This article is designed to create the opportunity to locate state-of-the-art wireless telecommunications facilities in areas which, in the opinion of the Township, there will be no appreciable impact on the residential character of ' the community nor will they encroach on the reasonable expectations of the residents of the Township, and their homes and personal safety remain protected. The intent of this article is to limit the location of such facilities to areas which are both acceptable to communications companies wishing to provide service and consistent with the above objectives; to ensure that competition is fostered among local wireless service providers; to ensure that opportunities for economic development are created; and to ensure that the local government benefits from the services offered by telecommunications providers. The intent and purpose of this article is supported by the Township Master Plan and advances the goals and objectives outlined therein. The overriding objective of this provision is to ensure that the public health, safety and welfare is safeguarded and that the following purposes of the Municipal Land Use Law as set forth at N.J.S.A. 40:55D-2 are advanced:
A. To secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters.
B. To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies.
C. To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens.
D. To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangements.
E. To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the state and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land.
F. To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land.
Land and buildings and other structures owned by the Township of Nutley may be utilized for the placement of wireless telecommunications facilities, provided that:
A. The wireless telecommunications facility is located on the land, buildings or other structures owned by the Township of Nutley; and
B. The Board of Commissioners of the Township of Nutley consents to the location of the facilities, said consent being evidenced by the execution of a license agreement between the municipality and the provider of telecommunications services.
An applicant desiring to construct a wireless telecommunications tower shall satisfy the following bulk standards:
A. Minimum lot size: as required in the zone district where located or 1,000 square feet, whichever is smaller.
B. Minimum setback of wireless telecommunications tower from:
(1) Any property line: 25 feet.
(2) Any public street: 50 feet.
(3) Any wireless telecommunications tower: 1,500 feet.
C. Minimum setback for equipment compound from any property line: 50 feet.
D. Maximum height of telecommunications tower (exclusive of lightning rod):
(1) Where tower is located on land owned by the municipality, and where tower is designed to accommodate:
(a) Three or more vendors: 250 feet.
(b) Two vendors: 125 feet.
(c) Single vendor: 100 feet.
(2) Where tower is located on buildings or other structures owned by the municipality: 25 feet.
E. Maximum height of attached antenna: 10 feet beyond the top edge of the tower.
Site plan application requirements for the installation of wireless telecommunications towers shall be as follows:
A. All site plan details required by
B. Land uses and structures on abutting parcels.
C. A report from a qualified expert certifying that the wireless telecommunications tower and equipment facility comply with the latest structural and wind and loading requirements as set forth in the applicable state code, as it may be updated or amended, or such other codes as may apply to these facilities, including a description of the number and type of antennas it is designed to accommodate.
D. A letter of commitment by the applicant to lease excess space on the tower to other potential users at prevailing market rates and conditions. The letter of commitment shall be recorded prior to issuance of a building permit. The letter shall commit the tower owner and successors in interest.
E. Elevations of the proposed tower and accessory building, generally depicting all proposed antennas, platforms, finish materials and all other accessory equipment.
F. A copy of the license agreement with the Township of Nutley.
G. A plan which shall reference all existing wireless telecommunications facilities in the Township, and such facilities in the abutting municipalities which provide service to areas within the municipality.
H. Any changes to facilities proposed within the following twelve-month period, including plans for new locations and the discontinuance or relocation of existing facilities.
A. The wireless telecommunications tower shall be designed and constructed so as to accommodate a minimum of three antenna arrays of separate telecommunications providers (the applicant's, plus two collectors).
B. Signs shall not be permitted except for a sign displaying owner contact information, warnings, equipment information and safety instructions. Such sign shall not exceed two square feet in area. No commercial advertising shall be permitted on any wireless telecommunications facility.
C. No lighting is permitted except as follows:
(1) Wireless telecommunications equipment compounds enclosing electronic equipment may have security and safety lighting at the entrance, provided that the light is attached to the facility, is focused downward and is on timing devices and/or sensors so that the light is turned off when not needed for safety or security purposes.
(2) No lighting is permitted on a wireless telecommunications tower.
D. Wireless telecommunications antennas and towers shall be maintained to assure their continued structural integrity. The owner of the tower or antenna shall also perform such other maintenance of the structure and of the site as to assure that it does not create a visual nuisance.
E. Wireless telecommunications towers shall be of a color appropriate to the tower's locational context and to make it as unobtrusive as possible, unless otherwise required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
F. Wireless telecommunications facilities shall be surrounded by a fence. All towers shall be designed with anticlimbing devices in order to prevent unauthorized access. Additional security and safety devices shall be permitted or required, as needed, and as approved by the approving authority.
G. Any proposed new telecommunications tower shall be a monopole unless the applicant can demonstrate that a different type pole type is necessary for the collocation of additional antennas on the tower. Such towers may employ camouflage technology.
H. No equipment shall be operated so as to produce noise in excess of the limits set by N.J.A.C. 7:29-1.1 et seq., except for in emergency situations requiring the use of a backup generator.
I. Wireless telecommunications towers and antennas shall be constructed to the applicable state code, as it may be updated or amended, or such other code as may apply to these facilities, as they may be updated or amended.
A. A wireless telecommunications equipment compound consisting of no more than 1,500 square feet may be erected in support of wireless telecommunications antennas, provided that the wireless telecommunications equipment compound is located on land or on or within buildings or other structures owned by the Township of Nutley; and if erected on the exterior of a building or other structure, then:
(1) Situated behind existing vegetation, tree cover, structures, buildings or terrain features which will shield the wireless telecommunications compound from public view; or when a location out of public view is not possible, a landscape buffer of no less than eight feet in width shall be provided outside the fence around the wireless telecommunications equipment compound to shield the facility from public view. Landscaping shall include native evergreen and deciduous trees at least eight feet high at the time of planting, and the number of trees shall be based on the equivalent of staggered double rows at 15 feet on center;
(2) Located to avoid being visually solitary or prominent when viewed from residential areas and when in public view; and
(3) Enclosed within a fence at least six feet high, as approved by the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township of Nutley, which shall include a locking security gate.
B. The height of the equipment building shall not exceed 15 feet.
Operators of wireless telecommunications towers and antennas shall notify the municipality when the use of such towers and antennas is discontinued. Facilities that are not in use for wireless telecommunications purposes for 12 months shall be removed by the operator at its costs. This removal shall occur within 120 days of the end of such twelve-month period. Upon removal, the site shall be cleared, restored and revegetated to blend with the existing surrounding vegetation at the time of abandonment. Any license agreement between the municipality and an operator shall contain a requirement that the operator shall post a bond to cover the costs of removal in the event of abandonment by the operator, and the agreement shall be recorded prior to the issuance of a zoning permit or construction permit.
FCC licensed wireless telecommunications providers are encouraged to construct and site their facilities with a view toward sharing facilities with other utilities, collocating with other existing wireless facilities and accommodating the collocation of other future facilities where technically, pratically and economically feasible.
