Chapter 17.34

Coaxial cables, conduit lines and other electrical boxes for ground-mounted antennas shall be placed underground or within the approved structures. Coaxial cables and conduit lines for roof and facade-mounted antennas shall be placed or camouflaged to minimize their visual impact.

Co-location of wireless communications facilities on approved, encouraged sites only where such co-location reduces traffic, visual and other cell site impacts.

If not screened from view, equipment enclosures shall be compatible with the design scale, materials, colors and landscaping of other existing structures on the site.

All ground-mounted wireless communications facilities shall be camouflaged by structures, topography and landscaping.

The wireless communications facility shall have a nonreflective finish and be painted to be compatible with surrounding architecture and landscaping to minimize visual impacts.

All roof-mounted wireless communications equipment antennas, poles and equipment enclosures shall be located in the least visible location.

Stealth antenna design shall be encouraged, including the incorporation of antennas within attics, steeples, existing towers, fence posts, chimneys, artificial rock structures, artificial trees, behind or below building parapets, or concealed within building additions that are compatible with the existing building or architecture.

Ground-mounted antenna means an antenna with its support structure placed directly in the ground, the total height of which does not exceed eighteen (18) feet from finished grade including the height of the antenna and any above grade support structure.

No wireless communications facility may exceed the maximum height permitted for the main structure in any zone, except that roof-mounted and facade-mounted facilities in nonresidential zones or on public, semi-public or nonprofit buildings may project up to fifteen (15) feet above the roofline of the existing structure regardless of total height. Wireless communications facilities attached to a public utility structure may not exceed the existing height of the public utility structure regardless of total height.

Roof-mounted and facade-mounted facilities in nonresidential zones or on public, semi-public or nonprofit buildings may project up to fifteen (15) feet above the roofline of the existing structure regardless of total height.

In order to encourage the location of wireless communications facilities in specified locations where visual and other land use impacts are minimized, staff review under Section 17.34.6(A) is permitted.

A wireless communications facility shall comply with all applicable Federal Communications Commission's standards for radio frequency radiation emission and shall not adversely affect the public health, safety or welfare.

Existing and proposed landscaping around the proposed facility, as identified in the project plans, shall be maintained in good condition (including installation of an irrigation system, if necessary) for as long as the facility is in place; landscaping on the applicant's site which helps to screen the wireless communications facility from off-site views, as identified on the project plans, shall not be removed, trimmed or altered in any way, unless such removal or trimming is deemed necessary by a certified arborist to protect the health of the landscaping; if removal or trimming is deemed necessary, additional landscaping may be required.

If the facility is proposed for a single-family residential zone or in a ridgeline area, a minimum three hundred (300) foot setback shall be provided between a wireless communications facility (except for the associated PG&E meter) and the nearest residential structure on an adjacent parcel, unless the facility is incorporated within or attached in a stealth manner to the main structure on the parcel or is attached to a public utility structure in a visually unobtrusive manner.

Monopoles and telecommunications towers are prohibited unless the decisionmaker determines that no reasonable alternative is available to the carrier to provide personal wireless services.

A permit required under this chapter shall be valid for as long as the wireless communications facility remains in use and the facility is operated in compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit.

A wireless communications facility shall not be located in a residential district or in a visually sensitive area unless it is determined by the city that there is no other alternative location for the carrier to provide adequate coverage.

Within ninety (90) days after a wireless facility is abandoned or deemed abandoned, the permittee and/or property owner shall completely remove the wireless facility and all related improvements and shall restore all affected areas to a condition compliant with all applicable laws.

The application shall include a bond to cover any future wireless communication facility removal costs that may be incurred by the city if the wireless communications facility permit lapses due to nonuse or other noncompliance with the wireless communications facility permit granted for the facility.

Within one month after construction of the wireless communications facility, and on an annual basis thereafter, testing of total RF emissions shall be conducted to verify compliance with FCC regulations.

All 'small-wireless facilities' as defined by the FCC in 47 C.F.R. § 1.6002(l), as may be amended or superseded, are exempt from this chapter and subject to Chapter 12.10.

If the use of the permitted wireless communications facility is discontinued for any reason for a period of six months, the permit shall be void, and the use shall not be resumed.