Telecommunication towers.
§ 255-970. Telecommunication towers.
A. Purpose. The intent of this section is to regulate the placement of new telecommunication towers, telephone and cable television equipment and related equipment and addition of communication equipment to existing structures. The regulations serve to establish a procedure for application and variance from the regulations; establish development standards and locational requirements and to encourage the co-location of equipment onto existing structures.
(1) The purpose of this section is to establish general guidelines for the siting of communication towers and antennas. The goals of this section are to:
(a) Encourage the location of towers for telecommunication equipment and cable television equipment in nonresidential areas and minimize the total number of towers throughout the community;
(b) Strongly encourage the joint use of new and existing tower sites;
(c) Encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the greatest extent possible, in areas where any adverse impacts on the community are minimized;
(d) Encourage applicants and users of towers, antennas and equipment to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers, antennas and equipment;
(e) Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently.
B. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE — Addition(s) to existing tower(s) or nonresidential structure including the mechanical building, mounting equipment or additional antenna not to exceed 20 feet above the original structure.
ALTERNATIVE TOWER STRUCTURE — 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 — Any exterior apparatus designed for telephonic, radio, or television communications through the sending and/or receiving of electromagnetic waves.
FAA — The Federal Aviation Administration.
FCC — The Federal Communications Commission.
GOVERNING AUTHORITY — Either the Buildings Official or the Zoning Board of Review.
HEIGHT — 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.
PRE-EXISTING TOWERS AND ANTENNAS — Have the meaning set forth in Subsection C(3) of this section.
PUBLIC OFFICER — The Zoning Enforcement Officer or Building Official of the Town of Coventry.
RELATED EQUIPMENT — Equipment and/or structures which is/are an integral part of the system or any structures used to house such equipment.
TOWER — Any structure that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more antennas, including self-supporting lattice towers, guy towers, or monopole towers. The term includes radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, common-carrier towers, cellular telephone towers, alternative tower structures, and the like.
C. Applicability.
(1) New towers and facilities. The requirements set forth in this section shall govern the location of all new towers, facilities and related equipment that exceed, and antennas that are installed at a height in excess of, the height limitations specified for each zoning district. The height limitations applicable to buildings and structures shall not apply to towers and antennas.
(2) Amateur radio; receive-only antennas. This section shall not govern any tower, or the installation of any antenna, that is under 70 feet in height and is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator or is used exclusively for receive-only antennas.
(3) Preexisting towers and antennas. Any tower or antenna for which a permit has been properly issued prior to the effective date of this section shall not be required to meet the requirements of this section, other than the requirements of Subsection D(3) and (4). Any such towers or antennas shall be referred to in this section as "preexisting towers" or "preexisting antennas."
D. General guidelines and requirements.
(1) Principal or accessory use. Antennas and towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses. A different existing use or an existing structure on the same lot shall not preclude the installation of an antenna or tower on such lot. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a tower or antenna complies with district development regulations, including but not limited to setback requirements, lot coverage requirements, and other such requirements, the dimensions of the entire lot shall control, even though the antennas or towers may be located on leased parcels within such lots. Towers that are constructed, and antennas that are installed, in accordance with the provisions of this section shall not be deemed to constitute the expansion of a nonconforming use or structure. Towers and base facilities may not take away required parking spaces of an existing building.
(2) Inventory of existing sites. Each applicant for an antenna and/or tower shall provide to the Building Department an inventory of its existing towers that are either within the Town of Coventry and within 10 miles of the border thereof, including specific information about the location, height, design and capacity of each tower. The Building Department may share such information with other applicants applying for administrative approvals or special use permits under this section or other organizations seeking to locate antennas within the Town; provided, however, that the Building Department is not, by sharing such information, in any way representing or warranting that such sites are available or suitable.
(3) Federal requirements. All towers must meet or exceed current standards and regulations of the Rhode Island State Building Code, FAA, the FCC, and any other agency of the federal government with the authority to regulate towers and antennas. Failure to bring towers and antennas into compliance with such revised standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for the removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense.
