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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2186 ORDINANCE NO. 2186 AN ORDINANCE BY THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS AMENDING ORDINANCE NUMBER 1874, THE COMPREHENSIVE ZONING ORDINANCE, AS AMENDED, TO ESTABLISH REGULATIONS REGARDING COMMUNICATION TOWERS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Planning & Zoning Commission has determined the need to establish regulations regarding the height and location of communications towers; and WHEREAS, the City of North Richland Hills has developed regulations to encourage the location of communications towers in non-residential areas and minimize the total number of towers throughout the community; and WHEREAS, after appropriate notice and public hearing, the Planning & Zoning Commission of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas, has forwarded a recommendation to the City Council for amendment of Ordinance No. 1874 by changing said Zoning Ordinance as set forth herein; now therefore, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS; 1. THAT, Section 310, Table of Permitted Uses, Ordinance 1874, as amended is hereby amended to insert the following: A. Communications Towers under 65 feet in height shall be allowed by right in all non-residential districts, except that a communications tower shall be allowed in the AG Agricultural district with approval of a Special Use Permit. B. Communications Towers between 65 feet and 130 feet in height shall be allowed in all non-residential districts and the AG district with approval of a Special Use Permit C. Any Communications Tower located within 200 feet of a residentially zoned district shall require a Special Use Permit. Ordinance No. 2186 Page 1 2. THAT, Ordinance 1874, the Zoning Ordinance of the City of North Richland Hills, as heretofore amended, is hereby amended to insert the following Article 7: Article 7 Communications Towers and Television Receivers Section 700. Purpose. These regulations are intended to: A. Provide for the appropriate location and development of communication towers and antennae to serve the residents and businesses of North Richland Hills; B. Minimize any adverse visual impact of towers and antennae through careful design, siting, landscaping and screening; C. Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures; D. Maximize use of any new or existing communication towers so as to minimize the need to construct new towers and minimize the total number of towers throughout the City; E. Maximize and encourage use of alternative tower structures as primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers. Section 705. Definitions. As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: Alternative tower structure shall mean man-made structures such as clock towers, bell towers, church steeples, water towers, light poles, electrical transmission towers and similar alternative design mounting structures that camouflage or conceal the presence of antennae and towers. Antenna means any exterior apparatus designed for telephonic, radio, or television communications through the sending and lor receiving of electromagnetic waves, excluding satellite dish antennas. FAA means the Federal Aviation Administration. Ordinance No. 2186 Page 2 FCC means the Federal Communications Commission. Height, when referring to a tower, or other structure means the distance measured vertically from the finished grade to the highest point on the tower, antenna or structure. Tower means a structure constructed as a free-standing structure or in association with a building, other permanent structure or equipment, on which is located one or more antennae intended for transmitting or receiving television, AM/FM radio, digital, microwave, cellular, telephone, or similar forms of electronic communication. The term includes radio and television transmission towers , microwave towers, common carrier towers, and cellular telephone towers. A tower does not include a receive-only home television antenna, or any satellite dish antenna two meters or less in diameter. Section 710. Applicability. The regulations contained in this Article shall be applicable to all new towers or antennae in North Richland Hills, except as provided below: A. Amateur Radio Station Operators I Receive Only Antennas. This Article shall not govern any tower, or the installation of any antenna, that is under forty-five (45) feet in height and is owned and operated by a federally- licensed amateur radio station operator or is used exclusively for receive only antennas. B. Pre-existing Towers or Antennas. Pre-existing towers and pre-existing antennas shall not be required to meet the requirements of this ordinance, other than the requirements of Section 730. Section 715. Building Permit and I or Special Use Permit Required No communications tower or antenna shall be constructed without prior approval of a building permit. Furthermore, where specified in this Article or in the Table of Permitted Uses, no communications tower shall be constructed except with approval of a Special Use Permit (SUP) by the Planning & Zoning Commission and the City Council. The application procedures contained in this Article relating to the application, processing, and determination of whether to grant a special use permit as specified herein, are in addition to any other provisions and requirements contained in other articles of these zoning regulations relating to Special Use Permits. A. Antennas are permitted in all districts on existing non-residential buildings or on alternative tower structures with approval of a building permit, but Ordinance No. 2186 Page 3 without obtaining a special use permit if the non-residential building or alternative tower structure exceeds fifty (50) feet in height and the antenna will add no more than twenty (20) feet total to the height of the existing building or structure. B. The effects of radio frequency emissions on persons or the environment shall not be considered in a proceeding involving an application for a special use permit for a communications tower. C. No communications tower may be constructed if there is a technically suitable space available on an existing tower within the service area that the new tower is to serve. Section 720. Application Procedures for Constructing a Communications Tower Application for a building permit or a Special Use Permit to construct a communications tower must contain the following information and will not be considered until all information is complete: A. An inventory of the applicant's existing towers that are either within the City or within one mile of the border thereof, including specific information about the location, design, and height of each tower. The zoning administrator may share such information with other applicants applying for administrative