§ 455-36. Purpose and intent.

A. 

The purpose of this article is to establish guidelines for the siting of wireless telecommunications towers and antennas and ancillary facilities. The goals of this article are to:

(1) 

Protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas;

(2) 

Encourage the location of towers on Borough-owned property where appropriate or in other nonresidential areas;

(3) 

Minimize the total number of towers throughout the community;

(4) 

Strongly encourage the joint use of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers;

(5) 

Encourage the use of existing buildings, telecommunication towers, light or utility poles, or water towers as opposed to construction of new telecommunication towers;

(6) 

Encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the community is minimal;

(7) 

Ensure that all telecommunication facilities, including towers, antennas and ancillary facilities are located and designed to minimize the visual impact on the immediate surroundings and throughout the community by encouraging users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers and antennas through careful design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques;

(8) 

Enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively, and efficiently;

(9) 

Consider the public health and safety of telecommunication towers; and

(10) 

Avoid potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through engineering and careful siting of tower structures.

B. 

In furtherance of these purposes, the Borough of Dumont shall give due consideration to the Borough of Dumont's master plan, Zoning Map, existing land uses, and environmentally sensitive areas in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas.