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Meeting The Challenges of Zoning in the Information Age: Planning For Wireless Communications Facilities | |
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Meeting The Challenges of Zoning in the Information Age: Planning For Wireless Communications Facilities | |
As a means of measuring the usefulness of having regulations in place for wireless communications facilities, two communities have been selected (as described in the methodology chapter) as case studies for this project. Before examining the impacts of the model ordinance on Londonderry, NH, and Fishers, IN, it is useful to examine their current situations in terms of wireless communications facilities. (This section is done assuming that Londonderry does not have regulatory language in place, which was the case until December 23, 1996, when the Town Council passed zoning amendments dealing with wireless facilities. The application of the model ordinance for Londonderry is still applicable, since I wrote Londonderry's zoning amendments and they are very similar.)
Londonderry does not have any ordinance language dealing with wireless facilities, and its current practice requires only a building permit be issued by the town's Building Inspector. There are no requirements for site plans unless the Building Inspector requests one from the applicant. Because of the way the town's zoning ordinance is written, any uses not covered in the ordinance are assumed to be legal uses in all of its zoning districts.
Without any regulatory backing, the town's Director of Planning & Economic Development, Peter C. Lowitt, AICP, is concerned. The town currently has one tower in use, and since the passing of the Telecommunications Act, it has received applications for two more. The town is now served by three service providers, Cellular One, Nextel, and Sprint Spectrum. This map shows the locations of existing and approved towers in Londonderry. Because of the town's location near Manchester, and the location of Interstate 93, Lowitt expects that several more towers will need to be constructed to serve the town's population and those traveling along I-93.
Fishers, like Londonderry, does not have any language in its ordinances dealing with wireless communications facilities. In Fishers, however, the ordinances work differently than in Londonderry. Wireless facilities are essentially not allowed in any of Fishers' zoning districts. Fishers requires every application for a wireless facility to receive a variance for a special use from the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Fishers currently has three towers in use, and two which have received variances and are awaiting construction. Fishers is served by several wireless providers following the Telecommunications Act (GTE, Ameritech, Sprint, and Cellular One). The map below shows the existing and approved towers in Fishers. Planning & Zoning Administrator Jon Issacs is concerned about tower proliferation due to Fishers' location near Indianapolis and the rapidly growing population of the community.
Contrary to the belief of Peter Lowitt, the projections of tower buildout in Londonderry will not include very many additional towers. The future of Londonderry's wireless infrastructure depends greatly upon the auctioning of electromagnetic spectrum by the FCC. The exact number of new wireless service providers depends entirely upon the number of new service providers that enter into the Londonderry market area.
Using the GIS to determine the coverage area of the existing and approved antenna structures (all of which are between the heights of 120 and 150 feet from grade), the existing number of towers is adequate to provide coverage for the entire town. Nextel, Cellular One and Sprint should be well served by their existing facilities.
Projecting the introduction of new service providers is slightly more complicated. This project assumes that there will be the introduction of one additional service provider in Londonderry. This assumption is based upon the likelihood of Manchester approving towers near the Manchester Airport which will serve Londonderry residents, the slight reduction in growth rate for Londonderry, and the existence of several towers both north and south of Londonderry along I-93. With 3 service providers serving the community already, I do not feel that the FCC would have much to gain by allowing more than one additional service provider to locate within Londonderry.
Where would this new facility locate in Londonderry? The data suggests that a new facility could be located in a variety of locations. The projection used here, and shown on the map on page 69, suggests that a tower between the heights of 100 feet and 150 feet would locate in an area zoned AR-I (Agricultural/Residential) north of Litchfield Road. This location is near the center of town, and would have sufficient range to serve the entire town. The projected location would also better serve the proposed Eco-Industrial park planned for the northwestern part of town, south of Manchester Airport, than the other facilities located in town (sound quality would be better with the new provider, though the three existing facilities do have more than sufficient range to service the Eco-Industrial Park).
While the location of this new facility would provide a good service to the town, the location is near the town's apple orchards, a cherished part of the town culture. Obviously, this is not an area that town officials, nor the town's residents would like to see. However, if the service provider wished to locate there and owner of the property was willing to lease the site, there would be little the town could do, without regulations in place, to prevent the placement of the facility in this area of town.
Fishers, like Londonderry, is very well served by the existing and approved towers already in place. Each of the existing service providers have facilities of sufficient height to serve the entire town, although Cellular One's facility does so at a reduced sound quality at the fringes of town. A key factor in the development of Fishers' wireless infrastructure will be the future growth of the town's residential population. If population continues to grow at present rates, the pool of potential wireless subscribers will grow, becoming very attractive to service providers.
As it was in Londonderry, the future of Fishers' wireless infrastructure depends greatly upon the FCC and its auctions of new portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Assuming that the population of Fishers continues its rapid growth, it is estimated that there is the potential for two additional service providers to locate facilities within Fishers. This assumption is likely to be affected also by the importance of Fishers' location in relation to Indianapolis. Because Indianapolis is such an important trip generator and trip destination, service providers are most likely willing to locate along the Interstate highways that serve the metropolitan area.
As shown in the map above, Interstate 69 remains the key element in locational potential for new wireless facilities. The projections generated from the GIS show that two new service providers would locate towers along I-69, and that Cellular One would locate an additional tower near the Hamilton Commons Outlet Mall (on the eastern edge of town). The new facilities would be approximately 100 feet tall for the new service providers, and Cellular One's new facility would be between 80 and 100 feet tall.
The potential new locations have obvious drawbacks. There seems to be an atmosphere of unimpeeded tower building in this part of Indiana. In Fishers, and the surrounding area, there are already 12 towers with two approved & awaiting construction. The addition of new facilities will only add to the tower proliferation that exists already.
The projections for tower buildout in both communities suggest that there is a real need for regulation. By using the GIS and imposing some restrictions on new facility locations based on the model regulations from Chapter 5 of this document, the negative effects of these potential new facilities can be mitigated, as described in the following two sections.
The imposition of a new service provider in the Londonderry area is easily resolved under the proposed model regulations. Under the model regulations, the provisions related to co-location of different service providers becomes the solution to the imposition of a new provider. By locating the new antennas on the (not yet constructed, but approved) Cellular One tower, the new provider will be able to have coverage for the entire town, without the need for another tower. The Cellular One tower is approved for 150 feet, so locating the new provider's antennas at between 100 feet and 120 feet will be sufficient for adequate coverage.
Though not projected by the GIS, there may be the potential for facilities to be needed in the area of the proposed Eco-Industrial park. This would not be a problem under the regulations, as facilities could be located in the Industrially zoned area for the park. Because the town already has coverage, this new facility would be a small (under 80 feet) tower designed for heavy usage of wireless communication devices in connection to the Eco-Industrial Park.
Fishers would also benefit from the adoption of the proposed model regulations. Again, as was the case in Londonderry, co-location is the key for providing locations for the new service providers. Because Fishers is located in an area that already has many towers, the new facilities can easily co-locate on existing towers.
The new service providers can share a tower in two locations. One service provider can co-locate on the GTE tower located in the Town Center District, the other can co-locate on an existing microwave tower located in between the two I-69 exits located in Fishers. The potential new Cellular One facility can co-locate on the proposed GTE tower located near Hamilton Commons. The buildout projections under the regulations are shown in the map above.