Fowler Municipal Code Ch. 9.230 Wireless Telecommunication Facilities

The purpose of this Chapter is to establish regulations and procedures for wireless telecommunication facilities. It is the City's intent in establishing these regulations to allow for the development of wireless telecommunication facilities where needed in accordance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended, while maintaining development standards and permitting requirements consistent with State law. (Government Code sections 65850.6 and 65964.) The goals of this Chapter are to:

A. Enhance the ability of wireless telecommunication service providers to effectively and efficiently provide new wireless telecommunication services.

B. Encourage the design and placement of wireless telecommunication facilities in a way that minimizes their impact to the visual character.

C. Encourage and maximize the use of existing and approved wireless telecommunication facilities, buildings, and other structures while taking into account the use of concealment technology in order to reduce the number of facilities needed to serve City businesses and residents.

D. Ensure continuous maintenance of new and existing wireless telecommunication facilities.

E. Ensure the timely removal of any unused or outdated wireless telecommunication facilities.

A. The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to all wireless telecommunication facility uses as defined in this Title.

B. The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to:

1. Any tower or antenna that is owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio station operator and is a maximum of ten (10) feet higher than the height limitation of buildings within the underlying zone district.

2. Any tower or antenna used for commercial radio or television purposes.

3. Any satellite dish or antenna for private use.

A. Major Conditional Use Permit Required. A Major Conditional Use Permit in accordance with Chapter 9.35 shall be required for any new standalone wireless telecommunication facility that is not co-located or is not incorporated into an existing building.

B. Minor Conditional Use Permit Required. A Minor Conditional Use Permit in accordance with Chapter 9.35 shall be required for the placement of small cell attachments on public and private poles in the public right-of-way.

C. Ministerial Plan Review Required. A Ministerial Plan Review in accordance with Chapter 9.55 shall be required for the modification, placement, or replacement of co-located wireless telecommunication facilities provided the facility meets the following requirements. Ministerial Plan Reviews shall be processed in sixty (60) days for co-located facilities from the time of application submittal, in accordance with Federal Communications Commission requirements.

1. State compliance. Complies with the requirements of Government Code section 65850.6, subdivision (b) for the co-location of wireless telecommunication facilities.

2. Height. Does not increase the height of the tower by more than ten percent (10%) or ten (10) feet, whichever is greater. For towers in the public right-of-way, does not increase the height of the tower by more than ten percent (10%) or twenty (20) feet, whichever is greater.

3. Width. Does not increase the width of the tower by more than twenty (20) feet or more than the width of the tower structure at the location of the addition, whichever is greater. For towers in the public right-of-way and based stations, does not include an addition that would extend from the edge of the structure by more than six (6) feet.

4. Equipment cabinets. Does not involve installation of more than the standard number of new equipment cabinets for the technology involved, not to exceed four (4) cabinets total. For towers in the public right-of-way and base stations, does not involve installation of any new equipment cabinets on the ground if there are no pre-existing ground cabinets associated with the structure, or else involves installation of ground cabinets that are more than ten percent (10%) larger in height or overall volume than any existing ground cabinets associated with the structure.

5. Excavation/deployment. Does not entail any excavation or deployment outside the current site.

6. Concealment. Does not defeat the concealment elements of the wireless tower or base station.

D. Exemptions. The following project activities are exempt from the permit requirements of this Chapter. Additional permits and approvals may be required, including building permits.

1. Removal of wireless telecommunication facilities.

2. Change of antennas on any existing wireless telecommunication facilities not resulting in increased visibility of the structure.

E. Compliance with Other Regulations and Approvals. All wireless telecommunication facilities shall comply with applicable Federal Communications Commission rules, regulations, and standards and Title 8 (Building Regulations) of the Fowler Municipal Code.

F. Authority to Employ Technical Expert. The Community Development Director is explicitly authorized at their discretion to employ an independent technical expert to review any submitted supplemental or technical materials or provide technical knowledge to the City. The technical expert shall be agreeable to both the City and the service provider. The applicant shall pay all the costs of said review, including any administrative costs incurred by the City. To the extent allowed by law, any proprietary information that is disclosed to the City or any expert hired shall be located in a separate private file, shall remain confidential, and shall not be disclosed to any third party.

G. Modifications to Development Standards. The approval authority may modify or vary the development standards listed in Section 9.230.050 if the approval authority finds:

1. That such modification(s) or variation(s) will not result in any adverse incompatibility, noise, visual, or public safety impacts to surrounding properties given the project design and the location of the proposed facility; and

2. That the overall intent and purpose of Chapter 9.230 is maintained and preserved.

A. Whether located on public or private property, wireless telecommunication facilities cannot be constructed unless a permit has first been obtained in accordance with this Title.

