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1 | AN ACT concerning telecommunications.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | |||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing Section | |||||||||||||||||||
5 | 5-12001.1 as
follows:
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6 | (55 ILCS 5/5-12001.1)
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7 | Sec. 5-12001.1. Authority to regulate certain specified | |||||||||||||||||||
8 | facilities of a
telecommunications carrier.
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9 | (a) Notwithstanding any other Section in this Division, the | |||||||||||||||||||
10 | county board or
board of county commissioners of any county | |||||||||||||||||||
11 | shall have the power to
regulate the location of the | |||||||||||||||||||
12 | facilities, as defined in subsection (c), of a
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13 | telecommunications carrier established outside the corporate | |||||||||||||||||||
14 | limits of cities,
villages, and incorporated towns that have | |||||||||||||||||||
15 | municipal zoning ordinances in
effect. The power shall only be | |||||||||||||||||||
16 | exercised to the extent and in the manner set
forth in this | |||||||||||||||||||
17 | Section.
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18 | (b) The provisions of this Section shall not abridge any | |||||||||||||||||||
19 | rights created by
or authority confirmed in the federal | |||||||||||||||||||
20 | Telecommunications Act of 1996, P.L.
104-104.
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21 | (c) As used in this Section, unless the context otherwise | |||||||||||||||||||
22 | requires:
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23 | (1) "county jurisdiction area" means those portions of | |||||||||||||||||||
24 | a county that lie
outside the corporate limits of cities, | |||||||||||||||||||
25 | villages, and incorporated towns that
have municipal | |||||||||||||||||||
26 | zoning ordinances in effect;
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27 | (2) "county board" means the county board or board of | |||||||||||||||||||
28 | county commissioners
of any county;
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29 | (3) "residential zoning district" means a zoning | |||||||||||||||||||
30 | district that is
designated under a county zoning ordinance | |||||||||||||||||||
31 | and is zoned predominantly for
residential uses;
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32 | (4) "non-residential zoning district" means the county |
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| |||||||
1 | jurisdiction area
of a county, except for those portions | ||||||
2 | within a residential zoning district;
| ||||||
3 | (5) "residentially zoned lot" means a zoning lot in a | ||||||
4 | residential zoning
district;
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5 | (6) "non-residentially zoned lot" means a zoning lot in | ||||||
6 | a non-residential
zoning district;
| ||||||
7 | (7) "telecommunications carrier" means a | ||||||
8 | telecommunications carrier as
defined in the Public | ||||||
9 | Utilities Act as of January 1, 1997;
| ||||||
10 | (8) "facility" means that part of the signal | ||||||
11 | distribution system used or
operated by a | ||||||
12 | telecommunications carrier under a license from the FCC
| ||||||
13 | consisting of a combination of improvements and equipment | ||||||
14 | including (i) one or
more antennas, (ii) a supporting | ||||||
15 | structure and the hardware by which antennas
are attached; | ||||||
16 | (iii) equipment housing; and (iv) ancillary equipment such | ||||||
17 | as
signal transmission cables and miscellaneous hardware;
| ||||||
18 | (9) "FAA" means the Federal Aviation Administration of | ||||||
19 | the United States
Department of Transportation;
| ||||||
20 | (10) "FCC" means the Federal Communications | ||||||
21 | Commission;
| ||||||
22 | (11) "antenna" means an antenna device by which radio | ||||||
23 | signals are
transmitted, received, or both;
| ||||||
24 | (12) "supporting structure" means a structure, whether | ||||||
25 | an antenna tower or
another type of structure, that | ||||||
26 | supports one or more antennas as part of a
facility;
| ||||||
27 | (13) "qualifying structure" means a supporting | ||||||
28 | structure that is (i) an
existing structure, if the height | ||||||
29 | of the facility, including the structure, is
not more than | ||||||
30 | 15 feet higher than the structure just before the facility | ||||||
31 | is
installed, or (ii) a substantially similar, | ||||||
32 | substantially same-location
replacement of an existing | ||||||
