Wireless communications facilities

• (1) The Town Council finds, pursuant to the authority contained in R.I.G.L. § 45-23-29, as amended, that it is necessary to provide for innovative land development practices with respect to the siting and installation of telecommunications towers, antennas and accessory structures; and
• (2) The Town Council further finds that the preparation, enactment and implementation of a zoning ordinance relating to telecommunications towers, antennas and accessory structures, is necessary to address the protection of public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Glocester; and
• (3) Therefore, it is the intent of the Town Council that this section provide guidance and direction with respect to matters affecting the siting and installation of telecommunications towers, antennas and accessory structures.

• (1) General purposes. The general purpose of this section is to regulate the placement of wireless communications towers, antennas and related facilities, and the addition of wireless communications equipment to existing structures. The regulations serve to establish a procedure for application, permits, and for special use permits; to establish development standards and location requirements; and to encourage the co-location of equipment onto existing structures.
• (2) The specific purposes of this section are to:
  • (a) Address public safety concerns associated with the siting of wireless communications facilities; including towers, antennas and related facilities, equipment and structures.
  • (b) Preserve the character, appearance, property values, natural resources and historic sites of the Town;
  • (c) Minimize the number of new tower facilities by encouraging and requiring co-location wherever possible;
  • (d) Limit the height of telecommunications tower facilities; and encourage maximum setbacks from roads, property boundaries and existing structures;
  • (e) Encourage the siting of new wireless communications facilities on properties owned by the Town or its instrumentalities;
  • (f) Encourage location of towers and antennas in industrial zoned and other areas where visual and other impacts on the community are minimized;
  • (g) Discourage location of towers and antennas in areas zoned and used for residential purposes to the extent that they significantly diminish the character or value of real property in the residential area.
  • (h) Provide for the design and siting of wireless communications facilities so as to minimize their visual impact on neighboring properties and on the character of the Town.
  • (i) Discourage the construction of towers that would require airspace obstruction marking and/or lighting.
  • (j) Encourage small facility options that will reduce unnecessary tower structures, but will integrate well into the context and character of the community.
• (3) In addition to the aforementioned, this chapter also intends to minimize the number of tower structures by encouraging large towers at strategically spaced intervals that provide optimal coverage for the maximum number of service providers with the least impact on the community. This section limits the quantity of large towers by requiring a two-mile separation between towers and by requiring performance criteria that minimize the impact on the community.

• (1) New towers and facilities. The requirements set forth in this section shall govern the location of all new telecommunications facilities and related equipment, including television and radio transmission towers. Except as provided herein, the general height limitations of this chapter otherwise applicable to buildings and structures shall not apply to towers and antennas.
• (2) Amateur radio 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 building permit has been properly issued prior to the effective date of this section shall not be required to meet the requirements of this section. However, any proposed extension beyond 20 feet in the height of an existing facility, replacement of a facility, or installation of an additional antenna to a facility, other than a facility on land owned or leased by the Town and serving Town communications needs, shall be subject to the requirements of this section.

