Extracted text (via pymupdf)
15445 characters
ITEM 6.b. TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS STAFF REPORT Meeting Date: 9/14/2026 Meeting Type: Planning and Zoning Commission Regular Meeting Submitting Department: Development Services Prepared by: John Wesley, Development Services Director Staff Contact Information: Phone: 480-816-5138 Email: jwesley@fountainhillsaz.gov Request to Town Council Regular Meeting (Agenda Language) PUBLIC HEARING, with CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION: Relating to Ordinance 26-12 repealing and replacing Zoning Ordinance Chapter 17, Wireless Telecommunication Towers and Antennas. Staff Summary (background) Staff and the Commission began work to revise Zoning Ordinance Chapter 17 at the regular meeting in March 2025. Over the next couple of months, the Commission reviewed the existing zoning ordinance and the draft ordinance provided by Mr. Campanelli for modification of Chapter 17 of the Zoning Ordinance. Given the legal and technical requirements involved in this ordinance, work was delayed until a decision was made to hire a consultant to help address all the ordinances and issues related to wireless telecommunications. To help complete this project, with direction from the Town Council, staff entered into a contract with McCollough Law Firm PC to assist staff in the drafting of the updates to the ordinances and associated documents. This firm was selected based on their expertise in this field of law and their responsiveness to working with staff to complete this project in a timely manner. Over the last several months, the consultant and staff have worked to revise Chapter 17 to provide the maximum protection for the town while also complying with legal requirements and providing reasonable means to have adequate wireless communication coverage throughout the Town. A work session was held on July 28, 2026, during which the consultant reviewed the draft revised ordinance with the Commission. Commissioners asked questions and requested a few changes be made to the draft ordinance. Those comments have been considered by the consultant and staff and resulted in several changes to the draft ordinance. On Monday, August 31, 2026, staff received an email from a citizen, Lori Troller, listing 19 comments and suggestions she had for items to be included in either the update to Chapter 17 or to the small wireless facilities ordinance, or both. A copy of her email is attached. The consultant has been able to review those comments and suggestions and incorporate revisions into the ordinance to address most of them. Attached are two copies of the final draft ordinance. One is a version of Chapter 17 as presented to the Commission at the July work session with all the changes presented at that time accepted and red lines showing the changes made based on the comments received. The second version is a clean copy of the ordinance with all the new changes accepted. Also attached is a copy of the strikethrough version of the draft ordinance presented at the July work session. Finally, a copy of the email from Ms. Troller is attached. This report provides an overview of the new ordinance, including changes made based on the discussion at the Commission work session and comments received from the public. Section 17.01 Purpose, Intent, and Applicability The list of purposes for the ordinance has been expanded to a more comprehensive description of the goals for the ordinance. The intent provisions have been expanded to more fully capture the intent to comply with Federal Communication Commission rules. A statement regarding the intent to protect Sonoran Desert tortoises was added. The applicability section now has a statement that clearly requires existing towers and antennas to comply with the new regulations when they are modified in any manner. Section 17.02 Definitions The definitions section has been greatly expanded to ensure a clear understanding of the terms used in the ordinance. In response to the request to call out OET Bulletin 65, the consultant noted this bulletin is no longer binding. Instead, the definition of "General population/uncontrolled exposure limits" was expanded to add the current standard from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Laboratory Division's advisory Knowledge Database. One change has been included as a result of the discussion by the Commission at the work session. There was a request to mandate iron phosphate batteries for fire safety. The change has been made in Sec. 7.03 C 4 and will be discussed below. Adding this language, however, prompted a need to add a definition for "thermal runaway." The added definition is: "Thermal runaway" means self-heating of an electrochemical system in an uncontrollable fashion. Section 17.03 Requirements Section 17.03 A, General Requirements, has remained largely unchanged. There are a few changes from the draft presented at the work session addressing comments which were made. Those include: • Section 17.03 A 3 e i. Removed the