A. Requirements of other entities.
Proposals for towers submitted after the effective date of this amendment shall meet all applicable requirements of federal and state regulations before local approval is given. The Planning Board may waive this requirement if the applicant demonstrates that application has been made for any relevant federal and state approvals or, if no approvals are required, that the project conforms to all federal and state standards or that there are no such standards that apply. If the Planning Board approves an application prior to the applicant receiving all federal and/or state approvals, the Planning Board shall condition its approval on the receipt of those other approvals.
B. Structural requirements.
(1) Towers shall be designed and installed in accordance with the standards of the Electronic Industries Association Structural Standards for Steel Antenna Towers and Antenna Supporting Structures.
(2) The applicant's engineer shall provide documentation showing that the proposed tower meets or exceeds the current standards of the American National Standards Institute, ANSI/EIA/TIA-222- "E," for York County relative to wind and one-half (1/2)-inch ice loads.
(3) For towers placed on buildings or other structures, the applicant shall also provide written certification that the building itself is structurally capable of safely supporting the tower and its accompanying equipment.
C. Abandonment.
(1) It shall be the responsibility of the owner of a tower to notify the Code Enforcement Officer of the date of abandonment or cessation of use of the tower within one (1) month from the date of such abandonment or cessation. If the owner shall fail to give the notice required by this subsection, the Code Enforcement Officer shall make a determination of such date, which determination shall be conclusive as to such date.
(2) In the case of an abandoned tower, it shall be removed by the owner of the tower within one (1) year of its abandonment or cessation of use. Abandoned structures associated with abandoned towers shall also be removed. If the owner of the abandoned tower fails to remove the tower, the owner of the property on which the tower is located shall be responsible for its removal.
D. Collocation.
(1) Tower applicants shall send written notice by prepaid first class United States mail to all other telecommunication tower owners and licensed telecommunication providers in the proposed coverage area stating their siting needs and/or collocation capabilities in an effort to encourage tower collocation. An application for a new tower shall provide evidence that existing or previously approved towers cannot accommodate the telecommunications equipment, including but not limited to antennas and cables, planned for the proposed tower. Such evidence would be:
(a) Planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing and approved towers, considering the existing and planned use of those towers, and existing and approved towers cannot be reinforced to accommodate planned or equivalent equipment at a reasonable cost, as defined below;
(b) Planned equipment will cause radio wave frequency interference with other existing or planned equipment for that tower, and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost, as defined below;
(c) Existing or approved towers do not have space on which planned equipment can be placed so it can function effectively and at least in parity with other similar equipment in place or approved; or
(d) Other reasons that make it impracticable to place the equipment planned by the applicant on existing and approved towers.
(2) Shared use shall be conditioned on the applicant's agreement to pay a reasonable fee and costs of adapting existing facilities to the proposed use.
(a) Such costs shall be pertinent to the southern Maine market area.
(b) These may include but not be limited to reasonable costs for reinforcing the tower or structure, for preventing radio wave frequency interference, and other changes reasonably required to accommodate shared use.
(c) The fee and costs for shared use are unreasonable, among other reasons, if they exceed the cost of the proposed tower.
(3) If the Planning Board determines that telecommunications equipment proposed by the applicant cannot be accommodated on an existing or approved tower, each tower so found is presumed unable to accommodate similar equipment that may be proposed in the future.
(4) A proposal to construct a new tower taller than one-hundred (100) feet shall include evidence that it can structurally support a minimum of three (3) antenna arrays.
(5) The Planning Board may require evidence of structural support to accommodate additional arrays for non-monopole towers.
E. Inspection.
(1) Inspection of communication towers by a licensed structural engineer shall be required to ensure structural integrity. Such inspections shall be required as follows:
(a) All towers: upon completion of construction.
(b) Monopole towers: at least once every ten (10) years.
(c) Self-support towers: at least once every five (5) years.
(d) Guyed towers: at least once every three (3) years.
(2) The inspection report shall be provided to the Public Works Director and Code Enforcement Officer within thirty (30) days of its receipt by the tower owner. Based upon results of the inspection, the City may require the repair or removal of the communication tower.
F. Floodplain management plan.
(1) The plan shall include a statement that structures in the subdivision shall be constructed with their lowest floor, including the basement, at least one foot above the one-hundred-year flood elevation. Such a restriction shall be included in any deed, lease, purchase and sale agreement, or document transferring or expressing an intent to transfer any interest in real estate or structure, including but not limited to a time-share interest. The statement shall clearly state that the municipality will enforce the construction requirements, and that fact shall also be included in the deed or any other document previously described.
See
§ 275-43: Floodplain management for more information on floodplain management.
G. Identification of freshwater wetlands.
Freshwater wetlands, including forested wetlands, shall be identified and mapped in accordance with the 1987 Corps of Engineers Wetland Delineation Manual, published by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
H. Traffic conditions.
Street design and construction standards:
(1) General requirements.
(a) The Board shall not approve any subdivision plan unless proposed streets are designed in accordance with the specifications contained in these regulations. Approval of the final plan by the Board shall not be deemed to constitute or be evidence of acceptance by the municipality of any street or easement.
(b) Applicants shall submit to the Board, as part of the final plan, detailed construction drawings showing a plan view, profile, and typical cross section of the proposed streets and existing streets within 300 feet of any proposed intersections. The plan view shall be at a scale of one inch equals no more than 50 feet. The vertical scale of the profile shall be one inch equals no more than five feet. The plans shall include the following information:
[1] Date, scale, and North arrow, indicating magnetic or true North.
[2] Intersections of the proposed street with existing streets.
[3] Roadway and right-of-way limits, including edge of pavement, edge of shoulder, sidewalks, and curbs.
[4] Kind, size, location, material, profile, and cross section of all existing and proposed drainage structures and their location with respect to existing natural waterways and proposed drainageways.
[5] Complete curve data for all horizontal and vertical curves.
[6] Turning radii at all intersections.
[7] Center-line gradients.
[8] Size, type, and locations of all existing and proposed overhead and underground utilities, including but not limited to water, sewer, electricity, telephone, lighting, and cable television.
(c) Where the applicant proposes improvements within existing public streets, the proposed design and construction details shall be approved in writing by the Town Engineer or the Maine Department of Transportation, as appropriate.
(d) Where the subdivision streets are to remain private roads, the following notes shall appear on the recorded plan:
[1] The Town of Sanford shall not be responsible for the maintenance, repair, plowing, or similar services for the private way(s) shown on this plan.
[2] Any private way shown on this plan shall not be accepted as a public street by the Town of Sanford unless the way complies with the standards for public streets (including right-of-way width) existing at the time acceptance is requested.
I. Wildlife habitat or rare natural areas.
(1) When a proposed subdivision street traverses open fields, the plan shall include the planting of street trees. Street trees shall include a mix of tall shade trees and medium-height flowering species. Trees shall be planted no more than 50 feet apart.
(2) Protection of significant wildlife habitat and important habitat areas. The following guidelines are designed to protect the significant wildlife resources identified in the municipality. The Board recognizes that wildlife management must take into account many site-specific variables. Applicants proposing to subdivide land within identified wildlife resources must consult with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife or a qualified wildlife biologist and provide their written comments to the Board. The guidelines of this section shall apply to only those subdivisions which include significant wildlife habitat or resources identified in
§ 275-38C.
