Chapter 18.84 — WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

The primary purpose of this chapter is the preservation of the unique lifestyle that is enjoyed by those working, living, and visiting in Patterson. In addition, the preservation of historic structures, views, and their context will be given a high priority in the approval of facilities, with location, appearance, screening, and related issues receiving special attention. It is also the intent of this section to ensure that all providers of cellular telephone and other communication-related services requiring the placement of antennas are allowed an opportunity to locate and provide services within the city of Patterson.

(Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013)

In addition to other local, state, or federal requirements, applications for construction, placement, or erection of wireless communication towers, equipment shelters, or other such communication facilities shall include the following:

• A. A survey of other sites within appropriate zone districts in the community which could physically accommodate the facility, with documentation showing why such sites where not selected.

• B. Computer-generated photosimulations of the site, with the antenna or other proposed structures superimposed, from various nearby positions, and if visible from a historic overlay zone, from critical points of view within that zone.

• C. A grid map depicting an inventory of all existing towers, as well as all of that applicant's planned towers and sites, that are either within the city or within five miles of the border thereof.

• D. Other requirements may be imposed on the project at the discretion of the planning director, provided such requirements reasonably pertain to the compatibility of the project with adjacent uses and structures.

• (Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013)

Every wireless communication facility constructed within the city of Patterson shall comply with all safety standards of the American National Standards Institutes, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Public Utilities Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Uniform Building Code, National Electric Code, the Patterson Municipal Code, and all other codes and standards as applicable.

(Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013)

All wireless communication facilities shall be subject to the following permitting:

• A. Administrative Approval. All co-located or interior building-mounted facilities which comply with the regulations contained in this chapter, including but not limited to height,

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City of Patterson, CA

ZONING

§ 18.84.040

§ 18.84.070

location, and screening.

• B. Conditional Use Permit. For those facilities which require approval of a conditional use permit, and where it is determined the project may create a significant impact to the neighborhood, the planning director may require an independent third-party review, at the expense of the applicant, to confirm the information provided by the applicant. Those facilities requiring a conditional use permit shall include:

  1. All ground-mounted or freestanding facilities not co-located with other similar facilities.

  2. All facilities which exceed the height limitations for the land use zone in which they are located.

  3. Where multiple wireless communication sites are proposed by a single applicant, a conditional use permit shall be required to act as a master land use permit for all sites under single review by the planning commission.

  4. Those facilities having been deemed by the planning director to have the potential to cause visual or other impacts requiring substantial mitigation, or for which environmental review should be carried out.

• (Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013)

All wireless communication equipment, antennas, poles, or towers shall be of a minimum functional height. Building-mounted and ground-mounted facilities shall not exceed fifteen feet in height greater than the height permitted for the district in which they are located. The planning commission may approve an increase to the maximum height; provided, that the applicant provides a proposal demonstrating why the requirements of this section are infeasible or result in a less efficient development and coverage pattern.

(Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013; Ord. 786 § 1, 2016)

• A. New wireless communication facilities shall be co-located with other existing or planned facilities where feasible or where found to minimize visual impact. Care shall be given to use this requirement judiciously in order to prevent nuisance or blight conditions.

• B. No facility that is attached to a self-supporting tower shall be installed or constructed closer than one mile from another such site.

• C. All new facilities shall be located outside of the required setback area for the respective zone district in which the facility is located.

• D. No new facility shall be located so as to interfere with views of, or from within, a historic overlay district, or in such a way that historic views or context are materially altered.

• E. No new facility shall be located within six hundred feet of a historic overlay district.

• F. Every effort shall be made to locate facilities on the site chosen so that visual impact is minimized.

• (Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013)

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City of Patterson, CA

PATTERSON CODE

§ 18.84.070

§ 18.84.090

Only those facilities which comply with zone height restrictions and are totally enclosed within a permitted building shall be allowed within two hundred percent of the fall zone of the facility to any existing residential district within the city, which use conforms to current city zoning regulations. No facilities are permitted within any residentially zoned district. (Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013; Ord. 786 § 2, 2016)

• A. Stealth Facilities and Concealed Antennas. All equipment shall be concealed from view and disguised so as to not appear as telecommunication equipment (e.g. within a clock tower, disguised as a Mono-palm, enclosed within an existing building, screened on top of an existing rooftop, etc.)

• B. When a stealth installation is not feasible, as determined by the planning commission, wireless communication facilities and related equipment shall be screened or camouflaged so as to reduce visual impacts. Existing site features shall be used to screen the facility where possible.

Figure 18.84.080-1 Examples of Stealth Cell Towers

==> picture [155 x 130] intentionally omitted <==

• C. All antennas, towers, or related equipment shall be coated with a nonreflective finish or paint consistent with the background area where the facility is to be placed.

• D. Screening for ground-mounted equipment shall include existing and/or new vegetation and water efficient irrigation as determined by staff or the planning commission. Landscape and irrigation plans shall be submitted for review and approval.

• E. Building-mounted equipment shall be located, painted, and/or architecturally designed so as to be compatible with surrounding building and/or uses to the satisfaction of the planning director.

• (Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013)

The service provider operating a wireless communication facility shall notify the city of the intent to discontinue operation no less than thirty days prior to such cessation of operation. Upon the discontinuance of use, all related equipment shall be removed and the property restored to pre-construction condition within ninety days of cessation of operation.

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City of Patterson, CA

ZONING

§ 18.84.090

§ 18.84.090

• (Ord. 738 § 1 (Exh. A) (part), 2013)

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City of Patterson, CA