Sec. 656.1527. - Design criteria.

(a) The design criteria set forth in this Subpart apply only to new and replacement broadcast towers. (b) The tower compound area of all new and replacement broadcast towers shall be surrounded by a fence at least eight feet in height with at least three strands of barbed wire on top, which the tower owner shall maintain in good repair. Additionally the base and the guy wires of the broadcast tower shall be protected by a fence at least eight feet in height with at least three strands of barbed wire on the top, which the tower owner shall maintain in good repair. (c) The maximum height of any broadcast tower allowed in the Broadcast Tower Overlay is 1,149 feet above the mean sea level. (d) All new broadcast towers must meet or exceed current standards and regulations of the FAA, the FCC, and any other agency of the federal government with the authority to regulate towers and antennae. All existing broadcast towers shall comply with all standards and regulations of the FAA, the FCC, and any other agency in effect at the time the broadcast tower was constructed. To ensure the structural integrity of broadcast towers, the tower owner shall ensure that it is maintained in compliance with standards contained in the applicable local building codes and the applicable standards in effect at the time the broadcast tower was constructed. If, upon inspection, the governing authority inspection department concludes that a broadcast tower fails to comply with such codes and standards, then upon notice being provided to the owner of the broadcast tower, the tower owner shall have 150 days to bring such broadcast tower into compliance with such codes and standards. If the tower owner fails to bring such broadcast tower into compliance within said 150-day period, the governing authority may remove such broadcast tower at the tower owner's expense. The time period for compliance set forth above may be extended by the Chief, Building Inspection Division, for good cause shown. (e) The tower owner shall landscape the entire boundary of those portions of the broadcast tower location located contiguous to residentially zoned districts to provide visual screening of the guy lines and related structures provided, however, that no such landscaping shall be required if existing vegetation provides a comparable vegetative buffer to the landscaping requirements set forth below. The landscaping shall encompass an area 15 feet in width, as measured from the property line, and shall include the following: (1) A row of shade trees a minimum of eight feet tall and a maximum of ten feet apart; (2) A continuous hedge at least 30 inches high at the time of planting, capable of growing to at least 36 inches in height within 18 months, shall be planted in front of the tree line referenced above; (3) All required landscaping shall be of the evergreen variety; (4) All required landscaping shall be xeriscape tolerant or irrigated and properly maintained to ensure good health and vitality. (Ord. 2001-600-E, §§ 2, 3)