§ 4.2W
W. Telecommunications Facilities.
1. Purpose. The purpose of these regulations is to regulate the placement, construction, and modification of transmission towers and telecommunications facilities in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, while at the same time not unreasonably interfering with the development of the competitive wireless telecommunications marketplace in Kalamazoo. The specific purposes are as follows:
a) To regulate the location of transmission towers and telecommunications facilities in the City;
b) To protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impact of transmission towers and telecommunications facilities;
c) To minimize adverse visual impact of transmission towers and telecommunications facilities through careful design, siting, landscaping, and innovative camouflaging techniques;
d) To promote and encourage shared use/collocation of transmission towers and antenna support structures as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use transmission towers;
e) To avoid potential damage to property caused by transmission towers and telecommunications facilities by ensuring such structures are soundly and carefully designed, constructed, modified, maintained, and removed when no longer used or determined to be structurally unsound; and
f) To ensure that transmission towers and telecommunications facilities are compatible with surrounding land uses.
g) Nothing in this section applies to amateur radio antennas, or facilities, used exclusively for the transmission of television or radio signals.
2. Siting; Permitted and Special Uses. No telecommunication facility or transmission tower may be constructed, modified to increase its height, installed or otherwise located within the City except as provided in this section. Depending on the type and location of the telecommunication facility, the telecommunication facility will be either a permitted use, subject to building review procedures, or a special use.
a) No special use permit is required for a telecommunication facility or transmission tower that is allowed as a permitted use pursuant to § 4.2W.3: Collocation on Existing Towers, § 4.2W.4: Collocation on Other Structures, and § 4.2W.5: Construction of New Transmission Towers. Such telecommunication facilities will require site plan review and any permits required by the Kalamazoo City Code.
b) A telecommunication facility or transmission tower that, pursuant to § 4.2W.3: Collocation on Existing Towers, § 4.2W.4: Collocation on Other Structures, and § 4.2W.5: Construction of New Transmission Towers, requires a special use permit, must be processed in accordance with
§ 8.3D: Special Use Permit and in accordance with established administrative policies, including review by appropriate City of Kalamazoo advisory boards. No permits may be issued prior to completion of the special use permit and site plan process, including any appeals.
3. Collocation on Existing Towers.
a) Collocation of an additional antenna on an existing transmission tower will be considered a permitted use in any M-1, M-2, CCBD, CC, CO, CBTR, CN-1, CN-2, CMU, P or IC district, or if the transmission tower is in any other zoning district, and the City specifically approved, as part of a special use permit process authorizing the transmission tower, collocation of additional antennas.
b) Collocation of an additional antenna on an existing transmission tower requires a special use permit in any RS, RD, RM, RMU, RMHP or CNO district if approval for collocation was not granted through a prior special use permit process.
4. Collocation on Other Structures.
a) In addition to collocation on an existing transmission tower, an antenna may be collocated on existing buildings, light poles, utility poles, and water towers.
b) Such collocation on a building, light pole, utility pole, or water tower, will be considered a permitted use provided that the antennas and ancillary facilities comply with all applicable building codes, the color of the antennas blends in with the existing structure and surroundings, the antennas do not exceed the height limitation of the zoning district, and the property is located in any M-1, M-2, CCBD, CC, CO, CBTR, CN-1, CN-2, CNU, P or IC district.
c) Such collocation on a building, light pole, utility pole, or water tower requires a special use permit in any RS, RD, RM, RMU, RMHP, or CNO district. Said antenna(s) may not exceed the building height allowed in the district, or 18 feet above the structure, whichever is less. Said antenna(s) may project no more than two feet away from the existing structure, and the color of the antenna(s) must blend in with the existing structure and surroundings.
5. Construction of New Transmission Towers. Construction of a transmission tower or a modification of an existing transmission tower to increase its height will be allowed as follows:
a) Such construction or modification is considered a permitted use in M-1 and M-2.
b) Such construction requires a special use permit in any CCBD, CC, CO, CN-1, CN-2, CMU, P or IC district. Such construction also requires a special use permit in any RS, RD, RM, RMHP, CNO or IC district, but only in the following locations:
1) Religious assembly, but only when designed as a steeple, bell tower, or similar accessory structure compatible with the principal use on the property.