• (1) Principal or accessory use. Antennas and towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses or structures, as appropriate. A different existing use or 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 dimensional 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 antenna or tower 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 legal existing nonconforming use or structure. Towers and associated equipment that may be located within or outside of base facilities may not take away required parking spaces of an existing building or use.
• (2) Building codes/safety standards. To ensure the structural integrity of towers, the owner of a tower shall ensure that it is constructed and maintained in compliance with or exceeds the standards contained in the applicable State Building Codes and the applicable standards for towers that are published by the Electronics Industries Association as amended from time to time and shall structurally accommodate reasonable co-location. The owner of the tower shall also ensure that the tower and related facilities comply with other applicable safety and environmental standards, including but not limited to safety limits for human exposure to radio frequency energy. If, upon inspection, the Building Official concludes that a tower fails to comply with such codes and standards, and/or that it constitutes a danger to persons or property, then the Building Official shall notify the owner of the tower in writing, and the owner shall have 30 days to bring such tower into compliance. Failure of the owner to do so shall constitute grounds for removal of the tower or antenna at the owner's expense. In addition to other legal remedies available to the Town, the Building Official may proceed in accordance with Chapter 27.3 of Title 23 of the Rhode Island General Laws, entitled “State Building Codes.”
• (3) General requirements. All wireless communications facilities shall be erected, installed, maintained, and used in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations, including radio frequency emission standards.
• (4) Co-location. All owners and operators of land used in whole or in part for a wireless communications facility, and all owners and operators of such facilities, shall, as a continuing condition of installing, constructing, erecting, and using a wireless communications tower facility, and subject to necessary approvals hereunder, permit other public utilities or FCC-licensed commercial entities seeking to operate a wireless communications tower facility to install, erect, mount, and use compatible equipment and fixtures on the mounting structure on reasonable commercial terms. This is provided that such co-location does not materially interfere with the transmission and/or reception of communications signals to or from the existing facility, and provided that there are no structural or other physical limitations that make it impractical to accommodate the proposed additional wireless communications equipment or fixtures. Erection of a replacement facility to address such concerns shall be considered, where the Zoning Board determines appropriate. Wireless communications facilities shall be designed to accommodate co-location to the extent technologically and physically practical given the limitations of the site and area.
• (5) Number of towers. Only one wireless communications tower structure per site shall be authorized by this chapter, unless the placement of more than one tower structure on the site results in a substantially better design that is integrated into the neighboring uses and meets community standards. An example of this may be the erection of two flagpole structures located in a recreational facility. The erection of more than one lattice tower or monopole in a residential area would not be an example of a better design.
• (6) Removal of facilities. All unused telecommunications facilities and structures, including nonconforming or preexisting facilities which have not been used for one year, shall be considered abandoned and shall be dismantled and removed at the owner's expense. The owner of such facility shall remove same within 90 days of receipt of notice from the Building Official. Before a permit is issued, and as a condition thereof, said owner shall post and thereafter continuously maintain an appropriate surety bond, approved in amount and form by the Town Solicitor and the Public Works Director every two years, to cover the cost of removal of all facilities and restoration of the site. If such antenna or tower is not removed within 90 days, the Town may take the necessary action to remove the facility at the owner's expense. The owners of the property and the facility shall be jointly and individually responsible for removal of said facilities, restoration of the site and for all associated costs, expended or incurred in the course of removal and restoration.
• (7) Carrier utilization. Included in an application for a telecommunications tower or antenna, an applicant must demonstrate that it has a commitment from one or more licensed wireless services providers to occupy the facility for the purposes of transmitting and/or receiving wireless communications. Wireless communications towers shall be designed to accommodate the maximum number of co-locators reasonably practicable, taking into account the size and appearance of the structure in the context of its location. Tower locations identified as large facilities must meet this requirement, where small infill tower facilities may to a lesser extent. Owners of telecommunications towers shall make space available to wireless communications services, including, when appropriate, repositioning tenants on the tower, and reinforcing or replacing the tower. The cost of making space available shall be the responsibility of the applicant and may be shared by the tower owner, if agreeable.
• (8) Town requirements. At the time of application for any tower, space shall be made available on telecommunications towers for Town police, fire, rescue, and public works communications needs related to public safety, health and welfare, at no cost to the Town. The telecommunications tower owner and wireless service carriers shall assist the Town, when deemed necessary, in the enhancement of existing police and fire communications systems by providing for the acquisition and installation of related equipment.
• (9) Development plan review. Applicants shall be subject to the provisions of development plan review, as outlined in Chapter 300, Subdivision of Land, § 300-37, as amended, when applying for a new facility or the expansion of the footprint of an existing facility.

• (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 permitted uses are subject to the requirements of Subsections D, F(3)(a), G and H (4, 6-C-1, 7 and 8) of this section.
• (2) Specific permitted uses.
  • (a) Telecommunications facilities including the placement of towers and additional buildings or other supporting equipment used in connection with said facility, in an industrial zoning district; provided, however, that the height of the proposed facility is less than 125 feet.
  • (b) Antennas and additional accessory structures or equipment used in connection with said antennas on land occupied by existing electric utility transmission towers, provided the height of such facility is less than 125 feet.
  • (c) Installing an antenna on any existing tower of any height, as long as the addition of said antenna adds no more than 20 feet in height to said existing tower as originally constructed, provided the total height does not exceed 200 feet.

Editor's Note: Former Subsection F, Special use permits, was repealed 12-7-2023, effective 12-7-2023.

