida. 19. Effective date. A certified copy of this ordinance shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State by the Clerk of the City of Zephyrhills within ten(10) days after adoption of this • ordinance and shall take effect upon official acknowledgment from that Office that said ordinance has been filed and same shall become effective and enforced on the 2 3rdday of JUNE A.D., 1997, upon second reading and signing by the Mayor. The foregoing Ordinance No.:6 6 2 was read and passed on its first reading in open and regular meeting by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, Florida, on this 9TH day of JUNE A.D., 1997. -, rJs t. Q 7ALAN L! "NIA �? President s 'City Council Attest:- City Cleric;LINDA 1).7BOAN The foregoitt Ordinance No.: 6 6 2 was read and passed on its second reading in open and regular meeting by the City Council of the City of Zephyrhills, Florida, on this 23rd day of JUNE - ,A.D., 1997. �. _ZALAN L. ; ' IA /L President of ity Council Attest: r�, •,� City,Clerl4 'LINDA D. LOAN The fog egy�ing Ordinance No.: 6 6 2 was approved by me this 2 3rd day of JUNE A.D., 1997. I�� /4 -4 'JAMES A. BAILEY, Mayor 8