33 | structure, if the height of the facility, including
the | ||||||
34 | replacement structure, is not more than 15 feet higher than | ||||||
35 | the height of
the existing structure just before the | ||||||
36 | facility is installed;
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| |||||||
1 | (14) "equipment housing" means a combination of one or | ||||||
2 | more equipment
buildings or enclosures housing equipment | ||||||
3 | that operates in conjunction with
the antennas of a | ||||||
4 | facility, and the equipment itself;
| ||||||
5 | (15) "height" of a facility means the total height of | ||||||
6 | the facility's
supporting structure and any antennas that | ||||||
7 | will extend above the top of the
supporting structure; | ||||||
8 | however, if the supporting structure's foundation extends
| ||||||
9 | more than 3 feet above the uppermost ground level along the | ||||||
10 | perimeter of the
foundation, then each full foot in excess | ||||||
11 | of 3 feet shall be counted as an
additional foot of | ||||||
12 | facility height. The height of a facility's supporting
| ||||||
13 | structure is to be measured from the highest point of the | ||||||
14 | supporting
structure's foundation;
| ||||||
15 | (16) "facility lot" means the zoning lot on which a | ||||||
16 | facility is or will be
located;
| ||||||
17 | (17) "principal residential building" has its common | ||||||
18 | meaning but shall not
include any building under the same | ||||||
19 | ownership as the land of the facility lot.
"Principal | ||||||
20 | residential building" shall not include any structure that | ||||||
21 | is not
designed for human habitation;
| ||||||
22 | (18) "horizontal separation distance" means the | ||||||
23 | distance measured from the
center of the base of the | ||||||
24 | facility's supporting structure to the point where
the | ||||||
25 | ground meets a vertical wall of a principal residential | ||||||
26 | building; and
| ||||||
27 | (19) "lot line set back distance" means the distance | ||||||
28 | measured from the
center of the base of the facility's | ||||||
29 | supporting structure to the nearest point
on the common lot | ||||||
30 | line between the facility lot and the nearest residentially
| ||||||
31 | zoned lot. If there is no common lot line, the measurement | ||||||
32 | shall be made to
the nearest point on the lot line of the | ||||||
33 | nearest residentially zoned lot
without deducting the | ||||||
34 | width of any intervening right of way.
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35 | (d) In choosing a location for a facility, a
| ||||||
36 | telecommunications carrier shall consider the following:
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1 | (1) A non-residentially zoned lot is the most desirable | ||||||
2 | location.
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3 | (2) A residentially zoned lot that is not used for | ||||||
4 | residential purposes is
the second most desirable | ||||||
5 | location.
| ||||||
6 | (3) A residentially zoned lot that is 2 acres or more | ||||||
7 | in size and is used
for residential purposes is the third | ||||||
8 | most desirable location.
| ||||||
9 | (4) A residentially zoned lot that is less than 2 acres | ||||||
10 | in size and is
used for residential purposes is the least | ||||||
11 | desirable location.
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12 | The size of a lot shall be the lot's gross area in square | ||||||
13 | feet without
deduction of any unbuildable or unusable land, any | ||||||
14 | roadway, or any other
easement.
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15 | (e) In designing a facility, a telecommunications carrier | ||||||
16 | shall consider the
following guidelines:
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17 | (1) No building or tower that is part of a facility | ||||||
18 | should encroach onto
any recorded easement prohibiting the | ||||||
19 | encroachment unless the grantees of the
easement have given | ||||||
20 | their approval.
| ||||||
21 | (2) Lighting should be installed for security and | ||||||
22 | safety purposes only.
Except with respect to lighting | ||||||
23 | required by the FCC or FAA, all lighting should
be shielded | ||||||
24 | so that no glare extends substantially beyond the | ||||||
25 | boundaries of a
facility.
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26 | (3) No facility should encroach onto an existing septic | ||||||
27 | field.
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28 | (4) Any facility located in a special flood hazard area | ||||||
29 | or wetland should
meet the legal requirements for those | ||||||
30 | lands.
