TABLE OF CONTENTS Many communities have very strict requirements and regulations concerning the siting of towers and antennas. Communities understand that they have to provide a reasonable opportunity for the siting of wireless telecommunications facilities, which enhances the ability of providers of wireless telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively, and efficiently. At the same time, they are sensitive to the effects on aesthetics, environmentally sensitive areas, historically significant locations, flight corridors, health and safety, and so on. They permit the construction of new towers only where all other reasonable opportunities have been exhausted, and they encourage the users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impact of the towers and antennas. Communities also require cooperation and collocation, to the highest extent possible, among competitors so as to reduce cumulatively negative consequences.
The construction standard for today's towers is primarily modeled after American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. Communication towers are designed in accordance with "Structural Standards for Steel Antenna Towers and Antenna Support Structures," ANSI/TIA/EIA-222-F, a nationally recognized standard jointly sponsored by the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA, formerly the Electronic Industries Association) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). The ANSI standard is based on equations developed by professional engineers using wind tunnel testing to accurately predict the effect that wind has on telecommunication structures.
Most structures are designed to withstand a forceful wind speed that occurs on the average of once every 50 years. This...