approvals or special use permits under this Article or with other organizations seeking to locate antennae within the City; provided, however, that the zoning administrator is not, by sharing such information, in any way representing or warranting that the sites are available or suitable. B. A site plan drawn to scale clearly indicating the location, height, and design of the proposed tower, equipment cabinets, transmission buildings and other accessory uses, access, parking, fences, masonry screening walls, and landscaped areas. C. A legal description of the site. D. The separation distance from other towers within a one mile radius of the proposed tower site. E. A description of anticipated maintenance needs, including frequency of service, personnel needs, equipment needs, and traffic, noise or safety impacts of the maintenance. Ordinance No. 2186 Page 4 F. A report from a professional structural engineer licensed in the State of Texas, documenting the following: 1. Tower height and design, including technical, engineering, economic, and other pertinent factors governing selection of the proposed design. A cross-section of the tower structure shall be included. 2. Total anticipated capacity of the structure, including the number and types of antennae which can be accommodated. 3. Evidence of the structural integrity of the tower structure. 4. Failure characteristics of the tower and evidence that site and setbacks are of adequate size to contain a failure within the site. 5. Certification that the tower will meet all applicable FCC, FAA and local building codes. G. A letter of intent to lease excess space on the tower structure and to lease additional excess land on the tower site, if structurally and technically possible. H. The zoning administrator shall maintain and provide, on request, records of response from each owner. Once an owner demonstrates an antenna of the sort proposed by the applicant cannot be accommodated on the owner's tower as described below, the owner need not be contacted by future applicants for antennae of the sort proposed. I. Shared use is not precluded simply because a reasonable fee for shared use is charged, or because of reasonable costs necessary to adapt the existing and proposed uses to a shared tower. The City Council may consider expert testimony to determine whether the fee and costs are reasonable. J. Any other information which may be requested by the zoning administrator to fully evaluate and review the application and the potential impact of a proposed tower or antenna. Section 725. Documentation of Need of Communications Tower No new communications tower shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the zoning administrator or, when applicable, the Planning & Zoning Commission, that no existing tower, building, structure, or alternative technology that does not require the use of a tower can Ordinance No. 2186 Page 5 accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. The applicant shall submit information related to the availability of suitable existing towers, other structures or alternative technology which will demonstrate that no existing tower, structure or alternative technology can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. Such information may consist of any of the following: A. No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic area which meet the applicant's engineering requirements. B. Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to meet the applicant's engineering requirements. C. Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural strength to support the applicant's proposed antenna and related equipment. D. The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the antenna on the existing towers or structures, or the antenna on the existing towers or structures would cause interference with the applicant's proposed antenna. E. The fees, costs, or contractual provisions required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. F. The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable. G. The applicant demonstrates that an alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures, such as a cable microcell network using multiple low-powered transmitters / receivers attached to a wireline system, is unsuitable. Costs of alternative technology that exceed new tower or antenna development shall not be presumed to render the technology unsuitable. H. If the zoning administrator is not satisfied that the applicant has provided adequate documentation of need for the proposed site, the application shall be automatically scheduled for the next available public hearing by the Planning & Zoning Commission for consideration as a Special Use Permit. Section 730. General Requirements A. No advertising sign shall be allowed on a communications tower. B. No signs or illumination shall be allowed on a communications tower unless required by the FCC, FAA or other state or federal agency of competent Ordinance No. 2186 Page 6 jurisdiction, in which case the zoning administrator may review the available lighting alternatives and approve the design that would cause the least disturbance to the surrounding uses and views. C. No equipment cabinet or building shall be greater than eight (8) feet in height and one hundred (100) square feet in gross floor area. All buildings or cabinets shall be constructed of brick or solid concrete with exposed aggregate exterior surfaces, except for those with less than twenty-five (25) square feet of gross floor area. Equipment buildings shall not be used for offices, vehicle storage or other outdoor storage. Section 735. Spacing and Development Requirements A. Maximum Height and Setback - No communications tower shall exceed 130 feet in height or the maximum height established in the Table of Permitted Uses. Every communications tower shall be set back from residentially zoned property at a ratio of three (3) feet of setback for each one (1) foot of tower height. B. Spacing - All communications towers constructed shall conform to the minimum tower separation requirements listed in Table 7-1. An antenna mounted on an existing communications tower or on an alternative tower structure shall be exempt from these minimum separation distances. Table 7-1 SEPARATION DISTANCE EXISTIING TOWER HEIGHT <65' 65' -130' PROPOSED TOWER HEIGHT <65' 65' - 130' 1,000' 1,250' 1,250' 1,500' C. Maximum Number of Towers - No more than one communications tower shall be allowed on a lot or parcel, provided, however, that additional towers may be approved on the lot with a Special Use Permit. D. Safety - A communications tower should be located in such a manner that if the structure should fall along it's longest dimension it will remain within property boundaries and avoid habitable structures, public streets, utility lines and other towers. Ordinance No. 2186 Page 7 