HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESOLUTION NO. 10-03-144STATE OF GEORGIA
COUNTY OF FULTON
RESOLUTION NO. 10-03-144
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MILTON, GEORGIA ENACTING A MORATORIUM FOR
60 DAYS TO BAR THE ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS FOR
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES IN ALL ZONING CLASSIFICATIONS
WHEREAS, the City of Milton, Georgia has been and continues to be a thriving
municipality in an area where the demand for wireless telecommunication services is continuing
unabated;
WHEREAS, as a result of the demand for cellular telecommunication devices,
information delivery devices and other wireless products, the City of Milton has experienced an
increased interest by the telecommunications industry in the siting and construction of towers
and tower accessory structures for the provision of telecommunications services (together
"Tower" or "Towers").
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council presently have in effect a regulatory framework
set forth in Chapter 54 of the City of Milton City Code ("City Code") wherein private entities may
apply for and receive a permit to construct and utilize telecommunications Towers; and
WHEREAS, in accord with this framework, private entities have applied for and received
permits and have constructed telecommunications towers in various areas of the City of Milton;
and
ON" WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council believe the existing City Code is in need of
further enhancement and that it is in the best interest of the public health, safety and welfare of
the citizens of Milton for the City Code to be further amended in order to protect the following
interests:
a. To accommodate the communication needs of Milton residents and businesses
while protecting the public health, safety and general welfare;
b. To assure an appropriate pattern of Milton sitings;
c. To facilitate the provision of wireless communication facilities through careful
siting and design standards;
d. To minimize adverse visual effects of Towers through careful siting and design
standards;
e. To safeguard Milton's remaining agricultural and equestrian land uses;
To avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from the construction and
operation of Towers through structural standards and setback requirements;
g. To ensure that the fee assessed for processing Tower applications is appropriate
and reasonably related to the cost of such review; and
h. To maximize the use of existing Towers, buildings or structures to accommodate
new wireless communication antennas in order to reduce the number of Towers
need to serve the industry.
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council of the City of Milton find and believe that the
haphazard construction and operation of telecommunications towers throughout the City of
Milton presents a public, health, and safety threat; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council believe and find that it is critical that certain
provisions of the City Code addressing the issues identified above be examined and modified to
provide more exacting criteria for the siting of Towers in Milton; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council and their planning staff desire to develop
enhanced standards and guidelines for the issuance of permits for telecommunications Towers;
and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council finds that a moratorium barring for 60 days the
acceptance of applications for permits for telecommunications Towers in all zoning categories is
the absolute minimum necessary prohibition that will allow adequate time to review and revise
those City Code provisions related to telecommunications towers in the City of Milton; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council find a moratorium barring the acceptance of
applications for permits for telecommunications towers to be narrowly tailored and the least
restrictive means available to address the City of Milton's planning needs both in terms of the
60 -day time period and in terms of the moratorium's narrow impact of only affecting permits for
telecommunications Towers; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor and City Council find a moratorium to bar the acceptance of
applications for permits for telecommunications towers to be in the best interests of the public
health, safety, and welfare; and
WHEREAS, a temporary moratorium to preserve the status quo pending the enactment
of a new or enhanced City Code is exempt from the procedural requirements of O.C.G.A. § 36-
66-4; and
WHEREAS, a telecommunications Tower moratorium of reasonable duration does not
require that the procedural requirements of O.C.G.A. § 36-66-4 be observed. City of Roswell v.
Outdoor Systems, Inc. 274 Ga. 130, 549 S.E.2d 90 (Ga. 2001).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF MILTON, GEORGIA, AS FOLLOWS:
The Mayor and City Council does hereby enact a moratorium to bar the acceptance by
the City of Milton of applications for permits for telecommunications Towers in all zoning
classifications for 60 days in order to complete the above -referenced revisions to the City Code.
The moratorium imposed herein does not limit the ability of property owners to develop
their land as currently zoned, nor does this moratorium prohibit consideration of permit
applications that have already been filed, nor does it prohibit the construction of
telecommunication Towers where a permit has already been issued;
This Resolution shall be effective upon a majority vote by the City Council as ratified by
the Mayor of the City of Milton.
SO RESOLVED, the public's health, safety, and welfare demanding it.
This 15th day of March, 2010.
Attest:
72 �q
Sudie AM Gordon
Interim City Clerk
(Seal)
App":
Joe 1-4Wood, Mayor