Regulations pertaining to communications towers and antennas
(a) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide guidelines for the siting of towers and antennae that are consistent with the rural character and land uses of the town. The goals of this section are to:
(1) Establish the location of towers and minimize the total number of towers throughout the community, while providing seamless coverage.
(2) Maximize location of antennae on existing structures, and require the joint use (collocation) of new and existing towers in order to minimize or mitigate any adverse impact on the town.
(3) Facilitate the use of public property and structures for the siting of towers and antennas.
(4) Establish that towers located in the agricultural, residential and municipal zones will be alternative tower structures that are complimentary to the existing character of the surrounding environment, if possible.
(b) Applicability. No communications antenna array or communications tower shall be erected, constructed, altered, or maintained on any lot within the town after the November 19, 1998, without complying with the terms of this section. No communications antenna array or communications tower shall be erected, constructed, altered or maintained on any parcel designated as permanent open space held in trust by the town or by the Town of Foster Land Trust.
(c) Development standards. The following development standards for communications towers and antennas shall apply, but not limit the authority of the zoning board of review under section 38-63.
(1) General. Towers and antennas shall be subject to review as a major land development plan and is to include a commercial and industrial development site review by the planning board as provided in section 38-394.
a. Town-owned sites or facilities that are located in the prospective development area which could potentially accommodate the proposed antennas and tower shall be considered first and given priority for locations of said antennas and/or tower.
b. In the event town-owned sites or facilities are not available, the applicant shall make a reasonable effort to utilize existing structures or alternative tower structures for location of antennas. Should an existing structure not be utilized, evidence as to why shall be submitted.
c. All towers, antennas, equipment shelters and any other communications equipment which have not been used for a period of one year shall be considered abandoned and shall be dismantled and removed at the owner's expense. The owner of such tower, antennas, equipment shelter and any other communications equipment shall remove the same within 90 days of the sending of notice from the building official. If such tower, antenna, equipment shelter and any other communications equipment is not removed within said 90 days, the town may take any necessary action to remove said tower, antenna, equipment shelter and any other communications equipment at the owner's expense.
(2) Submission requirements.
a. The applicant shall comply with the submission requirements of chapter 32 and the requirements of section 38-394.
b. The applicant shall submit a master plan covering the entire town. The plan shall indicate all existing, proposed, or planned sites of such carrier, including alternative sites from which the needed coverage could also be provided. The plan will also indicate the zoning district, current use, and neighboring uses for all such sites.
c. Towers shall be built so as to facilitate collocation and co-use of antennas. The applicant shall indicate how the site will be designed to collocate future carriers, and how many of such carriers can be technically accommodated. Consideration shall be given to the collocator of multiple antennas on one tower and technologies which allow co-use of a single antenna to maximize the number of carriers on a given structure.
d. The application shall contain a statement that if the site will physically support collocation and the locator is willing to sign a commercially reasonable lease, it shall be allowed to collocate.
e. Tower bases and their accessory structures shall be enclosed by a maintenance-free fence no less than six feet in height or more than eight feet in height from finished grade. Access shall be through a locked gate.
f. Towers shall not be artificially lighted except as required for public safety reasons by the FAA, or by the town. All exterior lighting shall be full cutoff lighting.
g. No signs shall be allowed on any towers except as required for public safety reasons and must be located within eight feet of the ground.
h. The tower owner shall have the tower inspected for structural integrity in accordance with the state building code on an annual basis by a state-registered professional engineer. This inspection report is to be forwarded to the building official.
i. This section shall not apply to any tower or antenna installation which is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio operator, which tower or antenna does not exceed 70 feet in height. The term "federally licensed" means having a valid and active federal amateur radio license in compliance with all applicable federal laws, regulations and ordinances and having provided evidence of such compliance with the town clerk.
(3) Location.
a. Proposed tower locations shall be situated in such a manner as to minimize visual impacts upon sensitive receivers, including, but not limited to: National Register Historic Districts, Scenic Roads and Highways, as listed in the Town of Foster Comprehensive Plan. Viewshed analysis is required to establish the visibility of any tower, alternative tower, or development proposal.
b. Setback requirements for towers from all property lines shall be sufficient such that in the event of any failure of the tower, the tower and all related accessories will fall within the property limits. In no case shall the setbacks be less than one-half foot per one foot of any height. Guy-wire supported structures and their guy supports shall be adequately protected and shall be setback from all property lines the minimum of the zoning district in which they are proposed but no less than 50 feet. The applicant will provide documentation, prepared and certified by a registered professional engineer to justify all setback dimensions.
c. Equipment buildings are considered as accessory buildings and shall comply with the applicable setbacks of the underlying zone.
d. The maximum height for a tower free standing or guyed shall be 190 feet.
(4) Construction criteria.
a. Plantings shall be of such a height and density to provide complete screening at ground level as viewed from the public road and abutting property lines. Existing vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible and may be used as a supplement towards meeting the screening goal. The owner of the property shall be responsible for all maintenance and shall replace all dead plantings within 30 days.
b. If an antenna is installed on an alternative tower structure, the antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a neutral color identical to, or closely compatible with, the color of the alternative tower structure so as to make the antenna and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as possible.
c. Tower bases and their accessory structures shall be enclosed by a maintenance-free fence no less than six feet in height or more than eight feet in height from finished grade. Access shall be through a locked gate.
d. Towers shall not be artificially lighted except as required for public safety reasons by the FAA, or by the town. All exterior lighting shall be full cut-off lighting.
e. No signs shall be allowed on any towers except as required for public safety reasons and must be located within eight feet of the ground.
f. The tower owner shall have the tower inspected for structural integrity in accordance with the Rhode Island Building Code on an annual basis by a Rhode Island registered professional engineer. This inspection report is to be forwarded to the Foster Building Official.
g. This section shall not apply to any tower or antenna installation which is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio operator, which tower or antenna does not exceed 70 feet in height. "Federally licensed" means having a valid and active federal amateur radio license in compliance with all applicable federal laws, regulations and ordinances and having provided evidence of such compliance with the town clerk.
(Ord. of 11-19-1998; Ord. of 1-24-2002; Ord. of 11-9-2023(9))