language regarding certain types of designs that could be used to camouflage a tower and antennas. The concern was that by stating specific types of camouflage, applicants would design to those choices rather than provide a more site-specific solution. • Section 17.03 A 3 h i. Removed the last sentence regarding using additional palm trees to help screen a tower. This was removed as a companion to the change in A 3 e i regarding specific design solutions. Additional trees may still be required, but it is not limited to palm trees. • To address the topic of facilities that are data only, added Section 17.03 A 3. j. Data-Only and Information Service Facilities. To the maximum extent permitted by federal and state law, any wireless facility used exclusively for the provision of an information service, data collection, telemetry, machine-to-machine communication, sensing, monitoring, or another service that does not constitute a personal wireless service under 47 U.S.C. ss 332(c)(7)(C) or a telecommunications service protected by 47 U.S.C. ss 253 shall be installed underground or flush with grad, including its antenna, antenna equipment and accessory equipment, where technically feasible. An applicant seeking above-ground installation shall demonstrate through clear and convincing technical evidence that underground or flush-to-grade installation would prevent the facility from performing its intended function and that the proposed above-ground installation is the least visually intrusive technically feasible alternative. Nothing in this subsection shall require underground placement to the extent the applicant demonstrates that such requirement is expressly prohibited or preempted by applicable federal or Arizona law. • To address the topic of ensuring the antenna are not too close to people on the ground in the vicinity of the tower, added Section 17.03 A 15. Minimum Height of Antennas. All antennas shall be located such that: a. Any person walking adjacent to the transmitting surface of the antenna will be walking on a grade that is a minimum of eight and one-half (8.5) feet below the transmitting surface; and, b. No person at ground level will be exposed to an exposure level that is higher than allowed by the FCC’s general population exposure rules. • Added Section 17.03 A 16. Fall Zone. Each new tower shall maintain a fall zone having a radius of not less than one hundred twenty-five percent (125%) of the total height of the tower, measured from the base of the tower. The fall zone of any tower, pole shall not overlap, in whole or in part, any portion of a public sidewalk, street, alley, right-of-way, or occupied building. A couple of significant changes were made to Section 17.03 B Minimum Setbacks and Separations. • Section 17.03 B 1 a was modified to remove a statement that referred to separation distances that were in a former table included in the ordinance. Given the change to require all towers to be at least 500' from any residential zone or use rather than the variety of separation options that were included in Table 1, the remainder of the statement in Sec. 17.03 B 1 a was no longer relevant or needed. A sentence was added to this provision clarifying that for towers using guy wires, the separation distance is measured from the anchor point of the guy wires. • Section 17.03 B 2 a regarding setbacks and separations was modified significantly to increase the separation requirement from towers to residential properties. The existing ordinance could allow towers within 100 feet of multifamily developments. The new ordinance requires all towers to be at least 500 feet from any residential use or zoning district. There is a provision, however, that the Town Council a reduction down to 300 feet if the applicant provides information and data showing the goals of the ordinance are better served at the reduced distance. • Section 17.03 B 2 b also includes a table for separation distances between towers. Table 17.03 B was amended to increase the separation distance by 500' for most tower heights. The separation distance between towers less than 40' in height was just increased 250'. At the work session several Commissioners expressed support to require a specific type of battery to decrease potential fires hazards. This language was added in Section 17.03 C: 4. Battery Safety. Any battery energy storage or backup power system installed in connection with a PSWF shall utilize lithium ion phosphate (LiFePO4 or LPE) batteries, which are less prone to thermal runaway and fire hazard. All battery systems shall comply with applicable fire, electrical, building, and product-safety codes and standards. Section 17.03 D, Co-location, has remained largely unchanged. Section 17.04 Application Types This section was modified to require all new towers to go through a public review process. Another change was to add minimal submittal requirements for temporary wireless facilities in Section 17.04 A 6. Section 17.05 Application Submittal, Review, and Processing In the ordinance reviewed by the Commission at the work session, Section 17.05 A regarding general application requirements had been significantly modified to increase the General submission requirements. Items 5 - 18, which include things such as fire safety information, visual impact analysis, FCC compliance report, and effective prohibition claims, were all added to the items required. Those have remained largely the same with a few additions being made. 17.05 A 11 was amended to provide more specificity to the requirement for balloon tests regarding the date and time these can occur. 