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31 | (5) Existing trees more than 3 inches in diameter | ||||||
32 | should be preserved if
reasonably feasible during | ||||||
33 | construction. If any tree more than 3 inches in
diameter is | ||||||
34 | removed during construction a tree 3 inches or more in | ||||||
35 | diameter of
the same or a similar species shall be planted | ||||||
36 | as a replacement if reasonably
feasible. Tree diameter |
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1 | shall be measured at a point 3 feet above ground
level.
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2 | (6) If any elevation of a facility faces an existing, | ||||||
3 | adjoining
residential use within a residential zoning | ||||||
4 | district, low maintenance
landscaping should be provided | ||||||
5 | on or near the facility lot to provide at least
partial | ||||||
6 | screening of the facility. The quantity and type of that | ||||||
7 | landscaping
should be in accordance with any county | ||||||
8 | landscaping regulations of general
applicability, except | ||||||
9 | that paragraph (5) of this subsection (e) shall control
| ||||||
10 | over any tree-related regulations imposing a greater | ||||||
11 | burden.
| ||||||
12 | (7) Fencing should be installed around a facility. The | ||||||
13 | height and
materials of the fencing should be in accordance | ||||||
14 | with any county fence
regulations of general | ||||||
15 | applicability.
| ||||||
16 | (8) Any building that is part of a facility located | ||||||
17 | adjacent to a
residentially zoned lot should be designed | ||||||
18 | with exterior materials and colors
that are reasonably | ||||||
19 | compatible with the residential character of the area.
| ||||||
20 | (f) The following provisions shall apply to all facilities | ||||||
21 | established in
any county jurisdiction area after the effective | ||||||
22 | date of the amendatory Act of
1997:
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23 | (1) Except as provided in this Section, no yard or set | ||||||
24 | back
regulations shall apply to or be required for a | ||||||
25 | facility.
| ||||||
26 | (2) A facility may be located on the same zoning lot as | ||||||
27 | one or more other
structures or uses without violating any | ||||||
28 | ordinance or regulation that prohibits
or limits multiple | ||||||
29 | structures, buildings, or uses on a zoning lot.
| ||||||
30 | (3) No minimum lot area, width, or depth shall be | ||||||
31 | required for a facility,
and unless the facility is to be | ||||||
32 | manned on a regular, daily basis, no
off-street parking | ||||||
33 | spaces shall be required for a facility. If the facility is
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34 | to be manned on a regular, daily basis, one off-street | ||||||
35 | parking space shall be
provided for each employee regularly | ||||||
36 | at the facility. No loading facilities
are required.
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1 | (4) No portion of a facility's supporting structure or | ||||||
2 | equipment housing
shall be less than 15 feet from the front | ||||||
3 | lot line of the facility lot or less
than 10 feet from any | ||||||
4 | other lot line.
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5 | (5) No bulk regulations or lot coverage, building | ||||||
6 | coverage, or floor area
ratio limitations shall be applied | ||||||
7 | to a facility or to any existing use or
structure | ||||||
8 | coincident with the establishment of a facility. Except as | ||||||
9 | provided
in this Section, no height limits or restrictions | ||||||
10 | shall apply to a facility.
| ||||||
11 | (6) A county's review of a building permit application | ||||||
12 | for a facility
shall
be completed within 30 days. If a | ||||||
13 | decision of the county board is required to
permit the | ||||||
14 | establishment of a facility, the county's review of the | ||||||
15 | application
shall be simultaneous with the process leading | ||||||
16 | to the county board's decision.
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17 | (7) The improvements and equipment comprising the | ||||||
18 | facility may be wholly
or partly freestanding or wholly or | ||||||
19 | partly attached to, enclosed in, or
installed in or on a | ||||||
20 | structure or structures.
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21 | (8) Any public hearing authorized under this Section | ||||||
22 | shall be conducted in
a manner determined by the county | ||||||
23 | board. Notice of any such public hearing
shall be published | ||||||
24 | at least 15 days before the hearing in a newspaper of
| ||||||
25 | general circulation published in the county.
| ||||||
26 | (9) Any decision regarding a facility by the county | ||||||
27 | board or a county
agency
or official shall be supported by | ||||||
28 | written findings of fact. The circuit court
shall have | ||||||
29 | jurisdiction to review the reasonableness of any adverse | ||||||
30 | decision
and the plaintiff shall bear the burden of proof, | ||||||
31 | but there shall be no
presumption of the validity of the | ||||||
32 | decision.
