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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-010 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS COUNTY OF RAMSEY STATE OF MINNESOTA ORDINANCE NO. 2009-010 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 1305.04 AND SECTION 1325.09 REGARDING ANTENNAS AND TOWERS THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARDEN HILLS HEREBY ORDAINS THAT SECTION 1305.04 SUBD.ll, SUBD.12, AND ALL SUBSEQUENT NUMBERING, AND SECTION 1325.09 REGARDING ANTENNAS AND TOWERS SHALL BE AMENDED AS FOLLOWS: 1305.04 Definitions Subd.ll Antennas. Equipment used for transmitting and/or receIvIng telecommunication, television or radio signals, which is located on the exterior, interior, or outside, of any building or structure. Subd.12 Antennas, Dish. A parabolic-shaped antenna (including all supporting apparatus) 1325.09 Antennas, Dish Antennas and Towers. Subd.l Purpose. In order to accommodate the communication needs of residents and businesses while protecting the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community, the City finds that these regulations are necessary to: A. Maximize the use of existing and approved towers and buildings to accommodate new personal wireless service antennas in order to reduce the number of new towers necessary to serve the community; B. Ensure antennas and towers are designed, located, and constructed in accordance with all applicable code requirements to avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from failure of the antenna and tower through structural standards and setback requirements; Subd. 2 Applicability. The regulations in this subsection shall apply to any antenna or tower except as hereinafter provided in Subd. 3. Subd. 3 Exemptions. 1 A. Antennas and towers used by the City for City purposes. B. Receptive dish antennas under one (1) meter in diameter and individual receptive antennas, which are no taller than twelve (12) feet above the roofline, regardless of the zoning district. C. In all residential districts, no more than two (2) exempted antennas and no more than one (1) antenna requiring a conditional use permit shall be allowed on any lot or parcel. Subd.4 Conditional Use Permit Required. Antennas, dish antennas and towers are allowed only as conditional accessory uses. They are therefore allowed only on property containing a principal use to which the antenna, dish antenna or tower is accessory. Subd. 5 Height. The height of an antenna or tower shall be measured from the ground at the base of the antenna, tower, or other structure that the antenna is attached to, to the highest point of the antenna or tower. No antenna or tower shall exceed the following height limitations: A. A dish antenna shall not exceed fifteen (15) feet in height if ground or pole mounted and shall not extend more than twelve (12) feet above the roof if it is roof mounted. Regardless of these height limitations, the antenna shall be mounted as close to the ground or roof as practical. B. No antenna or tower shall exceed a height of seventy-five (75) feet. C. No antenna or tower shall exceed a height equal to the distance from the base of the tower to the nearest overhead electrical power line (except individual service drops), less five (5) feet. Subd. 6 Location. A. New antennas shall be located on City water tower sites unless the applicant shows, to the reasonable satisfaction of the City, that none of the City water towers can be feasibly used from an engineering standpoint. B. Preferences for Antenna and Support Structure Locations. When selecting sites for the construction of new Antenna Support Structures and/or for the placement of new antennas, when not located on a City water tower site, the following preferences shall be followed in order of listing: 2 1. Existing towers or on existing structures located within any Industrial, Civic-Center, or Business District zoned property 2. On new towers located within any Industrial, Civic-Center, or Business District zoned property 3. On new or existing towers or structures located within any Residential zoned property. C. Co-location Required. If a new antenna support structure is to be constructed, it shall be designed structurally and electrically to accommodate both the applicant's antennas and comparable antennas for at least one (1) additional user. Any antenna support structure must also be designed to allow for future re-arrangement of antennas upon the tower and to accept antennas mounted at different heights. Other users shall include, but not be limited to, other cellular communication companies, Personal Communication Systems companies, local police, fire and ambulance companies. D. Prohibitions. No new support structures shall be approved for construction, unless the applicant shows, to the reasonable satisfaction of the City, that an existing tower or structure is not feasibly available for use from an engineering standpoint. E. Antennas and towers shall be located on sites or buildings in areas that are the least visually intrusive to nearby properties and public streets. F. Antennas, dish antennas or towers shall not be allowed: 1. Nearer the street than the principal building on the lot. 2. Nearer the side or rear lot lines than the minimum side or rear yard setbacks for accessory uses as established in Section 1320.06 of this Code. 3. Nearer to an adjoining property's buildable area than to the principal building on the site on which the antenna or tower will be placed. 4. Nearer to any property line than the height of the antenna or tower. Subd. 7 Screening. 3 A. Dish Antennas. Screening shall be provided so as to prevent direct view of a dish antenna from any street or from a public or private property within six hundred (600) feet of the dish, as follows: 1. Ground Mounted Dishes. Screening for ground mounted dishes shall consist of a fence, wall, earth berm or landscaping, or a combination of these devices. 2. Roof or Wall Mounted Dishes. Screening for roof- or wall- mounted dishes shall be in accordance with Section 1325.05 Subd 4 B. Antennas. Antennas shall be painted the color of the structure to which they are attached. Subd.8 Special Requirements for City Water Tower Sites. The placement of licensed commercial wireless telecommunication services including cellular, personal communication services (PCS), specialized mobilized radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobilized radio (ESMR), paging and similar services on water tower sites will be allowed only when the City is fully satisfied that the following requirements are met: A. The applicant's access to the facility will not increase the risks of contamination to the City's water supply; B. There is sufficient room on the structure to accommodate the applicant's equipment and all equipment (antennas, exterior cables, etc) attached to the structure is painted to match the color of the structure; c. The presence of the equipment will not increase the water tower or reservoir maintenance costs to the City; D. The presence of the equipment will not be harmful to the health of workers maintaining the water tower or reservoir. E. Antennas placed on the top of the tower shall not exceed the height of the tallest existing antenna. F. There is sufficient room on the site to accommodate all ground equipment and the following requirements for ground equipment are met: 1. The base transceiver station and all other ground equipment shall be housed in an existing on-site equipment building whenever possible. If an existing equipment building is unavailable, a new equipment building may be constructed. If the equipment is to be housed in a weather-proof cabinet-like structure in lieu of a building, it shall be mounted upon a suitable concrete pad. 4 2. If there is an equipment building constructed on site, it shall be subject to City approval. 3. To the extent possible, the equipment building or cabinet shall be located adjacent to or near existing on-site buildings. 4. The equipment building or cabinet shall be screened from view of adjacent properties by suitable vegetation, except where non- vegetative screening (e.g., a decorative wall or fencing) better reflects and complements the character of the neighborhood. 5. The City shall require a suitable financial surety to ensure future removal of the equipment building or cabinet upon termination of the lease. 6. All applicants must include a signed report from a State registered engineer showing compliance with all applicable codes, standards and structural requirements of how the additional antennas will affect the water tower structure. A final inspection report from a State registered engineer showing the work completed is in compliance with previously approved plans shall also be required. Subd. 9 Requirements. A. A building permit shall be required for all applications except those as stated in Section 1325.09 Subd 1.A. B. The City shall require the applicant to complete a radio frequency interference study that is carried out by an independent and qualified professional reasonably selected by the City that is able to demonstrate that the applicant's use will not interfere with any existing communications facilities. 5 Effective Date. Ordinance No. 2009-010 shall become effective the day following its publication, or the publication of the Ordinance Summary in the City's official newspaper. Adoption Date. Passed by the City Council of the City of Arden Hills the 27th day of July, 2009 Ronald J. Moorse, City Administrator Publication Date. Published on the 5th of August, 2009. \\Metro-inet.us\ardenhills\Admin\Council\Ordinances\2009\Ordinance 2009-010 - Antennas and Towers.doc 6