Item 3 - PH/Ord. on Cell Towers - Laserfiche WebLink

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CELL TOWl~P-~ 19~ providers have already i~tablished service.~ But towns can ~ and usually ~In addition, towns can require monitoring to make sure that all do ~ require th~ new Company to codocate on an existing tower. That is facilities meet the maximum FCC emissions guidelines -- no matter how rea~m~le discrimination -- allowing them both to cover the same area many providers are co-located at a particular site. Very few people at tho from-the ~ location. You might hear carriers arguing that they want a local level understand that the responsibility for compliance monitoring belte~ location, or.to provide better service -- but your town is not has shit~ed to municipalities. required to pll:ntide the carriers the absolute best possible location -- just a reasonable ~on. If another carrier is already providing service from an Hiring existing location, then it is probably good enough. ' In addition, your community must act within a reasonable period Telecommunications regulation and application-review is one of of time in dealing with applications. Towns cannot put service providers the most complex forms of land-use law today. Done correctly, it is unlike off indefinitely. State statutes establish precise timelines on land-use ~ anything that most planners and zoners have been called upon to do. Many applications. In some .slates or municipalities, a permit is automatically shy away from it because of the complexity. But what individual board granted if a doc~ision-making board does not act within a specified fi'me members are unfamiliar with.can -- and should -- be provided by hiring frame. It's a decision by default. ' outside expertise. One of the most vexing clauses in the Telecom Act -- for citizens One of the first things you will need to know is what in particular who are worried about health effects ~ concerns the telecommunications coverage already exists in your area. It is not enough restriction on considering the environmental effects of RF. Municipalities to speculate that a company "ought" to be able to provide coverage from carmot use the environmental effects of radio frequency radiation -- somewhere else. Wireless coverage is a function of tower height, signal which is widely interpreted by many, though not all, to include health strength, frequency, antenna direction, topography and several other effect~ in humans -- as a basis for making a siting decision "to the extent factors. You need to know with precision if another location can work. that such facilities comply with the Commission's regulations concerning And to know, you need expert assistance from an independent RF such emissions." engineer who is working for the municipality ~ not the Although towns cannot regulate for RF, it is important to know telecommunications industry. Such an RF engineer will be. familiar with the~ are other concenm that parallel environmental and health concerns the systems and technology of radiofrequency communication and will that can be reed as a basis for zoning. Examples include the use of large . help the town'determine if the information on an application is accurate, or. setl~cks and vegetative screening. This will prevent facilities from being if other solutions would be better for the town's interests. sited too close to dwell~ reduce visual impactS,' and help protect ~ A telecommunications engineer can be helpful Whether an propel~ values. Large setbacl~ will also reduce the potential damage if a ~ application is pending or not. One proactive approach used by tower collapSe~ or lure ice fall from it. Another important avenue is the fact communities is to hire an engineer to help create a telecommunications that 1ms, ers can create an "attra~ve .nuisance" ~ especially to students .~ master plan or overlay district, where facilities can be placed to provide' who may dare each other toclimb them. Aii~sctive nuisance is a legal term * adequate serAce- while still protecting the town's vital inter~. By that could come in handy when denying applications near schools, i having an expert do a few radial or file plots -- diagrams that model RI: All such provisions can result in the tower being located at a ~ coverage patterns ~ of likely sites, it can help town officials, as well as · reasonable distance from residential areas and schools, thereby reducing , interested citizens, understand how topography and demography work as a RF exposure~ but without directly depending on that rationale to do so. , whole. If a town can anticipate what the carriers want and do their own ; prior assessment, rather than passively wait for the industrY to define its' s own goals in town, a win~win situation may result. ~ Them is receat ca~ law on this ~ ~h~t_ appears to be in direct conflict with tie ~ The town will have to front money for an RF engineer but the ~ :~gom Act. Se~James HobsoR, Clmpter 9, pn~sentation, APT Pittsburgh v. Penn ~, expense is worth-it. A master plan will help with better siting decisions