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33 | (g) The following provisions shall apply to all facilities | ||||||
34 | established after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
35 | 1997 in the county jurisdiction
area of any county with a | ||||||
36 | population of less than 180,000:
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1 | (1) A facility is permitted if its supporting structure | ||||||
2 | is a qualifying
structure or if both of the following | ||||||
3 | conditions are met:
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4 | (A) the height of the facility shall not exceed 200 | ||||||
5 | feet, except that
if a facility is located more than | ||||||
6 | one and one-half miles from the corporate
limits of any | ||||||
7 | municipality with a population of 25,000 or more the | ||||||
8 | height of
the facility shall not exceed 350 feet; and
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9 | (B) the horizontal separation distance to the | ||||||
10 | nearest principal
residential building shall not be | ||||||
11 | less than the height of the supporting
structure; | ||||||
12 | except that if the supporting structure exceeds 99 feet | ||||||
13 | in height,
the horizontal separation distance to the | ||||||
14 | nearest principal residential
building shall be at | ||||||
15 | least 100 feet or 80% of the height of the supporting
| ||||||
16 | structure, whichever is greater. Compliance with this | ||||||
17 | paragraph shall only be
evaluated as of
the time that a | ||||||
18 | building permit application for the facility is | ||||||
19 | submitted. If
the supporting structure is not an | ||||||
20 | antenna tower this paragraph is satisfied.
| ||||||
21 | (2) Unless a facility is permitted under paragraph (1) | ||||||
22 | of this subsection
(g), a facility can be established only | ||||||
23 | after the county board gives its
approval following | ||||||
24 | consideration of the provisions of paragraph (3) of this
| ||||||
25 | subsection (g). The county board may give its approval | ||||||
26 | after one public
hearing on the proposal, but only by the | ||||||
27 | favorable vote of a majority of the
members present
at a | ||||||
28 | meeting held no later than 75 days after submission of a
| ||||||
29 | complete application by the telecommunications carrier. If | ||||||
30 | the county board
fails to act on the application within 75 | ||||||
31 | days after its submission,
the application shall be deemed | ||||||
32 | to have been approved. No more than one public
hearing | ||||||
33 | shall be required.
| ||||||
34 | (3) For purposes of paragraph (2) of this subsection | ||||||
35 | (g), the following
siting considerations, but no other | ||||||
36 | matter, shall be considered by the county
board or any |
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1 | other body conducting the public hearing:
| ||||||
2 | (A) the criteria in subsection (d) of this Section;
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3 | (B) whether a substantial adverse effect on public | ||||||
4 | safety will result
from some aspect of the facility's | ||||||
5 | design or proposed construction, but only if
that | ||||||
6 | aspect of design or construction is modifiable by the | ||||||
7 | applicant;
| ||||||
8 | (C) the benefits to be derived by the users of the | ||||||
9 | services to be
provided
or enhanced by the facility and | ||||||
10 | whether public safety and emergency response
| ||||||
11 | capabilities would benefit by the establishment of the | ||||||
12 | facility;
| ||||||
13 | (D) the existing uses on adjacent and nearby | ||||||
14 | properties; and
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15 | (E) the extent to which the design of the proposed | ||||||
16 | facility reflects
compliance with subsection (e) of | ||||||
17 | this Section.
| ||||||
18 | (4) On judicial review of an adverse decision, the | ||||||
19 | issue shall be the
reasonableness of the county board's | ||||||
20 | decision in light of the evidence
presented on the siting | ||||||
21 | considerations and the well-reasoned recommendations
of | ||||||
22 | any other body that conducts the public hearing.
| ||||||
23 | (h) The following provisions shall apply to all facilities | ||||||
24 | established
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
25 | 1997 in the county
jurisdiction area of any county with
a | ||||||
26 | population of 180,000 or more. A facility is
permitted in any | ||||||
27 | zoning district subject to the following:
| ||||||
28 | (1) A facility shall not be located on a lot under | ||||||
29 | paragraph (4) of
subsection (d) unless a variation is | ||||||
30 | granted by the county board under
paragraph
(4) of this | ||||||
31 | subsection (h).
