§ 277-4. Purpose and legislative intent.

A. 

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to establish updated uniform standards for the siting, design, permitting, maintenance, and use of wireless telecommunications facilities ("WTF") in Leetsdale Borough. While the Borough recognizes the importance of wireless telecommunications facilities in providing high-quality communications service to its residents and businesses, the Borough also recognizes that it has an obligation to protect public safety and to minimize the adverse visual effects of such facilities through the standards set forth in the following provisions.

B. 

Design. By enacting this article, the Borough intends to:

(1) 

Promote the health, safety, and welfare of Borough residents and businesses with respect to wireless telecommunications facilities;

(2) 

Provide for the managed development of wireless telecommunications facilities in a manner that enhances the benefits of wireless communications and accommodates the needs of both Borough residents and wireless carriers in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations;

(3) 

Establish procedures for the design, siting, construction, installation, maintenance, and removal of both tower-based and nontower-based wireless telecommunications facilities in the Borough, including facilities both inside and outside the public rights-of-way;

(4) 

Address new wireless technologies, including but not limited to distributed antenna systems, data collection units, cable Wi-Fi, and other wireless telecommunications facilities;

(5) 

Encourage the co-location of wireless telecommunications facilities on existing structures rather than the construction of new tower-based structures;

(6) 

Protect Borough residents from potential adverse impacts of wireless telecommunications facilities and preserve, to the extent permitted under law, the visual character of established communities and the natural beauty of the landscape; and

(7) 

Update the Borough's wireless facilities regulations to incorporate changes in federal and state laws and regulations.