(4) Building codes: safety standards. To ensure the structural integrity of towers, the owner of a tower shall ensure that it is maintained in compliance with standards contained in the State Building Codes as amended from time to time. If, upon inspection, the Building Official concludes that a tower fails to comply with such codes and standards, and constitutes a danger to persons or property, then the Building Official shall proceed in accordance with Chapter 27.3 of Title 23 of the R.I.G.L., entitled "State Building Code."
(5) Notification. All applicants shall send certified mail announcements to all other users locating in Coventry, declaring their sharing capabilities and siting needs. Except in cases where mechanical, structural or regulatory factors prevent them from sharing, applicants cannot be denied or deny space on a tower.
(6) ANSI Standards. Upon completion of construction, the applicant shall submit an annual report to the Town Engineer which provides quantified electromagnetic field (EMF) measurements and compares these measurements to current Federal and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards or subsequent standards. If the project does not meet federal and ANSI standards, the permit may be modified or revoked.
E. Procedures.
(1) General.
(a) A preapplication conference with the Planning Department is required before any building permit is sought. The conference will serve to familiarize the applicant with the Town's regulations. The Planning Department shall approve the site plan prior to the issuance of any building permit.
(b) Building permits are required for all telecommunications towers, related equipment and similar facilities.
(c) Each applicant for such building permit shall apply to the Building Department, providing the information set forth in Subsection G(2) below.
(d) The Building Department shall respond to each such application within 30 days after receiving it by either approving or denying the application. If the Building Department fails to respond to the applicant within said 30 days, then the application shall be deemed to be approved.
(e) In connection with any such administrative approval, the Zoning Enforcement Officer may, in order to encourage shared use, administratively waive any zoning district setback requirement by up to 10%.
(f) If an administrative approval is denied, the applicant may appeal said denial in accordance with the provisions of the zoning article concerning appeals of administrative decisions.
F. Permitted uses.
(1) General. The uses listed in this subsection are deemed to be permitted uses and shall not require a special use permit. Nevertheless, all such uses shall comply with Subsection D(3) and (4) above, and Subsection H and all other applicable statutes and articles.
(2) Specific permitted uses. The following uses are specifically permitted:
(a) Locating a tower or antenna, including the placement of additional buildings or other supporting equipment used in connection with said tower or antenna, in an I1 Industrial or Business Park Zoning District; provided, however, that such tower shall be set back from any existing off-site residence a distance equal to the height of the tower or in the case of an unoccupied lot, set back a distance equal to the height of the tower less the residential yard setback for the adjacent residential lot;
(b) Installing an antenna on an existing structure other than a tower (such as a building, sign, light pole, water tower, or other freestanding nonresidential structure) that is 50 feet in height or greater, so long as said additional antenna adds no more than 20 feet to the height of said existing structure;
(c) Installing an antenna on any existing tower of any height, so long as the addition of said antenna adds no more than 20 feet to the height of said existing tower; provided, however, that such specific permitted use shall not include the placement of additional buildings or other supporting equipment used in connection with said antenna;
(d) Location of communication towers, cable television equipment and related equipment on municipal property, i.e., Town or school property, shall be allowed by right, provided that a site plan, approved by the Director of Planning, is provided before a building permit may be issued.
G. Special use permits.
(1) General. The following conditions shall require the issuance of special use permits:
(a) If the tower or antenna is not a permitted use under Subsection F of this section or permitted to be approved administratively pursuant to Subsection E of this section, then a special use permit shall be required for the construction of a tower or the placement of an antenna in all zoning districts.
(b) In granting a special use permit, the Zoning Board of Review may impose conditions, to the extent the Board concludes such conditions are necessary, to minimize any adverse effect of the proposed tower on adjoining properties.
(c) Any information of an engineering nature that the applicant submits, whether civil, mechanical, or electrical, shall be certified by a licensed professional engineer.
(2) Information required. Each applicant requesting a special use permit under this section shall submit a scaled site plan and a scaled elevation view and other supporting drawings, calculations, and other documentation, signed and sealed by appropriate licensed professionals, showing the location and dimensions of all improvements, including information concerning topography, radio frequency coverage, tower height requirements, setbacks, drives, parking, fencing, buffering/landscaping, adjacent uses, and other information deemed by the Zoning Board of Review to be necessary to assess compliance with this section.
(3) Factors considered in granting special use permits. The Zoning Board shall consider the following factors in determining whether to issue a special use permit, although the Board may waive or reduce the burden on the applicant of one or more of these criteria if they find that the goals of this section are better served thereby.
(a) Height of the proposed tower;
(b) Proximity of the tower to residential structures and residential district boundaries;
(c) Nature of uses on adjacent and nearby properties;
(d) Surrounding topography;
(e) Surrounding tree coverage and foliage;
(f) Design of the tower, with particular reference to design characteristics that have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual obtrusiveness;
(g) Proposed ingress and egress; and (h) Availability of suitable existing towers and other structures as discussed in Subsection F(2)(6) of this section.
(4) Availability of suitable existing towers or other structures. No new tower shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the Zoning Board 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:
(a) No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area required to meet applicant's engineering requirements.
(b) Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet applicant's engineering requirements.
(c) Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment.
(d) 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. Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed to be unreasonable.
(e) The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.
H. Design standards The following design standards shall apply to all towers and antennas approved by right or for which a special use permit is required; provided, however, that the Zoning Officer or the Zoning Board of Review, as is applicable, may reduce the standard setbacks and separation requirements if the goals of this section would be better served thereby.
(1) Setbacks and separation.
(a) Towers must be set back a distance equal to the height of the tower from any residential structure or lot line, whichever is closer.
(b) Guys and accessory facilities must satisfy the minimum zoning district setback requirements for accessory structures.
(c) In zoning districts other than Industrial or Business Park Zoning Districts, towers over 90 feet in height shall not be located within one-quarter of a mile from any existing tower that is over 90 feet in height.
(2) Aesthetics: lighting.
(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.
(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 the tower facilities into the natural setting and built environment.
(c) If an antenna is installed on a structure other than a tower, the antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a neutral color that is identical to, or closely compatible with, the color of the supporting structure so as to make the antenna and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as possible.
(d) Towers shall not be artificially lighted, unless required by the FAA or other applicable authority. If lighting is required, the appropriate governing authority may review the available lighting alternatives and approve the design that would cause the least disturbance to the surrounding views.
(3) Landscaping.
(a) Tower facilities shall be landscaped with a buffer of plant materials that effectively screens the view of the tower compound from adjacent residential property. The standard buffer shall consist of a landscaped strip which incorporates such measures as to adequately protect adjacent properties, i.e., berming, shrub and tree plantings or a combination of these measures, at least six feet wide outside the perimeter of the compound shall be provided. A site plan approval from the Director of Planning and Development is required before a building permit may be issued.
(b) In locations where the visual impact of the tower would be minimal, the landscaping requirement may be reduced or waived altogether.
(c) Existing mature tree growth and natural land forms 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 sufficient buffer.
(4) Security fencing.
(a) Towers and equipment shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than six feet in height, with appropriate anticlimbing devices.
(b) Towers and fencing shall also be equipped with the appropriate measures to ensure security of the equipment and tower.
I. Removal of abandoned antennas and towers. Any antenna or tower that is not operated for a continuous period of 12 months shall be considered abandoned, and the owner of such antenna or tower shall remove same within 90 days of receipt of notice from the Building Official notifying the owner of such abandonment. The applicant/owner shall post a bond which shall be reevaluated every two years, to cover the cost of removal. If such antenna or tower is not removed within said 90 days, the Town may remove such antenna or tower at the owner's expense. If there are two or more users of a single tower, then this provision shall not become effective until all users cease using the tower.