2017-016 - Approved the petition of the City of Paris, Texas to amend Section 28, Regulation of Wireless Telecommunications Towers and Facilities, of Zoning Ordinance

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and that localities cannot prohibit or effectively prohibit the provision of wireless services, and the Act gives the FCC sole jurisdiction over radio frequency emissions, provided the wireless communications facility meets FCC standards; and WHEREAS, additional wireless communications facilities are required to provide quality communication services to meet the growing needs of the public and businesses for wireless communication and should be accommodated in the City; and WHEREAS, the City Council has previously adopted Ordinance Number 2001 -048, which has been amended in 2005, and 2016, adding Section 28 to the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Paris entitled "Regulation of Wireless Telecommunications Towers and Facilities," thereby implementing a comprehensive regulatory scheme for regulating the location of, siting of, spacing for, and technical standards associated with the construction and erection of wireless communications facilities; and WHEREAS, Sec. 28- 101(e) provides that one of the purposes of Sec. 28 is to promote and encourage shared use /collocation of towers and telecommunications facilities as a primary option rather than construction of additional such facilities; and WHEREAS, Sec. 28- 101(j) provides that one of the purposes of Sec. 28 is to ensure that towers, support structures and telecommunication facilities are compatible with surrounding land uses; and WHEREAS, Sec. 28- 104(b), "Permitted Areas," and Sec. 28- 108(b), "List of acceptable applications," were designed in part to limit areas in which wireless communications facilities can be located so as to not negatively impact the aesthetics of zoning districts in which such facilities are not allowed; and WHEREAS, collocation of attached wireless communications facilities on water towers will not negatively impact the aesthetics of such water towers, which are by their nature and essential function utilitarian structures, and thus will not negatively impact the aesthetics of a zoning district in which a water tower exists or is hereafter erected; and WHEREAS, allowing the City of Paris to lease space on its water towers to wireless service providers will benefit the citizens of the City by providing enhanced wireless communications services and providing additional revenues to the City in the form of tower rental fees without any of the negative consequences that Sec. 28 was designed to avoid; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend and revise said regulations to accommodate both the needs of wireless companies and the needs of the citizens of the City of Paris by providing for the collocation of attached wireless communications facilities as defined therein on water towers within the City for the reasons set forth hereinabove; WHEREAS, on May 1, 2017, following notice and publication as required by law, the Planning and Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on the proposed amendment