Contra Costa County Municipal Code Art. 88-24.2 General Provisions

(a) The purpose of this chapter is to establish criteria for the location and design of wireless telecommunication facilities in the county, consistent with state and federal requirements. This chapter is intended to advance and promote the following goals:

(1) Enable wireless telecommunication service providers to provide high quality wireless communications service infrastructure to serve the current and future needs of the county's residents, businesses, and local governments.

(2) Avoid adverse visual and aesthetic impacts of wireless telecommunication facilities by regulating the location and design of the facilities in a manner that is consistent with state and federal laws and regulations, including the 1996 Federal Telecommunications Act and the regulations promulgated under that act.

(3) Protect and enhance the public health, safety, and welfare of county residents.

(4) Encourage collocation of wireless telecommunication facilities whenever feasible.

(b) This chapter establishes requirements that apply to wireless telecommunications facilities consistent with the limitations imposed on the county under state and federal law. Under federal law, the county may not regulate the type of technology used on a wireless telecommunications facility, regulate any facility not located on county-owned property based on radio-frequency emissions emitted by the facility, discriminate between providers of wireless telecommunication services, or prohibit the provision of personal wireless service. Federal law requires the county to allow minor alterations to facilities. Under state law, if an existing facility was approved under a discretionary land use permit following environmental review, the county must allow new facilities to collocate on the existing facility. State law authorizes the county to impose reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on facilities located within the county's rights-of-way.

(Ord. No. 2016-11, § II, 5-24-16)

For purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases have the following meanings:

(a) "Ancillary equipment" means all cables, conduits, connectors, and other equipment that powers or supports a facility or antenna, and does not directly receive or transmit wireless signals or data. Ancillary equipment does not include an antenna support structure.

(b) "Antenna" means any panel, rod, wire, drum, reflecting disc, dish, or similar device used to transmit or receive radio frequency signals or electromagnetic signals. Antenna does not include an antenna support structure.

(c) "Antenna support structure" means a structure on which one or more antennas may be mounted.

(d) "Camouflage" means to reduce the visibility of a facility, when viewed in relation to its surrounding environment, by means of screening, concealment, or other action taken to reduce the facility's visibility within the surrounding environment. Camouflage also means the use of features similar to natural environmental features found in the immediate area surrounding the facility, such as trees and landscaping.

(e) "Collocate" or "collocation" means the mounting or installation of transmission equipment on a facility for the purpose of transmitting or receiving radio frequency signals for communications purposes.

(f) "Collocation-eligible facility" means a facility that is designed and constructed to accommodate future collocation, and for which a land use permit has been issued under this chapter, in accordance with Government Code section 65850.6, subdivision (b).

(g) "County right-of-way" means the areas in, under, above, and adjacent to county roads, highways, and waterways that the County may regulate pursuant to Public Utilities Code section 7901.1.

(h) "Equipment enclosure" means any cabinet, shelter, structure, or vault that is used to enclose and secure ancillary equipment.

(i) "Façade-mounted antenna" means an antenna, including any mounting hardware, that is designed to be mounted on the exterior lateral face of a building or other structure.

(j) "Facility site" means the lot on which a facility is located.

(k) "Final day of use" means the last day of facility operation, or the last day a permit issued under this chapter is valid, whichever is sooner.

(l) "Ground-mounted antenna" means an antenna that is anchored directly to the ground or to an in-ground foundation.

(m) "Guyed tower" means an antenna support structure that is supported, in whole or in part, by guy wires and ground anchors.

(n) "High-visibility facility" means any tower, antenna, or facility that is not a low visibility facility.

(o) "Lattice tower" means an antenna support structure that is freestanding, three- or four-sided, with a trussed steel frame.

(p) "Low-visibility facility" means any of the following:

(1) A facility that does not exceed ten feet in height above ground level and is a ground-mounted antenna, an antenna support structure with antennas, a monopole, a lattice tower, or a guyed tower.

(2) A roof-mounted antenna, or an antenna support structure with antennas, that does not exceed ten feet above the maximum height for the zoning district in which it is located, or ten feet above the surface of the roof on which it is located, whichever is less.

(3) A façade-mounted antenna that does not extend more than thirty-six inches above the roofline of a building or structure.

(4) A facility or antenna installed on an existing high-voltage electricity transmission tower, or installed on an existing utility or street light pole.

(5) A stealth facility or stealth antenna.

(6) A distributed antenna system (DAS) facility.

(7) A minor alteration to an existing facility.

(q) "Minor alteration" means a change to a facility that meets the definition of an "eligible facilities request" in Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, section 1.40001.

(r) "Monopole" means an antenna support structure that consists of a freestanding single pole constructed without guy wires.

(s) "Mount Diablo area" means the geographic area within the Mt. Diablo State Park boundary at the time that a permit application or request for permit renewal is made.

(t) "Non-urban area" means an area within any zoning district that is designated as "Agricultural Core (AC)," "Agricultural Lands (AL)," "Delta Recreation and Resources (DR)," "Public and Semi-Public (PS)," "Watershed (WS)," "Open Space (OS)," or "Parks and Recreation (PR)," in the land use element of the county general plan.

(u) "Person" means a natural person, corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, sole proprietorship, or other entity of any kind.

(v) "Reflectivity" means the measure of the amount of energy or light that is reflected from a surface, expressed as a percentage of energy or light directed toward that surface.

