§ 17.34.4. Standards.

The following standards shall apply to a new wireless communications facility within the City of Orinda:

A.

A carrier shall not prohibit the use of a parcel by other carriers if that carrier is not the property owner.

B.

A wireless communications facility shall be visually unobtrusive and compatible with the surroundings. To make this determination, the Planning Commission or Zoning Administrator may require that evidence be presented concerning: (1) the minimum height and size necessary for the facility to perform its intended function; and (2) whether the facility is necessary for effective coverage.

C.

All ground-mounted wireless communications facilities shall be camouflaged by structures, topography and landscaping.

D.

Wireless communications facilities shall not violate the provisions of the tree management regulations in Chapter 17.21.

E.

All roof-mounted wireless communications equipment antennas, poles and equipment enclosures shall be located in the least visible location.

F.

Coaxial cables, conduit lines and other electrical boxes for ground-mounted antennas shall be placed underground or within the approved structures. Coaxial cables and conduit lines for roof and facade-mounted antennas shall be placed or camouflaged to minimize their visual impact.

G.

A wireless communications facility shall comply with all applicable Federal Communications Commission's standards for radio frequency radiation emission and shall not adversely affect the public health, safety or welfare.

H.

Monopoles and telecommunications towers are prohibited unless the decisionmaker determines that no reasonable alternative is available to the carrier to provide personal wireless services.

I.

Stealth antenna design shall be encouraged, including the incorporation of antennas within attics, steeples, existing towers, fence posts, chimneys, artificial rock structures, artificial trees, behind or below building parapets, or concealed within building additions that are compatible with the existing building or architecture.

J.

If the facility is proposed for a single-family residential zone or in a ridgeline area, a minimum three hundred (300) foot setback shall be provided between a wireless communications facility (except for the associated PG&E meter) and the nearest residential structure on an adjacent parcel, unless the facility is incorporated within or attached in a stealth manner to the main structure on the parcel or is attached to a public utility structure in a visually unobtrusive manner.

K.

If located in a ridgeline or environmental preservation overlay zone, the wireless communications facility complies with Chapter 17.5.

L.

No wireless communications facility may exceed the maximum height permitted for the main structure in any zone, except that roof-mounted and facade-mounted facilities in nonresidential zones or on public, semi-public or nonprofit buildings may project up to fifteen (15) feet above the roofline of the existing structure regardless of total height. Wireless communications facilities attached to a public utility structure may not exceed the existing height of the public utility structure regardless of total height.

(Ord. 99-5 § 2 (Exh. A (part))