5.07.070 Co-location: Use of Public Property.
To minimize adverse visual impacts associated with the proliferation of towers, co-location of antennas by more than one (1) carrier on existing or new towers and location of such antennas on public property shall take precedent over the construction of new single-use towers as indicated below:
1. Proposed antennas may, and are encouraged to, co-locate onto existing towers. Provided such co-location is accomplished in a manner consistent with the policy, site criteria, and landscape/screening provisions contained in this chapter, then such co-locations are permitted by right and new or additional special use approval is not required, except that any permit, license, lease, or franchise requirements must be satisfied.
2. The conditional use requirement for an antenna may be waived in non-residential zones if the applicant locates the antenna on an existing structure other than an existing tower and /or if the antenna is proposed to be located on suitable public property such as a water tower, government building, or other public tower or pole. Suitability of public property shall be determined in the city’s sole discretion. The applicant must submit detailed plans to the planning department for an administrative review to determine if the conditional use permit process and public hearing can be waived. No building permit will be issued until approval is granted through the administrative review.
3. The city may deny the application to construct a new tower if the applicant has not made a good faith effort to mount the antenna on an existing structure and/or public property.
4. In order to reduce the number of antenna support structures needed in the city in the future, any new proposed support structure shall be designed to accommodate antenna for more than one (1) user, unless the applicant demonstrates why such design is not feasible for economic, technical or physical reasons.
5. Unless co-location has been demonstrated to be infeasible, the site plan shall delineate an area near the base of the tower to be used for the placement of additional equipment buildings for other users. The site plan for towers in excess of one hundred (100) feet must propose space for two (2) comparable tower users while the site plan for towers under one hundred (100) feet must propose space for one (1) comparable tower user. To provide further incentive for co-location as a primary option, an existing tower may be modified or reconstructed to accommodate the co-location of an additional antenna provided the additional antenna shall be of the same type as that on the existing tower. This is permitted by right for existing towers in all zoning districts, subject to the following criteria being met:
a. Height. An existing tower may be modified or rebuilt to a taller height, not to exceed twenty (20) feet over the tower’s existing height, to accommodate the co-location of an additional antenna. The height change may occur only once per tower.
b. Onsite Location. A tower which is being rebuilt to accommodate the co-location of an additional antenna may be moved onsite within fifty (50) feet of its existing location so long as it remains within the same zone and complies with the other provisions of this chapter. After the tower is rebuilt to accommodate co-location, only one (1) tower may remain on site. (Ord. 2000-14, adopted, 2000)