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March 25, 1998 Plan Commission Minutes Page 5 telecommunications providers that compete against one another. 2) Local zoning requirements may not prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of wireless telecommunications service. 3) A local government must act within a reasonable period of time on requests for permission to place or construct wireless telecommunications facilities. 4) Any city or county council or zoning board decision denying a request for permission to install or construct wireless telecommunications facilities must be in writing and must be based on evidence in a written record before the council or board. 5) If a wireless telecommunications facility meets technical emissions standards set by the FCC, it is presumed safe. A local government may not deny a request to construct a facility on grounds that its radio frequency emissions would be harmful to the environment or health of residents if those emissions meet FCC standards. This application proposes a tower located in the "PA" - Public Activity District which permits said towers under conditional use permit if developed in accordance with the provisions of Article 5, "Supplementary Regulations," Section 34-64.4. The location of this tower, within the woods west of the Mt. Olive Cemetery, meets the goals of the ordinance. It is an area where visibility will be limited. The tower will be recessed deep within existing woods, setback far from streets and surrounding residential properties. If such a tower must exist, this the type of area preferred by the code. The application meets all of the General Requirements and Design Requirements listed in Section 34-64.4(2) and (3). The Site Requirements call for landscaping, which the applicants have provided. However a condition should be added requiring a separate landscaping plan to be approved later by the Director of Planning. The applicants have stated that the tower will accommodate up to three users in compliance with the Shared Use Requirements and have provided the necessary notarized statement. In order to insure compliance with all requirements of this part of the ordinance, a condition should be added that construction, maintenance and operation of the tower shall be in strict compliance with Section 34- 64 of the University City Zoning Code. In order for the Plan Commission to approve a conditional use permit for a telecommunications tower, it shall make the findings required in Section 34- 64(1)(b)(1-9). They are as follows: 1) Whether or not existing towers are located within the geographic area necessary to meet the applicant’s engineering requirements. **The applicants have provided maps showing AT&T's coverage with and without the proposed site. 2) Whether or not existing towers, structures or buildings within the applicant’s required geographic area are of sufficient height to meet system engineering requirements. **The proposed tower nearly reduces the area of poor or no coverage to nothing. A higher tower would only cause more visibility to the surrounding area. 3) Whether or not existing towers or structures have sufficient structural strength to support the applicant’s proposed telecommunications antennas. **There are no existing towers within that area per the provided map showing existing tower locations in the area (see also Letter from Douglas Baron to Frank Hill dated March 20, 1998, item #1). 4) Whether or not the proposed telecommunications antennas would experience or cause signal interference with telecommunications antennas on existing towers or structures. **No evidence has been provided that interference would occur (see also Letter from Douglas Baron to Frank Hill dated March 20, 1998, item #2). 5) Whether or not the fees, costs, or other contractual terms required by the owner(s) of existing tower(s), structure(s), or building(s) within the required geographic area of the applicant or to retrofit the existing tower(s) or structure(s) are reasonable. Costs exceeding that of a new tower are presumed to be unreasonable. **There are no existing towers within that area per the provided wpoffice\wpdata\m-3-25.plc