14.242.050 Siting Hierarchy.
Siting of antennas or support structures shall adhere to the siting hierarchy of this section. The order of preference ranking for antennas or antenna support structures, from highest to lowest, shall be Tier 1 to Tier 4. Except where a Tier 1 WCF is proposed, the applicant shall file relevant information including but not limited to an analysis and affidavit by a registered professional electrical engineer licensed in the State of Washington demonstrating that, despite diligent efforts to adhere to the established hierarchy within the geographic search area, higher tier options are not technically feasible or not justified given the location of the proposed wireless communications facility and the need to cover significant gaps in network coverage.
A. Tier 1 - A WCF that is:
1. Concealed entirely within a non-residential building.
2. Incorporated into the exterior architecture of an existing building above the first floor to match the building’s design.
3. Designed with no antenna extending more than 12 feet above a utility pole or structure (other than a building) constructed for a non-WCF purpose upon which it is mounted.
4. Located on an existing monopole or lattice structure in compliance with all original conditions of approval.
5. Located on a high-voltage transmission tower within a transmission right-of-way and outside a public street right-of-way.
6. A new monopole-style WCF with antennas in a canister located within the Business Park or Industrial designation.
7. Located on a City water tower.
8. Except as otherwise listed, any alternative not visible, and not anticipated to become visible, from any off-site location.
9. Determined to be consistent with the purpose of this subsection and resulting in an equivalent or lower visual impact than the WCF alternatives in this subsection due to incorporation of technologies not in common use as of the date of this ordinance.
B. Tier 2 - A WCF that is:
1. Located on a new or existing utility pole within a City right-of-way and extending no more than 25 feet above the existing pole height and having no antenna or other equipment extending more than 3 feet from the exterior of the pole on which it is mounted.
2. Located on the flat roof of an existing non-residential building in a commercial or industrial designation and extending no more than 20 feet above the existing roof, provided the WCF is no closer to the edge of the roof than the height of the WCF.
C. Tier 3 - A WCF that is:
1. Located on City-owned land not intended for public recreation where vegetation removal is the minimum necessary to allow installation and maintenance of the facilities, and where vegetation adjacent to the WCF location screens 80 percent of the height of the WCF where visible from off-site locations.
2. Located on a new or existing utility pole within a City minor arterial and extending no more than 40 feet above the existing pole height and having no antenna or other equipment extending more than3 feet from the exterior of the pole on which it is mounted.
D. Tier 4 - WCF not meeting any of the options in A through C above when no reasonable alternative exists, where the facility height is demonstrated to be the lowest necessary to meet functional requirements, and when consistent with the following provisions:
1. In developed street rights-of-way adjacent to residential designations where located on wood support structures a maximum of 60 feet in height.
2. On non-building tracts within residential designations where vegetation removal is the minimum necessary to allow installation and maintenance of the facilities, and where vegetation adjacent to the WCF screens 80 percent of the height of the WCF from off-site locations.
3. On publicly owned lands of three acres or larger and located to minimize visibility from and impacts to adjacent properties.
4. In the Commercial, Mixed Use, and Pilchuck District designations, only where located on properties without residential uses and set back at least 20 feet from the front property line. The support structure shall be set back a distance equal to the height of the support structure from any residential designation.