18A.95.100 General siting and design requirements for macro facilities.
The location and design of macro facilities shall consider the impacts, including visual, of the facility on the surrounding neighborhood. All macro facilities shall conform with the following siting and design requirements as applicable:
A. Siting. Any applicant who proposes to construct a new macro facility shall demonstrate that the proposed facility is located at the least obtrusive and the most appropriate site available. Facilities shall be placed in locations where the existing topography, vegetation, buildings, or other structures provide the greatest amount of screening and shall be designed to minimize any significant adverse impact on residential property.
C. Development. Development and construction of the site shall preserve the existing character of the site as much as possible. Existing vegetation should be preserved. When existing vegetation cannot be preserved, vegetation shall be improved by landscaping. Disturbance of the existing topography of the site shall be minimized.
D. Design. Facilities shall be architecturally compatible with the surrounding buildings and land uses in the zoning district and screened or otherwise integrated, through location and design, to blend in with the existing characteristics of the site.
E. FCC Licensure. The City will only process macro facility permit applications upon a satisfactory showing of proof that the applicant is an FCC-licensed telecommunications provider or that the applicant has agreements with an FCC-licensed telecommunications provider for use or lease of the facility.
F. Compliance with Other Laws. Macro facility service providers shall demonstrate compliance with FCC and FAA rules and regulations and all other applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules and regulations, including FAA and U.S. Air Force airspace maximum height criteria. Failure to maintain compliance with applicable standards and regulations shall constitute grounds for the City to remove a provider’s facilities at the provider’s expense.
G. Lot Size. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a macro facility complies with district development regulations including, but not limited to, setback requirements, lot-coverage requirements, and other development requirements, the dimensions of the entire lot shall control, even though the macro facility may be located on a leased parcel within that lot.
H. Height. Except as allowed by LMC 18A.95.130, Collocation, and LMC 18A.95.120(H), Tower Siting, no macro facility may exceed one hundred (100) feet in height. Further, the applicant must demonstrate, by engineering evidence satisfactory to the City, that the height requested is the minimum height necessary.
I. Security Fencing. Towers shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than six (6) feet in height, constructed of masonry, solid wood or coated chain link with matching colored slats, designed to blend with the character of the existing neighborhood; provided, however, that the Community Development Director or, where applicable, the Hearing Examiner may waive these requirements as appropriate. Access to the macro facility shall be through a locked gate, and there shall be a universal key box at any such gates.
J. Landscaping. Macro facilities shall be landscaped as follows:
1. Macro facilities shall be landscaped with a buffer of plant materials that effectively screen the view of the macro facility compound. The City may also require any combination of existing vegetation, topography, walls, decorative fences or other features, in addition to landscaping, necessary to achieve the desired level of screening of the site. If the antenna is mounted on an existing building, and other equipment is housed inside an existing structure, landscaping may not be required. Landscaping is not required for facilities mounted on rooftops or on the top of other structures; however, other methods of screening may be required to be utilized.
2. Screening. The visual impacts of a macro facility shall be mitigated through landscaping or other screening materials at the base of a facility and/or compound. Landscaping shall be installed on the outside of fences. Further, existing vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible and may be used as a substitute for or as a supplement to landscaping requirements. The following landscaping and buffering shall be required around the perimeter of the compound:
a. Evergreen trees, a minimum of twelve (12) feet tall at planting, shall be planted in two (2) rows around the perimeter of the fence. The trees shall be planted so that the trees are staggered in the rows to provide maximum screening and are located no further apart than fifteen (15) feet on center.
b. A row of bushes at least thirty (30) inches high at planting and which is capable of growing into a continuous hedge to at least forty-eight (48) inches in height within two (2) years shall be planted no more than four (4) feet on center, in front of the tree line referenced above.
c. Groundcover shall be planted such that it will completely cover the soil within the landscape area within eighteen (18) months of planting, generally one (1) gallon size plants planted no more than eighteen (18) inches on center.
3. In the event that landscaping is not maintained at the level required herein or as required in any conditional use permit, the City may, after giving thirty (30) days’ advance written notice, establish and/or maintain the landscaping and bill both the owner and lessee of the site for such costs until such costs are paid in full.
L. Aesthetics. Macro facilities shall meet the following requirements:
1. Unless a different color is required by the FCC or FAA, a macro facility shall be painted a neutral color generally matching the surroundings or background to minimize its visual obtrusiveness.
2. At a macro facility site, the design of the buildings and related structures shall, to the extent possible, use materials, colors, textures, screening, and landscaping that will blend into the existing natural and constructed environment.
M. View Corridors. Due consideration shall be given so that macro facilities do not obstruct or significantly diminish views of Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains or other scenic vistas.
N. Required Parking. Off-street parking shall be determined by the Director. The amount of parking required to be provided shall be dependent on whether the cell site is fully automated, partially automated, or is not automated.
O. Lighting. If lighting is required for any macro facility, then the lighting shall be of a type to cause the least disturbance to the surrounding area and which shall not cause glare skyward or beyond the property line. Exterior lighting shall comply with LMC 18A.60.095.
P. Measurement. For purposes of measurement, macro facility setbacks and separation distances shall be calculated and applied irrespective of jurisdictional boundaries.
R. Signs. No signs shall be allowed on antennas or towers, except safety signage as required by applicable laws, standards, and regulations.
S. Noise. Macro facilities shall not produce noise in excess of limitations set forth in Chapter8.36 LMC.
T. Backhaul Providers. Backhaul providers shall be identified at the time of right-of-way (ROW) permit application and as a condition of ROW permit approval, and shall obtain and maintain all necessary approvals to operate as such, including holding necessary franchises, permits, and certificates. The method of providing backhaul, either wired or wireless, shall be identified.
U. Safety Inspections. Each owner and/or service provider shall conduct all safety inspections in accordance with the EIA and FCC standards.
V. Equipment Structures. Ground-level equipment, buildings, and the tower base shall be screened from public view. All such structures shall be considered primary structures, not accessory structures, for the purposes of development regulations. The standards for the equipment buildings are as follows:
1. The maximum floor area shall be three hundred (300) square feet, and the maximum height shall be twelve (12) feet, unless the applicant demonstrates that the macro facility and/or proposed collocation will require additional space or height to function within the provider’s local network. The City may, at its sole discretion, approve multiple equipment structures or one (1) or more larger structures if it will result in a more aesthetically pleasing structure and/or site design or will further other public policy objectives.
2. The equipment building shall be located no more than fifty (50) feet from the tower or antenna, except under unique and unusual circumstances demonstrated by the applicant to the City’s satisfaction or for other public policy considerations.
3. Ground level buildings shall be screened from view by landscape plantings, fencing, or other appropriate means, as specified in this title or other City ordinances or regulations.
4. A macro facility, including equipment buildings, antennas, and related equipment, shall occupy no more than twenty-five (25) percent of the total roof area of the building on which the macro facility is mounted. The City may, at its sole discretion, increase the percentage of building coverage allowed, if collocation is achieved and an adequate screening structure is used.
5. Equipment buildings mounted on a roof shall be completely screened from view by materials that are consistent and compatible with the design, color, and materials of the building. Equipment for roof-mounted antenna may also be located within the building on which the antenna is mounted.
6. If located in residential zones, equipment buildings shall be designed so as to conform in appearance with nearby residential buildings and equipment structures shall comply with the setback requirements of the zoning district. [Ord. 726 § 2 (Exh. B), 2019.]