(w) "Relocation" means removal of a facility from one facility site and placement of that facility on another facility site. Relocation does not include removal of a facility for the purpose of collocating the facility with a planned or existing collocation-eligible facility.

(x) "Roof-mounted antenna" means an antenna, including any mounting hardware, that is affixed to the roof of a building or other structure.

(y) "Scenic ridge" means an area within any zoning district that is identified as a scenic ridge in the open space element of the county general plan.

(z) "Service network" means a service provider's wireless telecommunications system located within the county.

(aa) "Service provider" means a private sector entity that provides wireless telecommunication services, or provides support facilities to improve or enhance wireless service, or owns or operates a facility.

(ab) "Stealth facility" or "stealth antenna" means a facility or antenna that is not immediately recognizable as a facility or antenna and concealed from view in one of the following ways:

(1) The antenna or facility is integrated, included, or incorporated within another physical feature.

(2) The antenna or facility is designed as a structure, improvement, or feature that is consistent with the surrounding environment in which it is located, such as a flag pole; an agricultural structure, such as a barn, silo, or windmill; an architectural feature, such as a chimney or parapet; an art piece; or a natural feature, such as a boulder.

(ac) "Substantial change" has the same meaning as "substantial change" in Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, section 1.40001.

(ad) "Tower" means any ground-mounted antenna support structure, and includes a monopole, a lattice tower, and a guyed tower.

(ae) "Transmission equipment" has the same meaning as "transmission equipment" in Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, section 1.40001.

(af) "Wireless" means through the airwaves, including, but not limited to, infrared line of sight, cellular, personal communication service (PCS), wireless internet (WiFi), pagers, enhanced specialized mobile radio service, microwave, satellite, radio, and television signals, and similar services that currently exist or that may be developed in the future.

(ag) "Wireless telecommunication facility" or "facility" means a facility that transmits and/or receives wireless signals. The facility may include one or more antenna support structures, antennas, repeaters, radio transmitters, cables, ancillary equipment, equipment enclosures, air vents, support structures, air conditioning units, fans, fire suppression systems, emergency back-up generators or other back-up power sources, parking area and other accessory development.

(Ord. No. 2016-11, § II, 5-24-16)

(a) Application. Except as specified in this section, the requirements of this chapter apply to all of the following: a new facility, a relocated facility, a facility that is removed and replaced, a substantial change to a facility, a collocation on a collocation-eligible facility, and a minor alteration to a facility.

(b) Requirements Cumulative. The requirements of this chapter are in addition to any other applicable requirements of this code, and state and federal laws and regulations, that apply to the location, design, construction, installation, operation, and licensing of each facility.

(c) Exemptions. The following facilities are exempt from this chapter:

(1) An antenna or facility that is expressly exempt from local regulation by any state or federal law or regulation, or by any permit issued by California Public Utilities Commission or Federal Communications Commission.

(2) A facility for non-commercial telecommunication purposes that:

(A) Is located on private property;

(B) Does not exceed the height limit for the zoning district in which it is located; and

(C) Is operated either as a part of the amateur radio service under Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 97, or as part of a citizen's band radio system under Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 65, Subpart D.

(3) A microwave dish or satellite dish measuring seventy-two inches or less in diameter that receives but does not transmit radio or television wireless signals.

(4) A facility that is established temporarily and meets both of the following requirements:

(A) The facility is established during or after a community-wide emergency or natural disaster declared by any federal, state, or local official, or during or after an emergency as defined in Title 14, California Code of Regulations, section 15359.

(B) The Facility is Established for Sixty Days or Less. Notwithstanding this sixty-day limitation, the zoning administrator may authorize a temporary facility to remain established for so long as necessary to repair or reconstruct a facility that is damaged or destroyed as a result of an event specified in subsection (c)(4)(A).

(5) A mobile or vehicle-mounted facility that is located at a single location for seventy-two hours or less, and is used by a public or private radio or television broadcasting company, cable service provider, journalist, or internet content provider, for news coverage, public information, or other similar purposes.

(6) A facility owned or operated by one or more federal, state, or local government entities, including, but not limited to, any facility for a regional emergency communication system, and any facility for a 911 system.

(7) A facility accessory to other publicly owned or operated equipment for data acquisition related to irrigation control, well monitoring, or traffic signal control.

(8) A facility existing and operating under a land use permit or other discretionary approval issued prior to the enactment of this chapter may continue to exist and operate under the terms of that permit or approval. However, unless the previously-issued land use permit or other discretionary approval provides otherwise, the facility must comply with the applicable requirements of this chapter, as follows:

(A) If the previously permitted facility is substantially changed, a permit under this chapter must be obtained for the substantially-changed facility.

(B) If the previously permitted facility is removed and replaced with a new facility, a permit under this chapter must be obtained for the new facility.

(C) If the previously permitted facility is relocated, a permit under this chapter must be obtained for the relocated facility.

(D) If a new facility is collocated on the previously permitted facility, a permit under this chapter must be obtained for the new, collocated facility.

(E) If a minor alteration is made to the previously permitted facility, a minor alteration permit under this chapter must be obtained for the minor alteration.

(F) If the previously-issued land use permit or other discretionary approval expires and is not renewed before the discretionary approval expires, a permit under this chapter must be obtained for the facility.

(Ord. No. 2016-11, § II, 5-24-16)