B. An encroachment permit does not, under any circumstances, authorize the construction of wireless telecommunication facilities without obtaining the permits and approvals required by this Title.

All wireless telecommunication facilities shall comply with the following development standards:

A. Siting.

1. All wireless telecommunication facilities shall be located to maintain applicable easements or similar restrictions on the subject property.

2. Wireless telecommunication facilities shall meet the setbacks of the underlying zone district and any applicable overlay districts. All setbacks shall be measured from the base of the tower or structure to the applicable property line or structure. Where possible, facilities shall not be situated between the primary building on the parcel and any public or private street adjoining the parcel.

3. In residential zones, wireless telecommunication facilities are prohibited on properties containing residences but may be permitted on properties containing churches, schools, or other non-residential uses in residential zones, if concealed or disguised and with written consent of the Community Development Director based upon aesthetics, architectural integration, pole height, and similar factors as set out herein.

4. Wireless telecommunication facilities shall be located so as to avoid precluding the future development of the surrounding property and area.

B. Height Limitations.

1. The height of the antenna structure shall be no greater than the minimum necessary to provide the required coverage and shall not exceed an overall height of sixty (60) feet, or no more than twenty (20) feet above the highest point of the structure on which it is mounted, whichever is less.

2. A freestanding above ground wireless telecommunication support facility shall be no taller than fifteen (15) feet in height. Additionally, wireless telecommunication support facilities in high visibility areas shall be located or designed from public view, where possible, to minimize their profile (i.e., placed underground, depressed or located behind berms).

C. Stealth, Concealment, Screening, Materials and Design.

1. Antennas shall be constructed of metal or another nonflammable material, unless specifically approved by the City to be otherwise.

2. All buildings, poles, towers, antenna supports, antennas, and other components of each wireless telecommunication site shall be comprised of materials that are of the same color or treated with colors to conceal the equipment, as well as with anti-graffiti paint or coating and live vines/plants.

3. Exterior surfaces of wireless telecommunication support facilities visible from the public right-of-way shall be non-reflective.

4. Freestanding equipment enclosures shall be constructed to look like adjacent structures or facilities typically found in the area and shall adhere to any applicable design guidelines. Where there are no structures in the immediate vicinity, equipment enclosures be screened from view.

D. Vegetation and Landscape Screening, Protection, and Maintenance. All equipment enclosures shall be installed in such a manner so as to maintain and enhance existing native and/or landscaped vegetation to screen the facility. The level of screening shall be consistent with the type of facility proposed, its zone, and its location.

E. Lighting. Except as required by State or federal law, the exterior of all wireless telecommunication facilities shall be unlit except for a manually operated or motion-detector controlled light above the equipment shed door and which shall meet the requirements of Chapter 9.170 (Outdoor Lighting).

F. Signage. All freestanding wireless telecommunication sites shall provide unlighted identification signage of not more than three (3) square feet in size. The sign shall indicate the name of the company operating the facility, the phone number of the facility operator, and an after-hours contact number that may be reached twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. Wireless telecommunications facilities and antennas shall not contain advertising and additional signs.

G. Security. The wireless telecommunications service and property owner shall:

1. Maintain a security program when determined to be necessary by, and subject to the review and approval of, the Fowler Police Department that will prevent unauthorized access and vandalism.

2. Ensure sufficient anti-climbing measures have been incorporated into the facility, as needed, to reduce the potential for trespass and injury.

A. Notice. The wireless telecommunication service provider shall give written notice to the City at such time as use of a facility ceases.

B. Non-Operating Facilities. Any wireless telecommunication facility that is not continuously operated for a period of ninety (90) consecutive days shall be deemed abandoned except when such non-operation is the result of natural disaster, in which case the period of time shall be one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days.

C. Cures for Abandonment. The wireless telecommunication service provider shall have sixty (60) days after a notice of abandonment is mailed by the City to make the facility operable, replace the facility with an operable facility, or completely remove the facility and all supporting facilities and restore the site.

D. Removal of Facilities and Site Restoration. The owner of the property shall cause the safe removal of the facilities and thereafter cause the site to be restored to its original condition (wear and tear excepted) within one hundred eighty (180) days of the removal of the facilities.

E. Abatement Procedures. If the owner does not remove the facilities within sixty (60) days of a notice of abandonment, the City may remove or cause to be removed the wireless telecommunication facility at the underlying property owner's expense and place a lien on the property for the cost of such removal as set out in the written consent provided by the property owner.

F. Multiple Users. If there are two (2) or more users of a single facility, the facility shall not be deemed abandoned until all users abandon it.