Opinion ID: 163795
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Requirements Under the Zoning Ordinance

Text: 5 As part of the permitting process, an applicant must provide the City Council with certain required information, set forth in sections 18.7 and 18.11(A)-(F) of the Zoning Ordinance. With respect to the determination of whether to issue a specific use permit, section 18.12 provides: 6 The City Council shall consider the following factors ... 7 (a) height of the proposed tower; 8 (b) proximity of the tower to residential structures and adjacent residential lot boundaries; 9 (c) nature of uses on adjacent and nearby properties; 10 (d) surrounding topography; 11 (e) surrounding tree coverage and foliage; 12 (f) design of the tower, with particular reference to those design characteristics which have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual obtrusiveness; 13 (g) proposed routes of ingress and egress; 14 (h) whether or not the tower is constructed so as to be available for co-location in the future; and 15 (i) whether or not there are suitable, existing towers or other supporting structures capable of meeting the technological needs of the applicant. 16 Id., art. VIII, § 18.12. Section 18.12 also states that the City Council may modify one or more of these criteria if, in the particular circumstances of the application, [the] Council concludes that the goals and intent of [the Zoning Ordinance] are better served by such modification. Id. Section 18.13 further provides that [n]o new tower should be permitted by the City Council, unless the applicant demonstrates to the City Council's reasonable satisfaction that no existing tower or other structure can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. 3 Id., § 18.13. Finally, the Zoning Ordinance sets forth the City's general policy regarding tower construction in certain zoning districts, under which towers are normally discouraged in A-1 and RE [agricultural and residential] zoning districts, and applicants shall be required to establish the elements of the application by clear and convincing evidence. Id., art. VIII, § 18.11(G).