Section 26-1. Findings. — Imperial Zoning Code

WHEREAS, the United States Congress adopted the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which encourages the growth of the telecommunications industry through deregulation, while confirming local government's ability to regulate the installation of wireless communication facilities, buried communication lines; and a variety of related telecommunication facilities for reasons of health, safety and aesthetics; and,

. WHEREAS, the City of Impérial City Council anticipates that there will be inquiries regarding applications for the installation and operation of telecommunication towers, antennas, repeater, regenetation, and related facilities; and,

WHEREAS, many of these facilities will be located within rights-of-way, and on private properties, under control of the City, which can, and will affect the safety of such: - public facilities; and

_ ,. WHEREAS, many of these facilities may impact the Gity. both environmentally as well as economically yet provide no sighificant local:benefit, although they could have the opportunity to provide primary communication servicé and possibly high speed internet services in afeas where other services may not be available; and WHEREAS, the proposed Ordinance was considered by the City of Imperial City Council at duly noticed public meetings on > and

WHEREAS, the City of Imperial finds that it is in the public interest to permit the siting of wireless communications towers, antennas and buried communication lines within the municipal boundaries where putting it within the municipal boundaries is in keeping with the Optimum technical parameters of an FCC licensed communication. build-out plan; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City of Imperial to protect and promote the public health, safety and welfare by regulating the siting of wireless communications towers and antennas, along with and in accordance with the applicable codes and regulations of the County, Federal and State agencies, including but not limited to the FCC and the FAA.

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COMMUNICATION FACILITIES.

Article | General Provisions and Definitions Article Il Applicability . Article lI! Exemptions Article IV General Requirements Article V. Permitting Requirements Article VI Alternatives Analysis Article VIl_ — Visual Analysis Article VIII Radios Frequency Exposure Review
; ArticleArticle XIX TowersModification to Facilities .. : . Article Xl Changes to FCC Standards Article XII Life of Approval Article XIII Facilities in Existence Prior to Adoption of these Regulations
. Article XIV Public Benefit

Article |: General Provisions and Definitions.

26-2. Purpose. This Ordinance is’ enacted to establish a consistent set of standards régulating the placement and design of all types ef communication facilities in City of Imperial. These standards are intended to protect and promote public health, safety, community welfare and the unique visual character of City of Imperial by encouraging the orderly development of communication infrastructure. It is the intent of the City Council _that these regulations serve to:

of standards régulating the placement and design of all types ef communication facilities in City of Imperial. These standards are intended to protect and promote public health, safety, community welfare and the unique visual character of City of Imperial by encouraging the orderly development of communication infrastructure. It is the intent of the City Council _that these regulations serve to:

a) Protect residential areas and other land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas; | H foo ' : :
b) Encourage the location of towers and re-generation facilities in non-
. residential areas; C) Minimize the number of towers throughout the community; d) Strongly encourage the joint Use of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather that construction of additional single-use towers;
e) Encourage users of towers:and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal;
f) Encourage users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers and antennas through careful design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative
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camouflaging techniques;

g) Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively, and efficiently;

h) Consider the public health and safety of communication towers; , Oo 1
i) Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures. All towers are to be engineered for the environment in which they are to be located and for the expectied loading.
j) Encourage the due consideration of the City of Imperial’s General Plan, zoning map, existing land uses, and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas.
k) Minimize the amount of private infrastructure systems in public right-
. of-ways. mt oO . 26-3. Definitions. For:the purposes of this Chapter, the following words and
phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this sub-Section. . a) Alternative Towe[cr:] Structure. Man-made trees, clock towers, bell steeples, light poles and similar alternative-design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennas or
- towers. ,
b) Amateur Radio (HAM): Operator. A person holding a written authorization to be the control operator of an Amateur Radio Facility. This authorization shall be inithe form of a license or permit issued by the Federal Communications Commission or a foreign national or multi-national license or permit recognized by treaty as valid in the United States.

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c) Amateur Radio (HAM) Service. Radio communication services, including the amateur-satellite service and the amateur service, which are for the purpose of self-training, intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by; amateurs who are duly authorized persons interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest, as defined in Title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 97 and regulated thereunder.
d) Amateur Radio (HAM) Facility. A wireless communication facility operated by a Federally-licensed Amateur Radio Operator as part of 3

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the Amateur Radio Services.

e) Antenna. Any system of towers, poles, panels, rods, wires; drums, reflecting discs or similar devices used for the transmission or. reception of electromagnetic waves. The distinctionis made between - the support structure and the antenna(s) mounted thereon. See also Satellite Dish or Satellite Antenna.
f) Backhaul Network. The lines that connect a provider's towers/cell sites to one or more cellular telephone switching. offices, and/or long distance providers, or the public switched telephone network.
g) Broadcast. To transmit a signal for direct reception by the general public. ,
h) Broadband. Pertairing to a transmission system or facility with an information bandwidth capacity greater than a single voice channel (3 kHz). |

i) Camouflaged Tower. Any telecommunication tower that due to design or appearance to the extent possible hides, obscures, Or conceals the presence of the tower and antennas.

ij) Gell. A geographic area covered by a single cellular, ESMR or PCS transmitter.
k) Cellular Network. A system providing mobile telephone services through all the cells in a coverage area. A coverage area consists of multiple adjacent cells operating on slightly different frequencies. Calls are "handed-off" from one cell to the next as a imobile unit moves from cell to cell. This is the fundamental innovation that has - allowed for the development of cellular, ESMR and mobile PCS services!