E. Landscaping - All free standing communication towers shall comply with the landscaping requirements contained in Article 9 of the zoning regulations of the City of North Richland Hills; provided, however, that the City Council may require additional landscaping to mitigate an adverse condition or may waive such landscaping requirements when considering a request for a Special Use Permit. F. Masonry Screening Walls - All free standing communication towers shall comply with the masonry screening wall regulations contained in Article 9 of the zoning regulations of the City of North Richland Hills; provided, however, that the City Council may require additional masonry screening walls to mitigate an adverse condition or may waive such masonry screening wall requirement when considering a request for a Special Use Permit. Section 735. Visual Impacts Communications towers and any equipment building and related structures shall, to the extent possible, use materials, colors, textures, screening, and landscaping that will blend the tower and related facilities to the natural setting and built environment. A. All towers shall either maintain a galvanized steel finish or, subject to any applicable standards of the FAA or other applicable federal or state agency, be painted a neutral color, so as to reduce visual obtrusiveness. B. If an antenna is installed on a structure other than a tower, the antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a neutral color that is identical to, or closely compatible with, the color of the supporting structure so as to make the antenna and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as possible. C. All towers shall be of monopole construction unless the City Council approves an alternate design. Section 740. Shared Use All new towers shall be designed to structurally accommodate the maximum number of additional users technically practicable. A. To encourage shared use of towers, no special use permit shall be required for the addition of antenna(e) to an existing tower so long as the height of the tower or structure on which the antenna is placed is not increased and the requirements of this Article are met. Ordinance No. 2186 Page 8 B. Any Special Use Permit which is granted for a new communications tower is specifically subject to the condition that the tower owner abide by the following provisions relating to shared use, regardless of whether or not the ordinance granting the permit contains such conditions: 1. The tower owner shall respond in a timely, comprehensive manner to a request for information from a potential shared use applicant; 2. The tower owner shall negotiate in good faith for shared use by third parties; 3. The tower owner shall allow shared use where the third party seeking the use agrees in writing to pay reasonable, pro rata charges for sharing, including all charges necessary to modify the tower and transmitters to accommodate shared use, but not total tower reconstruction, and to observe whatever technical requirements are necessary to allow shared use without creating interference. 4. The willful failure of an owner whose tower was approved under this article to comply with the requirements of this Article shall be grounds for withholding approval of any application by the owner for a building permit for the approved tower, for revoking the special use permit granted for the tower, and for refusing to approve a new special use permit for any new tower or antenna. Section 745. Removal of Unsafe Antennas and Towers All towers and antennas shall be maintained in compliance with standards contained in applicable building codes so as to ensure the structural integrity of the towers. If upon inspection by the Building Official the tower is determined not to comply with the code standards or constitutes a danger to persons or property and the tower is not made safe or removed within sixty (60) days of notification from the City notifying the owner of the unsafe tower or antenna, the City may remove the tower or antenna and place a lien upon the property for the costs of the removal. Section 750. Abandoned Towers Any antenna or tower that is not operated for any continuos period of twelve (12) months shall be considered abandoned, and the owner of such antenna or tower and the owner of the property where the tower is located shall remove the tower Ordinance No. 2186 Page 9 or antenna within ninety (90) days after notification from the City to remove the tower or antenna. A. If the tower or antenna is not removed within the notification time period, the City may remove the tower or antenna and place a lien upon the property for the costs of the removal. B. If the owner of an abandoned tower or antenna wishes to use the abandoned tower or antenna, the owner first must apply for and receive all applicable permits and meet all of the conditions of this article as if the tower or antenna were a new tower or antenna. Section 755. Pre-Existing Towers and Non-Conforming Uses All communication towers operative prior to the effective date of this Article, shall be allowed to continue their present usage as a non-conforming use and shall be treated as a non-conforming use in accordance with the zoning regulations. Routine maintenance shall be permitted on the existing towers. New construction other than routine maintenance on an existing communication tower shall comply with the requirements of this Article. Section 760. Public Property Antennas or towers located on property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the City shall be exempt from the requirements of this Article. 3. THAT, Section 600 K, TV Satellite Disc Receivers is hereby renumbered Section 780, TV Satellite Disc Receivers. 4. THAT, the remainder of Ordinance Number 1874, as amended is renumbered consecutively. 5. SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the section, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared invalid or unconstitutional by the valid Ordinance No. 2186 Page 10 judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such invalid or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. 6. SAVINGS CLAUSE. That Ordinance Number 1874, the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect, save and except as amended by this ordinance. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be in full force from and after its passage. APPROVED BY THE PLANNING & ZONI~n ~OM ISSION THIS)1 DAY OF ~1J1¿)/)Ut-- , 1997. "~':>, .... ~~L' '-/ ~, Chairman',PlaOning & Zoning Commission ~ ~'7,<,'Û,A-~.",..,,- - :,; , . Secretary, Planning & Zoning Commission PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL THIS ~ DAY OF dfn! ,1997 '- ~/ Mayor, City of Nort ichland Hills, Texas ATTEST: r?Jáf;2;ðlá~~ "6;~ecretary, City of North Richland Hills, Texas AS TO FORM AND LEGALI~'" J-ÚÌì\c~ Attornèy for the rity Ordinance No, 2186 Page 11