• (1) Setbacks, height and separation.
  • (a) A wireless communications tower facility shall be set back from any adjacent property line or street at a maximum feasible distance, considering the size and physical constraints of the site, visibility to nearby sites and other visually sensitive locations, and the proportions and context of the site, in order to provide opportunity to minimize the adverse visual effects of telecommunications facilities. At the minimum, any such facility shall be set back from any property line a distance equal to 1 1/2 times the height of the facility and set back from any residential structure on a separate parcel a distance equal to 1 1/2 times the height of the facility or 250 feet, whichever is greater. Such facility shall be set back a distance of at least 400 feet from any public or private street or public right-of-way, and large uncamouflaged facilities must be at least 1,000 feet from a school facility.
    • [1] The Zoning Board of Review (ZBR) may waive these limitations up to a factor of 50% if the facility is camouflaged or in keeping with the surrounding uses, such that it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the ZBR that a substantially better design in keeping with the community character results. A specific example would be a small tower facility such as a flagpole, church steeple, barn or grain silo or a large tower facility that is sited on a particular lot that is suitable for a tower facility, but may have such physical constraints or attributes that make a waiver necessary. Towers and antenna mounts that are less than 80 feet in height above ground and that are suitably disguised to the satisfaction of the ZBR are required only to meet the setbacks for the district in which they are installed.
    • [2] When a telecommunications facility is determined by the Zoning Board to be appropriately sited within an industrial or B-2 zoned lot, which cannot meet the foregoing setbacks, and which is within a larger industrially or B-2 zoned area, the Zoning Board may decrease the setbacks from lot lines and structures within said lot, if the placement of the facility in said lot is not otherwise feasible, and the purposes of this section are otherwise met. However, the Zoning Board may not reduce the setbacks below the minimum setbacks otherwise provided for an Industrial or B-2 zoned lot under this chapter. Telecommunications facilities placed within an Industrial or B-2 zoned lot shall observe the setbacks set forth in the preceding subsection from property zoned A-4, A-3, R-2, residential structures, and public or private streets or public rights-of-way.
  • (b) Towers shall not be located within an historic district as designated by this chapter, unless disguised in a manner that meets the requirements as recommended by both the Historic District Commission and the Planning Board.
  • (c) Excluding towers in the Industrial Zoning District or in locations where more than one tower has been proposed on a single site, towers greater than 125 feet in height (large tower facilities) shall not be located within two miles from each other.
  • (d) With the exception of the larger tower facility (high-intensity), the Town encourages smaller facilities that blend into the existing environment through the use of disguise and camouflage. In order to minimize the number of tower facilities, normally, small tower facilities shall be considered to provide service coverage, as deemed necessary by the ZBR only after the installation of large tower facilities. These small tower facilities are not to be construed as an alternative to the large tower facilities, in that it is the design of this section to allow small tower facilities in places where a gap in coverage exists between two large tower facilities.
• (2) Landscaping and screening. The applicant must demonstrate that the tower or antennas are located within a given site so as to minimize the visual impact from nearby properties and roadways. Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent practicable and may be used as a substitute for the landscaped screening requirement. Appropriate screening shall be installed at tower sites to limit views from adjacent properties and streets. Plantings shall be of such a height and density to ensure screening. Screening shall consist of plant and/or tree material appropriate to the habitat. Screening may be waived on those sides or sections that are adjacent to undeveloped lands. The owner of the property shall be responsible for ongoing maintenance and shall replace any dead plantings within 30 days.
• (3) Site requirements.
  • (a) Traffic associated with the tower and accessory facilities shall not adversely affect abutting ways and access shall be provided to a site which respects the natural terrain, does not appear as a scar on the landscape, and is approved by the Director of Public Works and by the District Fire Chief to assure emergency access at all times. Consideration shall be given to design that minimizes erosion, construction on unstable soils, and steep slopes.
  • (b) Communications towers shall be enclosed by a fence at least 10 feet in height from finished grade and at least six feet from the base of the structure. Access shall be through a locked gate.
  • (c) Communications towers shall not be artificially lighted except as may be required for public safety purposes, by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), or by the Town of Glocester.
  • (d) No signs shall be allowed on any communications tower except as may be required for safety purposes, by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) or by the Town. All signs shall conform with the sign requirements of this chapter.

    Editor's Note: See Art. V, Sign Regulations.

  • (e) All supports and anchors shall have a minimum ten-foot horizontal setback from any overhead utility lines.
  • (f) The tower shall be designed to accommodate the maximum number of uses technologically practical.
• (4) Site selection consideration. When considering a site for a telecommunications facility, the following steps may assist evaluating the site's suitability:
  • (a) Evaluate coverage by reviewing existing telecommunications coverage to determine gaps in coverage, overlay proposed coverage from the considered tower/facility to establish how the proposed may improve service in that area.
  • (b) Consider alternatives that would provide the necessary service using less intrusive means.
  • (c) Evaluate the context of the site under consideration, underlying zoning, uses of property, neighboring uses, activities, maximization of co-location on the proposed facility and compatibility of the proposed tower/facility with neighboring uses.
  • (d) Consider visibility of the proposed tower/facility in community.
  • (e) Evaluate methods of camouflaging the structure to fit in with area.