§ 1705. Application procedures.

A.

General application requirements. Application for a permit for any telecommunication facility shall be made to the department by the person, company or organization that will own and operate the telecommunications facility. An application will not be considered until it is complete. The administrator is authorized to develop application forms to assist in providing the required information and facilitate the application process. Except for a collocation information submittal under section 1705.A of this article, the following information shall be submitted when applying for any permit required by this article and must be submitted for an application to be considered complete:

1.

Site plan or plans to scale specifying the location of telecommunications facilities, transmission building and/or other accessory uses, access, parking, fences, landscaped areas, and adjacent land uses.

2.

Landscaped plan to scale indicating size, spacing and type of plantings required in section 1704.H.

3.

A full description of the environment surrounding the proposed telecommunications facility, including adjacent residential structures and districts, structures and sites of historic significance and scenic view corridors.

4.

A description of anticipated maintenance needs for the telecommunications facility, including frequency of service, personnel needs, equipment needs, and traffic, noise or safety impacts of such maintenance.

5.

Report from a professional qualified engineer licensed in the State of Georgia, or other appropriate qualified industry expert, documenting the following:

a.

Tower or antenna type, height, and design;

b.

Engineering, economic, and other pertinent factors governing selection of the proposed design;

c.

Total anticipated capacity of the telecommunications facility, including numbers and types of antennas which can be accommodated;

d.

Evidence of structural integrity of the lower or alternative tower structure;

e.

Structural failure characteristics of the telecommunications facility and demonstration that site and setbacks are of adequate size to contain debris; and

f.

Certification that the antenna(s) and related equipment or appurtenances comply with all current regulations of the FCC, with specific reference to FCC regulations governing nonionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER), and that the radio frequency levels meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guidelines for public safety.

6.

Identification of the geographic service area for the subject installation, including a map showing the site and the nearest or associated telecommunications facility sites within the network. Describe the distance between the telecommunications facility sites. Describe how this service area fits into and is necessary for the service network (i.e., whether such antenna or tower is needed for coverage or capacity.)

7.

With the exception of Agricultural GPS towers, if the proposed site is zoned R-1, R-2, AG-3, PDR, PCFD, HC, NC, or CP, applicants must show why an alternate site zoned LI, HI or GC was not proposed by identifying:

a.

What good faith efforts and measures were taken to secure such an alternate site;

b.

Why such an alternate site was not technologically, legally, or economically feasible and why such efforts were unsuccessful; and

c.

How and why the proposed site is essential to meet service demands for the geographic service area.

The department will review with special care, justifications that appeal only to undue expense and/or to undue difficulties in entering into a lease agreement. The department shall carefully weigh such claims, and the evidence presented in favor of them, against a project's negative impacts at the proposed site.

8.

The applicant must provide a utilities inventory showing the locations of all water, sewage, drainage and power line easements impacting the proposed tower site.

9.

The applicant must provide any other information which may be requested by the department to fully evaluate and review the application and the potential impact of a proposed telecommunications facility.

B.

Tower collocation information submittals. Any person or entity collocating an antenna or antennas which will add no more than ten feet to the height of the tower and related equipment or appurtenances on or around a tower for which a permit has already been issued shall submit the following information only:

1.

The name of the person or entity collocating the antenna.

2.

The name of the owner of the tower.

3.

The tower's permit number.

4.

The location of the tower.

5.

The remaining structural capacity of the tower.

6.

Certification that the antenna(s) and related equipment or appurtenances comply with all current regulations of the FCC, with specific reference to FCC regulations governing nonionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER), and that the radio frequency levels meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) guidelines for public safety.

(Ord. of 9-8-2009, § 4)