17.05 A 16 b i (a) was amended to require the exact time of day when a drive test was completed. 17.05 A 16 b ii and iii was amended to add additional equipment used and activities occurring during a drive test. 17.05 A 20 was amended to add a new k requiring in more detail a biological resource survey addressing impacts on locally present protected species, to include Sonoran Desert Tortoises. Section 17.05 B regarding shot clocks and tolling has remained largely unchanged. Section 17.05 C has not changed. In the previous review at the work session it was noted this section regarding review and processing of applications has been modified to increase the items considered for review. Subsections C 1 h - l are all new. Subsection C 3 regarding review and processing of public review applications was also significantly expanded regarding factual determinations which need to be made. Section 17.06 Maintenance and Operation At the work session it was pointed out that Section 17.06 A regarding removal of abandoned antennas has been expanded to require a bond for the cost of removal and Section 17.06 B regarding state and federal requirements has been greatly expanded to address excessive RF emissions. Changes made since the work session include • Section 17.06 F has been added in response to comments about ensuring ongoing maintenance. This will ensure we have a contact for any required maintenance issues. • A paragraph was added to the end of Section 17.05 H regarding certificates of insurance specifying the quality of the insurance being provided. Section 17.07 Nonconforming Uses This section remains largely unchanged. Section 17.08 Retention of Consultants This is a new section which provides the process for the Town hiring consultants to help administer the requirements of the ordinance. One of the requested additions made by the Commission was to include a requirement that subdivisions over a specified size be required to provide a location for a cell tower. After consideration of where such a provision would go, it was determined that the best place is in the Subdivision Ordinance. The Commission does not provide the Council with recommendations on changes to the Subdivision Ordinance. The language proposed that will be submitted to the Council for approval is in Section 3.03, Subdivision Design Standards. A subsection 10 is added which states: 10. Wireless Communications Facility Planning for Large Developments. For any subdivision containing fifty (50) gross acres or more, the preliminary plat shall identify and propose to preserve at least one location within the subdivision that will be suitable for the potential future installation of a wireless communications tower and associated facilities in accordance with Chapter 17 of the Zoning Ordinance. In selecting such location(s), the subdivider shall prioritize locations that maximize separation from residential lots and other sensitive land uses, minimize visual and aesthetic impacts, utilize existing topography and vegetation for screening, provide suitable access and utility service, and minimize the need for the future siting of wireless communications towers within or immediately adjacent to residential areas. Identification of a location pursuant to this subsection does not constitute approval of a wireless communications facility at that location, and any future facility shall obtain all approvals otherwise required by the Town Code, Zoning Ordinance, and all approvals otherwise required by federal and Arizona law. One of the comments from Ms. Troller is the need to update our application process to reflect the new ordinance requirements. That will be done following Commission action when we are sure any additional changes will be minimal. The new application requirement will be in place before the ordinance goes into effect. Related Ordinance, Policy or Guiding Principle Zoning Ordiannce Chapter 17, Wireless Telecommunication Towers and Antennas Risk Analysis N/A Recommendation(s) by Board(s) or Commission(s) N/A Staff Recommendation(s) Staff supports a recommendation of approval to the Town Council. Suggested Motion MOVE TO recommend adoption of Ordinance 26-12. ATTACHMENTS 1. Final draft for P&Z Hearing - showing changes from work session 2. Ordinance 26-12 Chapter 17 3. Chapter 17 Strikethrough version from July Work Session 4. Lori Troller Ordinance Points of Concern - For distribution to Planning & Zoning Commission members - John Wesley - Outlook