A. The purpose of this chapter is to set forth regulations for the placement, development, and permitting communication facilities, including communication towers and antennas. These standards are designed to comply with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and intended to minimize visual impacts and flight hazards while furthering the development of enhanced telecommunication services in the county.
B. Unless otherwise exempted under SCC subsection C of this section, the requirements of this chapter shall apply to the installation of any communication facilities, and the expansion and/or alteration of any communication facilities existing as of the effective date of this title, that are located within the unincorporated areas of the county, except for the general and special management area portions of the national scenic area.
C. The following facilities and activities are exempt from the provisions of this chapter:
1. Direct-to-home satellite services in any zoning district;
2. Antennas for citizen band radios and amateur (or ham) radio facilities; provided, such antennas and facilities are no more than sixty-five feet above the ground level;
3. Military, federal, state and local government communication facilities that are used for emergency preparedness and public safety purposes; provided, such facilities are no more than one hundred fifty feet above ground level;
4. Maintenance, repair and replacement of existing communication facilities and related equipment that do not increase the size, footprint, or bulk of such facilities and that complies with local, state and federal laws and regulations; and
5. Attached communication facilities located on BPA towers.
D. The development standards that follow shall apply to all nonexempt communication facilities and alterations thereto.
1. Height.
a. An attached communication facility shall not add more than twenty feet in height to an existing building or other structure to which it is attached.
b. Communication towers shall have the following maximum height as measured from the ground to the highest point on the communication facility, including the associated array:
i. One hundred twenty feet in the R-1, R-2, R-5, R-10, RES-20, CC, CR; Carson: HDR, RR, RE, DR, C; and Northwestern Lake: R-2, R-5.
ii. One hundred fifty feet in the MG, FORAG-10, FORAG-20; Carson: I.
c. Accessory equipment structures shall have a maximum height of thirty-five feet as measured from the ground to the highest point on the structure.
2. Setbacks.
a. Attached communication facilities may extend up to five feet horizontally beyond the edge of a property setback, building or structure to which it is attached, so long as the attached communication facility does not encroach upon any easements nor upon an adjoining parcel or public road right-of-way.
b. All communication towers shall be set back from all property lines the greater of the following distances: fifty feet or one foot for every foot in height of the communication tower.
c. Accessory equipment structures shall meet the setback requirements for accessory buildings in the underlying zoning district in which they are located.
3. Lighting and Fencing.
a. Lighting, if any, of a communication facility shall be as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which shall, to the extent feasible, be installed in a manner to minimize impacts on adjacent residences.
4. Painting.
a. All painting of communication facilities shall be consistent with any such requirements of the FAA.
5. Aviation Requirements.
a. All communication facilities must comply with Federal Aviation Regulation Part 77, Objects Affecting Navigable Airspace, including but not limited to, providing such notice to the FAA as required thereunder and compliance with all requirements or prohibitions imposed by the FAA on the applicant’s proposed communication facility.
b. All communication towers shall be located at least one-half mile from the end of and at least one thousand feet from the sides of all runways which are available for public use and identified on the most current edition of the Sectional Aeronautical Charts produced by the National Aeronautical Charting Office (NACO).
6. Landscaping and Screening.
a. Landscaping shall be placed within or outside of the security fence and shall consist of fast growing vegetation with a minimum planted height of six feet, and placed so as to form a solid hedge within two years of planting.
b. An applicant may choose to provide brown privacy slats within the security fence rather than plant new vegetative screening.
E. Where stated in this title that a communication facility may be permitted upon administrative review, the following procedures set forth in SCC subsections F through N of this section shall apply.
F. The communication facility owner shall submit a complete application consisting of:
1. A completed application form supplied by the planning department and signed by the facility owner and the parcel owner;
2. A scaled site plan detailing: the outer boundary and dimensions of the property, all structures located on the parcel, the location of and height of the proposed communication facility, the distances from all proposed structures to all parcel lines, the distance of the proposed communication facility to the nearest point of the nearest runway of the nearest airport available for public use, the location of all public and private roads, the location of all easements, location of existing and proposed landscaping, the scale and a north arrow;
3. For communication facilities proposed to be located within four miles of the nearest point of the nearest runway of the nearest airport available for public use, the applicant must provide a written statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that confirms the FAA has reviewed the proposal and which sets forth the FAA’s response, comments and requirements, if any, for the proposal; and
4. For communication facilities proposed to be located within four miles of a runway identified on the most current edition of the Sectional Aeronautical Charts produced by the National Aeronautical Charting Office (NACO), the applicant must provide a scale site plan showing the location of any such runways.
G. A nonrefundable application fee as established by resolution of the board of county commissioners shall be paid at the time the application is submitted.
H. The planning director shall refer the matter to appropriate agencies, allowing fourteen calendar days for their comments, and shall issue a communication facility permit if he or she determines that the proposed attached communication facility and/or communication tower will conform with the development regulations set forth in subsection D of this section and any other applicable SCC provisions.
I. Notice of the planning director’s decision as to whether the communication facility meets the necessary criteria and of the planning director’s decision whether to allow the use requested under this chapter shall be sent by first class mail to all persons signing the application.
J. Notice of the planning director’s decision will also be sent to the owners of all real property, as shown in the records of the Skamania County assessor, located within three hundred feet of any boundary of the property for which the proposed communication facility will be located; provided, if the owner of the property for which the property for which the proposed facility will be located owns another parcel or parcels adjacent to such property, notification also shall be mailed to owners of real property located within three hundred feet of any boundaries of such adjacent parcels.
K. The notification shall contain a statement as to whether the proposed use is not allowed or allowed and under what conditions.
L. The notification shall state that any person with standing shall have fourteen calendar days to file a written appeal of the planning director’s decision.
M. The planning director’s decision shall be deemed final upon the date of mailing of the written decision, unless a timely appeal is filed pursuant to subsection N of this section.
N. An appeal of the planning director’s decision under this chapter shall be processed and heard pursuant to subsection D of this section. (Ord. 2005-02 (part))