2) Parks.
3) Government, public utility, or public school sites.
c) Such construction shall be prohibited in the CBTR district.
d) Any new transmission tower must be built, constructed, or erected with the capability of supporting a minimum of two other telecommunication facilities, comparable in weight, size, and surface area to the applicant's facilities, pursuant to § 4.2W.7.c: Standards for Transmission Towers and Antennas.
6. Application Requirements. Application requirements shall be set forth by the City Planner and may be modified from time to time as necessary. If a special use permit is required, the application requirements shall also include all materials required for a special use permit pursuant to
§ 8.3D: Special Use Permit.
7. Standards for Transmission Towers and Antennas. Installation, construction or modification of all transmission towers and antennas must comply with the following standards, unless a waiver is obtained pursuant to the provisions of § 4.2W.9: Waiver.
a)No transmission tower may be constructed within one-mile of any existing transmission tower. Tower separation must be measured by following a straight line from the portion of the base of the proposed transmission tower that is closest to the base of any preexisting transmission tower. For purposes of this paragraph, an existing tower includes any transmission tower for which the City has issued a building permit, or for which an application has been filed and not denied. Transmission towers constructed or approved prior to August 1, 1997, may be modified to accommodate additional providers consistent with provisions for collocation in this section.
b) Transmission tower and antenna heights are governed by this section except as provided for below:
1) If located within any M-1 or M-2 district, the height limitation for that zoning district applies.
2) If located within any CC, CO, CN-1, CN-2, CMU, P or IC district, the maximum height of a transmission tower, including antennas, is 100 feet, unless a waiver is granted pursuant to the provisions of § 4.2W.9: Waiver.
3) If located within any RS, RD, RM, RMHP, RMU, CNO or IC district, the maximum height of a transmission tower, including antennas, is 75 feet, unless a waiver is granted pursuant to the provisions of § 4.2W.9: Waiver.
c) New transmission towers must be designed to accommodate collocation of additional providers:
1) New transmission towers of a height of 100 feet or more must be designed to accommodate collocation of a minimum of two additional providers either outright or through future modification to the transmission tower.
2) New transmission towers of a height of at least 60 feet and no more than 100 feet must be designed to accommodate collocation of a minimum of one additional provider either outright or through future modification to the transmission tower.
d) The following setbacks from adjacent property lines and adjacent streets are required unless a waiver is granted pursuant to the provisions of § 4.2W.9: Waiver:
1) If located within any RS, RD, RM, RMHP, RMU, CNO or IC district, the transmission tower must be set back from adjacent property lines a minimum number of feet that is equal to the height of the transmission tower.
2) If the transmission tower is located on a parcel in any nonresidential zoning district that abuts residentially zoned property, the transmission tower must be set back from the adjacent residentially zoned property line a minimum number of feet that is equal to the height of the transmission tower.
3) In any RS, RD, RM, RMHP, RMU, CNO or IC district, transmission towers must be set back from adjacent public streets a minimum number of feet that is equal to the height of the transmission tower. In all other zoning districts, the setback from adjacent public streets must be a minimum of 25 feet.
e)In all zoning districts, existing vegetation must be preserved to the maximum extent possible. In all zoning districts, landscaping must be placed completely around the transmission tower and ancillary facilities located at ground level except as required to access the facility. Such landscaping must consist of evergreen vegetation with a minimum planted height of six feet placed densely so as to form a screen. Landscaping must be compatible with other nearby landscaping and must be kept healthy and well maintained. Landscaping must be installed on the outside of any fencing.
f) In any CN-1, CN-2, RS, RD, RM, RMHP, RMU, or CNO district and in all other zoning districts when the adjacent property is zoned residentially or occupied by a dwelling, hospital, school, library, or nursing home, noise generating equipment must be sound-buffered by means of baffling, barriers, or other suitable means to reduce sound level measured at the property line to 45 dBa. In all other locations, noise must be regulated by applicable City ordinances.
