Cell tower ordinance gets city approval
(File photo by MARY MALONE) Sandpoint City Council passed an ordinance last week adding a chapter to City Code to regulate the placement, construction and modification of telecommunications towers in the city.
SANDPOINT — Council members passed an ordinance last week adding a chapter to City Code that will regulate the placement, construction and modification of telecommunications towers in city limits.
A 180-day interim ordinance was passed in August placing a moratorium on permits for new tower construction because, with applications for construction pending, city planning and economic development director Aaron Qualls said there was "no good method in the City Code to deal with them." Since then, Qualls and the planning commission have worked to add a chapter to Title 9 of City Code that will ensure compliance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996, minimize the number of antenna tower, encourage co-location of facilities, encourage the use of existing buildings and utility poles, and minimize the visual impact on the community.
New tower construction will be restricted in certain zones, Qualls said, as the planning commission felt it should be less restrictive in industrial areas. Towers are not permitted under the new chapter in residential zones and are more restrictive in commercial zones as well. Conditional use permits are required in all cases except for co-location.
"Stealth design" will be required in most cases, and Qualls presented several options for more aesthetically-pleasing designs that are used in other cities across the country. One showed a building that appeared to have a couple of chimneys on the roof, but they were not, in fact, chimneys — they were antennas concealed on the rooftop. Towers can also be concealed on existing structures such as light posts, flag poles and trees.
Qualls said the landowner will be required to remove a telecommunications tower at their own expense if the tower is deemed to be in "disuse" for six months or more. The reason for that, he said, is for public safety, such as if it was not maintained and fell down, but also to maintain the "aesthetic and urban fabric of town."
In response to a question by Councilwoman Deb Ruehle regarding existing towers, Qualls said there is language in the code that all existing facilities are "essentially" grandfathered in.