05-E Tower Ordinance Options - Laserfiche WebLink

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(g) To promote and encourage shared use/collocation of towers and telecommunications facilities as a primary option rather than construction of additional such facilities; (h) To promote and encourage utilization of technological designs that will either eliminate or reduce the need for erection of new towers and telecommunications facilities; (i) To streamline and expedite permitting procedures to effect compliance with the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996; (j) To enhance the ability of providers of telecommunication services to provide such service to the community quickly, effectively, and efficiently; (k) To avoid potential damage to property caused by towers, support structures, and telecommunications facilities by insuring such structures are soundly and carefully designed, constructed, modified, maintained, and removed when no longer used or are determined to be structurally unsound, and to ensure that towers, support structures and telecommunication facilities are compatible with surrounding land uses. Several other ordinances from other cities not only regulate towers and tower structures, but also ground antennas and antenna dishes. While it was not the intention of the Legal Department to incorporate regulations regarding these kinds of structures, the Legal Department would ask that City Council confirm the intent of this ordinance is solely to regulate the placement of antenna arrays on tower structures or other similar structures intended to be elevated in the air? One consideration in determining the scope of the regulations is whether or not this ordinance would apply to telecommunications towers erected by other governmental entities. Currently under the law, in all likelihood the City cannot regulate towers erected by agencies of the Federal Government or direct agencies of the State Government, other than perhaps with regard to regulating the zoning locations where such towers can go. Similarly, regulations on towers erected by the County (again other than perhaps for land use purposes) would not apply. On the other hand, it is unclear as to whether or not such regulations would apply to towers erected by independent school districts and/or colleges and universities (such as Paris Junior College) which are state support and tax supported. Does the City Council believe that these regulations should apply to any of the governmental entities listed herein? The next logical issue to be considered by the City Council is where or in what zoned areas of the City towers may be located? Consistently across the board, towers are prohibited in all areas of cities zoned residential. This is not necessarily limited exclusively to single family zoning; nor is this necessarily an absolute prohibition, where the circumstances might dictate allowing a tower in such a zoned area depending on engineering and telecommunications considerations and the actual conditions of the area in question. On Page -3-