I) Cellular Telephone System. A mobile radio system that connects: subscriber hand held devices to each other through the cellular network and with wireline telephones through the public switched network. ee ee , F |
m) Go-location. The installation of wireless communication facilities owned and/or operated by two or more entities on a single structure or tower.
n) Commercial_iWireless Communication Facility. A wireless communication facility operated by a for-profit business, andincludes — |
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Conimercial Private Wireless Communication Facilities and Commercial Public Wireless Communication Facilities. ;

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1. CommerciakPrivate Wireless Communication Facility. Awireless communication facility operated by a for-profit business for its own internal purposes and without supplying access to members of the general public. See, by contrast, Non-Commercial Wireless Communication ‘Facility and Commercial Public Wireless Communication Facility.
p) Commercial Public Wireless Communication Facility., A wireless communication facility operated by a for-profit business whose business is provision of wireless communication services to subscribers or the general public. See, by contrast, Non-Commercial WirelessCommunicationCommunicationFacility. Facility and Commercial. Private Wireless
q) Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio Service (ESMR). A
. Specialized Mobile Radio Service (SMR) system (see definition below) which utilizes digital cellular technology to ‘enable wide-area
. coverage as well as interconnection with other. users and the cellular and public switched (landline) telephone networks.

t) EAA. The Federal Aviation Administration.

s) | FCC. The Federal Communications Commission. t) Federal Communications Commission (FCC): The Federal regulatory agency established and provided for in Title 47, U.S. Code, and charged with regulation of communication by wire and radio (which includes broadcast and non-broadcast communication of any type).
u) Gigahertz (GHz). A unit of measurement of radio frequency equal to one billion Hertz (cycles per second). One gigahertz is equivalent to 14000 megahertz (MHZ). Microwave frequencies are usually expressed in gigahertz.

v) .Ground-Mounted Antenna. An antenna, which is attached to a
: support structure resting on the ground; and has an overall height not . greater than fifteen. feet above finished grade at the base of the | structure. This definition includes antennas, which are sometimes - | referred to as "post mounts" and "ground builds." : w) Grouped Facility. The installation of Facility. The installation of The installation of installation of of several wireless communication wireless communication communication
- w) Grouped Facility. The installation of Facility. The installation of The installation of installation of of several wireless communication wireless communication communication 5

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facilities owned and/or operated by two or more entities on separate structures or towers within a single parcel and with each facility no more than 100 feet from at least one other facility.

x) Guyed Tower. A telecommunications tower that is supported in whole or in part by guy wires and ground anchors or jother means of support besides the superstructure of the tower itself.

y) Height. When feferring to a tower or other structure, the distance measured from the finished grade of the parcel to the highest point on the tower or other structure, including the base pad and any antenna.
z) Kilohertz (kHz). A unit of measurement of radio frequency equal to ~ one thousand Hertz (cycles per second). One thousand kiloheriz is equivalent to one megahertz (MHZ). AM and “shortwave” Broadcast frequencies are usually expressed in kilohertz.
aa) Lattice Tower: A telecommunication|tower that:consists of vertical andself-supporting.horizontal supports— and crossed metal braces which is éntirely
bb) Megahertz (MHZ).. A unit of measurement of radio frequency equal to one million Hertz (cycles per second). One thousand kilohertz is equivalent to one megahertz, and one thousand megahertz is_ equivalent to one gigahertz. FM and TV Broadcast frequencies and “WHE” and “UHE” communication frequencies are usually expressed in megahertz.

cc) Monopole. A telecommunication tower of a single polé design. dd) Non-Commercial Wireless Communication Facility. A.wireless communication facility operated by a governmentagency, a non-profit organization, or a private citizen for personal use. It includes all Amateur Radio Facilities. See, by contrast, Commercial Wireless Communication Facility.
ee) Non-Conforming. Any pre-existing telecommunications facility that
|| wasnot been,in existence issued aprior conditional to the adoptionuse permitof this or was Ordinance issuediaand conditional that has use permitipriorto the adoption date of this Ordinance. This definition .
| shall only apply to this specific Ordinance and shall not apply to other | City of Imperial Zoning Ordinances. : ff) Operator. Any person or organization that controls the operation and . maintenance of a wireless communication facility.
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  - gg) Paging. A wireless communication service that communicates. a 

  - . limited messageto subscriber units which are relatively small and can be carried ori the subscriber’s person. Current paging systems are one-way (subscriber receives the message) but future systems can be two-way in nature. Paging systems are not considered “real time” interactive systems. 

  - hh) Personal_Communications: Services (PCS). Digital wireless services that offer high quality voice and data communication. i rt i. Is \ , 

  - ii) Planning Director. Refers to the Planning Director of the City of Imperial or such other person as may be designated by the City Manager. 

