Telecommunications tower near your home: distances, notices and bans

It is Chapter 9.11 of Joint Regulation No. 9473, which fixes the conditions under which telecommunications towers may be permitted within the territorial limits of the Government of Puerto Rico: minimum distances, rules for rooftop installations, standards for ecologically sensitive areas, absolute prohibitions, notice to owners of nearby properties, and requirements on height, alteration and safety. We read Rules 9.11.2, 9.11.3 in its documents section, and 9.11.4; we did not read Rule 9.11.1 or Rule 9.11.5 on co-location in full.

It applies to every new location, installation or construction of telecommunications towers and to telecommunications installations, whether built on the ground, on buildings or on their roofs. Co-locations are permitted on towers holding an approved construction permit or single permit, and are outside the requirement to notify property owners provided the tower holds the corresponding construction and use permits.

• A distance no less than the tower’s height plus an additional ten per cent (10%), measured from the tower’s centre to the nearest residence.Verified against the official source
• Near a school or a shelter designated by the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau: a separation no less than the tower’s height plus fifty (50) metres as a buffer zone, measured from the tower’s centre to the property boundary.Verified against the official source
• In districts that are neither residential nor rural: a minimum distance of fifteen (15) metres from the tower to the nearest structure, without ceasing to comply with the distance to the nearest residence.Verified against the official source
• Notifying owners of properties within a radial distance of one hundred (100) metres, taking the proposed location as centre, within ten (10) days of filing, by personal delivery or certified mail with return receipt.Verified against the official source
• Uploading evidence of that notice to OGPe’s system within the same term: until it is uploaded, the application will not be evaluated.Verified against the official source
• Filing with OGPe a recommendation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before certification of the construction plans.Verified against the official source

• Project location under Sección 2.1.6 of Volume II of the Regulation.
• Detail on the project’s scope and its elements.
• If the project is developed in stages, a work programme with the start and end dates of each stage.
• For the construction of new towers, a statement of the number and capacity of carriers it may hold.

1. 1

   Step 1: The distance to the nearest residence

   It is the chapter’s central figure. The tower must keep a distance no less than the tower’s height plus an additional ten per cent, measured from the tower’s centre to the nearest residence. That is, a hundred-foot tower needs a hundred and ten feet of separation. Note the two ends of the measurement: from the tower’s centre, not from the fence; and to the residence, not to the lot boundary.

2. 2

   Step 2: The three exceptions to that distance

   First: the requirement does not apply where the breach of Ley 89-2000 was not created by the tower’s owner but by later authorised developments, in which case the tower may remain in its original location. The regulation repeats the idea in other words: if the breach was not created by the tower’s owner but by later developments approved by the bodies empowered to do so, the tower may stay where it is. Second: a non-complying tower is allowed where the tower’s owner and the nearest residence’s owner are the same titleholder. Third: even with different owners, where the residence’s titleholder allows the location by sworn statement, provided there is no other existing residence within the prescribed radius that has not consented by sworn statement.

3. 3

   Step 3: Schools and shelters: a fifty-metre buffer

   A separation must be observed in case of proximity to a school or to a shelter designated by the Emergency Management and Disaster Administration Bureau: no less than the tower’s height plus fifty metres as a buffer zone, measured from the tower’s centre to the boundary of the property where those uses are located. Note the difference from the previous rule: here the measurement runs to the property boundary, not to the building.

4. 4

   Step 4: Non-residential districts, power lines and roofs

   Any tower located in a district that is neither residential nor rural must keep a minimum distance of fifteen metres from the tower to the nearest structure; nonetheless, it must also comply with the distance to the nearest residence. Towers or installations must meet the clearance distances to electrical lines and installations required by the applicable codes. And on roofs: rooftop installations may not exceed twenty feet in height; towers may be installed on structures of two or more levels; rooftop tower installations must keep a height no less than the tower’s height plus an additional ten per cent, measured from the tower’s centre to the nearest residence; and co-locations are permitted on towers holding an approved construction permit or single permit.

5. 5

   Step 5: Where it is simply not allowed

   The regulation bans the installation and location of telecommunications towers and installations in four places. A four-mile radius of the site of the Radio-astronomy Centre — the Arecibo Observatory — as established by Ley No. 88 of 14 June 1960, as amended. Land classified as landslide-susceptible by the United States Geological Survey of the Department of the Interior (USGS). Structures designated by the Planning Board as a historic site or zone, in the towns’ founding centres, meaning the plazas de recreo and surrounding blocks. And construction of these installations is not permitted in areas within the floodway.