g) Transmission towers may not be artificially lighted except as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In cases where there are residential uses located within a distance that is 300% of the height of the transmission tower from the transmission tower, and when required by federal law, dual mode lighting must be requested from the FAA.
h) The transmission tower and attached antennas must be unpainted galvanized steel or painted neutral colors or such shades as are appropriate and compatible with the surrounding environment, as approved by the City.
i) No signs, striping, graphics or other attention getting devices are permitted on the transmission tower or ancillary facilities except for warning and safety signage with a surface area of no more than three square feet. Such signage must be affixed to a fence or ancillary facility and the number of signs is limited to no more than two.
8. Standards for Ancillary Facilities to a Transmission Tower. All ancillary facilities must comply with the standards of Subsections (e) and (f) of § 4.2W.7: Standards for Transmission Towers and Antennas. In addition, all ancillary facilities within any RS, RD, RM, CNO or IC district must be located underground to the maximum extent technology allows, unless a waiver is obtained pursuant to the provisions of § 4.2W.9: Waiver. This underground restriction does not apply within other zoning districts.
9. Waiver.
a) Any waiver to the requirements of this section may be granted only pursuant to the following provisions. The criteria for granting a waiver are as set forth in this section only, and may not include the criteria in
§ 8.3D: Special Use Permit.
b) The City may grant a waiver from the provisions of § 4.2W.7: Standards for Transmission Towers and Antennas, provided the applicant demonstrates that:
1) It is technologically impossible to locate the proposed transmission tower on available sites more than one-mile from a preexisting transmission tower and still provide the approximate coverage the transmission tower is intended to provide;
2) The preexisting transmission tower that is within one mile of the proposed transmission tower cannot be modified to accommodate another provider; and
3) There are no available buildings, light or utility poles, or water towers on which antennas may be located and still provide the approximate coverage the transmission tower is intended to provide.
4) The City may grant a waiver to the setback and undergrounding requirements of Subsection (d) of § 4.2W.7: Standards for Transmission Towers and Antennas or § 4.2.W8: Standards for Ancillary Facilities to a Transmission Tower, upon finding that stealth design, proposed landscaping, configuration of the site, or the presence of mature trees obviates the need for compliance.
5) The City may grant a waiver to the one-hundred-foot height limitation in any CC, CO, CN-2, CN-1, or CMU district, or to the seventy-five-foot height limitation in any RS, RD, RM, RMU, CNO, or IC district if the applicant shows, through written documentation provided by an engineer, that the proposed height is the minimum height needed to meet service needs and to accommodate future collocations per Subsection (c) of § 4.2W.7: Standards for Transmission Towers and Antennas.
6) If the proposed transmission tower, ancillary facility or other telecommunication facilities require a special use permit, the request for waiver must be considered as part of the special use permit process. If the proposed transmission tower, ancillary facility or other telecommunication facilities are a permitted use, the request for a waiver must be decided by the City Planner and must be based on the criteria in this section.
10. Removal of Facilities.
a)All transmission towers, antennas, transmission tower substructures and ancillary facilities must be removed within six months of the time that the facilities have ceased being used to transmit, receive or relay voice and data signals to or from wireless communication devices. The owner and operator of the tower, antenna, substructure or facility and the real property owner upon which the tower, antenna, substructure or facility is located are responsible for removing such facilities. The site must be restored with appropriate landscaping to its pre-transmission tower appearance. The City Planner may grant one six-month extension where a written request has been filed, within the initial six month period, to reuse the transmission tower or antennas.
b) The City may require the posting of an open-ended bond or accept some other performance guarantee suitable to the City before building permit issuance to insure removal of the transmission tower, substructure or antennas after the facility no longer is being used.
11. Fees. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, the City Planner may require, as part of application fees for building or special use permits for telecommunication facilities, an amount sufficient to recover all of the City's costs in retaining consultants to verify statements made in conjunction with the permit application, to the extent that verification requires telecommunications expertise. This amount of this fee shall be set by City Commission resolution.