| ||||||
32 | (2) Unless a height variation is granted by the county | ||||||
33 | board, the height
of a facility shall not exceed 75 feet if | ||||||
34 | the facility will
be located in a residential zoning | ||||||
35 | district or 200 feet if the facility will be
located in a | ||||||
36 | non-residential zoning district. However, the height of a
|
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| |||||||
1 | facility may
exceed the height limit in this paragraph, and | ||||||
2 | no height variation shall be
required, if the supporting | ||||||
3 | structure is a qualifying structure.
| ||||||
4 | (3) The improvements and equipment of the facility | ||||||
5 | shall be placed to
comply
with the requirements of this | ||||||
6 | paragraph at the time a building permit
application for the | ||||||
7 | facility is submitted. If the supporting structure is an
| ||||||
8 | antenna tower other than a qualifying structure then (i) if | ||||||
9 | the facility will
be located in a residential zoning | ||||||
10 | district the lot line set back distance to
the
nearest | ||||||
11 | residentially zoned lot shall be at least 50% of the height | ||||||
12 | of the
facility's supporting structure or (ii) if the | ||||||
13 | facility will be located in a
non-residential zoning | ||||||
14 | district the horizontal separation distance to the
nearest | ||||||
15 | principal residential building shall be at least equal to | ||||||
16 | the height of
the facility's supporting structure.
| ||||||
17 | (4) The county board may grant variations for any of | ||||||
18 | the regulations,
conditions, and restrictions of this | ||||||
19 | subsection (h), after one public hearing
on the
proposed | ||||||
20 | variations, by a favorable vote of a majority of the | ||||||
21 | members present
at a meeting held no later than 75 days | ||||||
22 | after submission of an application by
the | ||||||
23 | telecommunications carrier. If the county board fails to | ||||||
24 | act on the
application within 75 days after submission, the | ||||||
25 | application shall be deemed to
have been approved. In its | ||||||
26 | consideration of an application for variations,
the county
| ||||||
27 | board, and any other body conducting the public hearing, | ||||||
28 | shall consider the
following, and no other matters:
| ||||||
29 | (A) whether, but for the granting of a variation, | ||||||
30 | the service that the
telecommunications carrier seeks | ||||||
31 | to enhance or provide with the proposed
facility will | ||||||
32 | be less available, impaired, or diminished in quality, | ||||||
33 | quantity,
or scope of
coverage;
| ||||||
34 | (B) whether the conditions upon which the | ||||||
35 | application for variations is
based are unique in some | ||||||
36 | respect or, if not, whether the strict application of
|
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| |||||||
1 | the regulations would result in a hardship on the | ||||||
2 | telecommunications carrier;
| ||||||
3 | (C) whether a substantial adverse effect on public | ||||||
4 | safety will result
from
some aspect of the facility's | ||||||
5 | design or proposed construction, but only if that
| ||||||
6 | aspect of design or construction is modifiable by the | ||||||
7 | applicant;
| ||||||
8 | (D) whether there are benefits to be derived by the | ||||||
9 | users of the
services to
be provided or enhanced by the | ||||||
10 | facility and whether public safety and emergency
| ||||||
11 | response capabilities would benefit by the | ||||||
12 | establishment of the facility; and
| ||||||
13 | (E) the extent to which the design of the proposed | ||||||
14 | facility reflects
compliance with subsection (e) of | ||||||
15 | this Section.
| ||||||
16 | No more than one public hearing shall be required.
| ||||||
17 | (5) On judicial review of an adverse decision, the | ||||||
18 | issue shall be the
reasonableness of the county board's | ||||||
19 | decision in light of the evidence
presented and the | ||||||
20 | well-reasoned recommendations of any other body that
| ||||||
21 | conducted the public hearing.
| ||||||
22 | (Source: P.A. 90-522, eff. 1-1-98.)
|