6. 6

   Step 6: The hundred-metre notice and the ten days

   This is the neighbour’s concrete right. The proponent of a project to install or locate a tower must notify the owners of properties lying within a radial distance of one hundred metres, taking the proposed location as centre, within ten days of filing. The notice must be by personal delivery or certified mail with return receipt, and must include four things: the proponent’s name; the nature of the proposed tower, that is the particular uses it will serve; the project’s exact location — physical address, coordinates, cadastre number, among others; and the case number before the agency. Notice to abutters under Sección 2.1.9.7 must also be met, and if an immediate abutter’s name or postal address is not accessible or the notice was returned, the alternate method of Sección 2.1.9.8 is used.

7. 7

   Step 7: Without evidence of the notice, it is not evaluated

   The proponent must upload evidence of that notice to OGPe’s system within the same term, and the regulation adds the consequence: until that information is uploaded to the system, the application will not be evaluated. Two further points: for co-locations, provided the tower holds the corresponding construction and use permits, notice to property owners is not required. And the relevant agency or government body notifies the municipality a copy of its final determination approving or denying the permit on the same day it notifies the proponent.

8. 8

   Step 8: Ecologically sensitive areas: mandatory public hearing

   In these areas the rules promulgated for the location and construction of structures, if any, apply through a Location Consultation. Absent special rules, location is not authorised except in situations of public necessity where it is clearly shown to be the only alternative to meet that need, considering the latest available technology. Where it is determined unavoidable, measures must be taken to minimise adverse visual and aesthetic impact. And the regulation says it plainly: holding a public hearing is mandatory, after publication of a press notice under Chapter 2.1 of Volume II. Camouflage design is also required — harmonising with the aesthetics and surroundings, integrating installations into the building’s design where buildings are used as towers, concealing rooftop ones through colours or materials — along with minimum camouflage requirements: guaranteeing total radio-electric transparency, resistance to extreme climates and other atmospheric conditions, resistance to ultraviolet rays, and materials that keep their mechanical and physical characteristics over time. Recommendations from OGPe’s Environment Manager must be obtained, including for the karst zone under Ley 292-1999. In flood-prone areas installation is permitted subject to the Special Flood Risk Areas Regulation in force, Planning Regulation No. 13.

9. 9

   Step 9: Height, the FAA and later changes

   Structures or equipment forming part of telecommunications towers and installations must be in harmony with the height stipulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. The proponent or owner must file a recommendation from that agency with OGPe before certification of the construction plans. And any structural change or alteration to the tower, or the installation of new telecommunications facilities, requires a permit from OGPe; where applicable, the recommendation of the Federal Communications Commission, the NET and the Federal Aviation Administration must be obtained.

10. 10

    Step 10: The eight-foot fence and the sign with a phone number

    An eight-foot fence must be installed around towers or telecommunications installations to limit access by unauthorised persons. The fence may be solid for the first two feet with the remaining height in chain link or other suitable construction material. It is not required for installations built on the roofs of buildings. No projection of the fence or any of its components outside the area it marks is permitted: any mechanical security or protection system placed at the top or bottom must project inward. And fences must be adequately and permanently signposted to warn of precautionary measures, including the tower owner’s name, the construction or use permit number, and a telephone number to call in emergencies. That sign is, in practice, the fastest way to find out who owns a tower. The Puerto Rico Construction Code in force must also be met.

The permit and the recommendation are processed before OGPe, which is also where evidence of notice to property owners within the hundred metres is uploaded and where the FAA recommendation is filed before the plans are certified. Recommendations from OGPe’s Environment Manager are obtained within the evaluation of the location consultation where the tower is proposed in an ecologically sensitive area. The agency notifies the municipality a copy of its final determination on the same day it notifies the proponent.

• Measuring the distance from the fence rather than from the tower’s centre.
• Measuring to the lot boundary when the residence rule measures to the residence.
• Forgetting that beside schools and shelters the measurement runs to the property boundary.
• Believing the fifteen metres to the nearest structure suffices in non-residential districts.
• Failing to notify owners within a hundred metres inside the ten-day term.
• Not uploading evidence of the notice to OGPe’s system, which stops the evaluation.
• Installing without the FAA recommendation before certification of the construction plans.
• Making structural changes or alterations to the tower without applying to OGPe.
• Leaving the fence without the sign bearing the owner’s name, permit number and emergency phone.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina de Gerencia de Permisos (OGPe)

  OGPe

  docs.pr.gov

• Permit Management Office

  ogpe

  ogpe.pr.gov