  - ii) Platform. A support system that may be used to connect antennas and antenna arrays to telecommunication towers or alternative support structures.

kk) Preexisting Towers and Preexisting Antennas.' Any tower or
. antenna for which a building permit or special use permit has been

) properly issued priorto the effective date of this Ordinance, including permitted towers or antennas that have not yet been constructed so long as such approval is current and not expired.

- Il) Radio. A generic term for communication of sound, data, or energy by means of electromagnetic wave propagation. For regulatory purposes “radio” includes the popular terms “television” and “microwave”. The term “wireless” is interchangeable with “radio” and is the popular term in several other English-speaking countries and some transtations.

mm) Radio-frequency (RF)... A description pertaining to the electromagnetic spectrum between the audio-frequency portion and
: the infrared portion. nn) Radio-frequency Exposure Professional. A certified professional electrical engineer, health physicist or other technical expert with an understanding of the effects and measurement of exposure of the
| human body to:radio frequency energy. Such professional must have : substantial professional experience performing environmental | measurements of radio frequency (RF) exposure and preparing radio | frequency exposure evaluation reports for a variety of entities. . 00) Regeneration Facility. This is a structure, equipment or facility that
| primarily is used to enhance the transmission of the system by
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“boosting” or “upgrading” the signal being transmitted through wire, fiber optic or other media. It generally includes ground-based . equipment housed in an unmanned shelter that requires electricity and communication connections. This term may also mean repeater facilities or amplification facilities.
pp) Roof-Mounted. An antenna that is mounted directly to, or on a support structure mounted to, the roof or otherwise on the top most level or levels of a building exterior. .

qq) Satellite Dish or Satellite Antenna. An antenna incorporating a . reflective surface that is solid, open mesh, or bar configured to form a shallow dish, cone, horn or cornucopia used to transmit and/or receive electromagnetic signals to or from a satellite. This definition includes antennas that are sometimes called"SES,""TVRO," “TVBS," and "DBS” antennas.
rr) Satellite Transmission. A communication system involving signals sent to (“uplink”) and/or by (“downlink”) an orbiting communication relay satellite. oo
ss) Satellite Dish. A device incorporating a reflective surface that is solid, open mesh, or bar configured that is.shallow dish, cone, horn © or cornucopia shaped and is used to transmit and/or receive electromagnetic signals. This definition is meant to include, but is not limited to, what are commonly referred to as satellite earth stations, TVRO’s and satellite microwave antennas.
tt) Site. Alegal parcel accommodating a wireless communication| 3 facility. uu) Specialized| Mobile: Radio (SMR). Aradio system in which licensees provide land mobile communication services in the 800 MHZ and 900 MHZ bands on a commercial basis to entities eligible to be licensed in the Private Radio Services (Part 90 of the FCC Rules), federal government entities and individuals. See also Enhanced Specialized Mobile Radio System (ESMR). .
vw) Stealth Mount. A way[of][mounting][an][antenna][that][hides][the] antenna by making it appear to be a part of a structure, tree or other natural object.
ww) Structure-Mounted. Any antenna which (1) is not attached to a dedicated support structure resting on the ground and (2) is attached
toa building, billboard, tank, sign, utility pole, or other structure. This definition includes antennas sometimes referred to as “facade

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' mounts" and “sign mounts.”

xx) | Telecommunication Facility: A[facility,][site][ or][ location][ that][ contains] one or more antennas, telecommunication towers, alternative support structures, satellite dish antennas, other similar communication devices and support equipment which is used for transmitting, receiving or relaying telecommunications signals excluding those facilities exempted under Section 26-5.

yy) Telecommunication Facility Co-Located: A telecommunication facility compriséd of a single telecommunication tower or building supporting multiple antennas, dishes or similar devicés Owned or used by more than one public or private entity.
zz) Telecommunication Support Facility: The telecommunication. equipment buildings and equipment cabinets. |
aaa) Telécommunications Tower: Any structure ‘that is designed and constructed primarily for the purpose of supporting one or more aritennas, including camouflaged towers, lattice towers, guy towers or monopole towers. This includes radio and television transmission towers, microwave towers, and common-carrier towers. It shall
exclude alternative support structures and those facilities exempted under Section 26-5. .
bbb) Tower. A dedicated support structure resting on the ground or attached to another structure, whose principal use is to support wireless communication equipment.
ccc) Tower-Mounted. Any antenna which is attached to a tower and has an overall height greater than ten feét above finisHed grade at the base bf the structure. This definition includes antennas that are » sometimes referred to as “monopoles,” “lattice towers” and “guyed towers.”

. ddd) Wirelesssignals sentCommunication.between two or moreElectronicpoints.communication using radio
| eee) Wireless Communication Facility. The equipment and associated | unmanned structures needed to transmit and/or receive electromagnetic signals. A wireless communication facility typically
| includes anterinas, supporting structures, enclosures and/or cabinets housing associated équipment, cable, service parking, and access.
| Receive-only radio and television antennas and satellite dishes or | antennas are excluded from this definition.

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fff) Wireline Communication. Electronic communication using physical connections such as wire cables or fiber optics to transmit signals
. between two or more points.