What Is ZTA 19-07?
THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY COUNCIL
CELL TOWER ZONING TEXT
AMENDMENT ZTA 19-07
What Will the Montgomery County Council Cell Tower Zoning Text Amendment
ZTA 19-07 Do?
Telecommunications firms will be able to replace the streetlight and utility poles with cell towers just 30 feet in front of your home. [Under current law, this is not allowed.]
These towers will be allowed “by right,” meaning residents and municipalities have no way to stop it, as long as they are 30 feet from a home.
The bill removes direct notice to any resident and removes public hearings -- as long as the pole is at least 30 feet away from your home.
These “small” cell towers can be 20-50 feet high. Because cell tower equipment is heavy, the light and utility poles will be replaced by wider and taller poles
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Streetlight “small” cell towers can increase by six-15 feet.
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Utility pole “small” cell towers can increase by 10 feet or higher.
The equipment cabinets on the “small cell poles
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Are allowed to be as large as 12 cubic feet.
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There is NO limit on the amount of equipment cabinets on each pole, so there can be several cabinets on each pole!
While notification will be required for new towers, it is unlikely that this process will ever be necessary because they can easily replace existing poles without having to notify anyone in the community.