Additional standards for special use permit—Towers
In addition to all other applicable provisions of this ordinance, the planning board shall make affirmative findings of fact relative to each of the following factors in determining whether to issue a special use permit for the construction of cellular or other communications tower:
A. Applicant has exhausted all reasonable efforts to utilize existing structures for a cellular or other communications antenna array and that no other structures are reasonably available within the area sought by the applicant to produce adequate communications coverage for the applicant.
B. Applicant has exhausted all reasonable efforts to avoid the necessity of erecting a new tower, including but not limited to the construction of a permitted structure on which a cellular or other communications antenna array could be placed. Every effort shall be made by the applicant to use an alternative tower structure as previously defined.
C. The applicant must demonstrate that an alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures, such as a cable microcell network using multiple low-powered transmitters/receivers attached to a wireline system, is unsuitable. Costs of alternative technology that exceed new tower or antenna development shall not be presumed to render the technology unsuitable.
D. Applicant's proposed tower comports with the height restrictions and/or requirements provided for herein.
E. Applicant's proposed tower comports with the use requirements and/or restrictions provided for herein, as well as the uses of the neighboring properties.
F. Applicant's proposed tower comports with the surrounding topography, tree coverage and other natural elements of the landscape of the proposed site and applicant's property.
G. Applicant's proposed tower comports with the design characteristics that reduce or eliminate adverse impacts on the community including type (guyed tower, lattice tower or monopole) of tower or antenna array, color of tower or antenna array, and overall visual obtrusiveness.
(Ord. of 8-7-00; Ord. of 12-4-2023(1))