Pursuant to the authority conferred by Article
16 of the Town Law of the State of New York and the Municipal Home
Rule Law of the State of New York, the Town Board of the Town of Fenton,
County of Broome and State of New York, has ordained and does hereby
enact this article regulating and restricting the location, size and
use of telecommunications facilities and their accessory structures
in the Town of Fenton.
The Town of Fenton recognizes the increased
demand for wireless communications transmitting facilities and the
need for the services they provide. Often these facilities require
the construction of a communications tower and/or similar facilities.
The intent of this article is to regulate the location, placement,
construction and modification of the telecommunications facilities
in accordance with the guidelines of the Telecommunications Act of
1996 and other applicable laws by:
A. Accommodating the need for telecommunications towers/antennas
while regulating their location and number in the community.
B. Minimizing adverse visual impacts of these towers/antennas
through proper siting, design and screening.
C. Preserving and enhancing the positive aesthetic qualities
of the natural environment and current development in the Town of
Fenton.
D. Providing for the health, safety and welfare of the
community by avoiding potential damage or other negative impact to
adjacent properties from power failure, failing ice, etc., through
proper siting and engineering.
E. Requiring the joint use of towers when available and
encouraging the placement of antennas on existing structures to minimize
the number of such structures in the future.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
A nonhabitable accessory facility or structure serving or
being used in conjunction with a communications tower/antenna and/or
similar facility and usually located on the same lot as the communications
tower/antenna. Examples of such structures include utility or transmission
equipment storage sheds, buildings or cabinets. All other uses ancillary
to the antenna and associated equipment (including but not limited
to a business office, maintenance depot, vehicle storage, etc.) are
prohibited from the site unless otherwise permitted in the zoning
district in which the facility is located.
ANTENNA
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive
frequency signals. Such signals shall include but not be limited to
radio, television, cellular, paging, digital and/or data communications,
personal wireless communications services (PWS) and microwave communications.
COLLOCATED/EXISTING STRUCTURE
Any antenna that will be mounted to an existing communications
tower, smoke stack, water tower or other existing structure and extends
no more than 15 feet above the height of the original structure.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
Towers and/or antennas and accessory structures together
used in connection with the provision of cellular telephone service,
personal communications services, digital and/or data communications
services, paging services, radio and television broadcast services
and similar broadcast services (also referred to as "facilities" or
"equipment").
TOWER
A structure designed to support antennas. It includes, without
limit, freestanding towers, guyed towers, monopoles and similar structures
which do or which do not employ camouflage technology.
No telecommunications facility shall be sited,
located, constructed, erected or modified without the issuance of
a building permit and such other permits or approvals as are prescribed
in this article.
A collocated or existing structure or antenna, as defined in §
150-20.3, is permitted in the following zoning districts without a tower permit upon site plan approval and issuance of a building permit: Neighborhood Commercial; General Commercial; Limited Industrial; Industrial; Agricultural-Residential; and Mining. The building permit application shall include the following:
A. A structural analysis/report, certified by a New York
State licensed professional engineer or architect, verifying the ability
of the structure to support the antenna.
B. Certification by a qualified radio frequency engineer
(signed and sealed by a professional engineer or architect licensed
in the State of New York) that the cumulative emissions from all antennas
proposed to be located at the proposed site meet current federal guidelines.
C. The height of the new antenna shall extend no more
than 15 feet above the height of the original structure.
D. The antenna and any mounting structure and related
equipment shall be integrated into said structure in such a manner
as to minimize its visual impact to the greatest extent practicable.
The Town of Fenton Planning Board shall be the
issuing agency for all tower permits and shall also be the lead agency
for SEQRA.
All applicants for a tower permit shall make
a written application for the tower permit and site plan approval
to the Town of Fenton Planning Board through the Town of Fenton Town
Clerk. Said application shall include:
A. A completed tower permit application form. In addition to the requirements set forth herein, all applications shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of §
150-47 of the Code of the Town of Fenton generally applicable to site plan approval. The application shall be accompanied by the payment of the tower permit application fee, as established by the Town Board in the schedule of fees.
B. The permit application form must be accompanied by a long form environmental assessment form (EAF). The application shall not be deemed complete unless accompanied by the "propagation studies" and "search ring analysis" described in Subsections
D and
E of this section.
C. A site plan, in the form and content acceptable to
the Town of Fenton Planning Board, prepared to scale and in sufficient
detail and accuracy. At minimum, such site plan shall include:
(1)
The exact location of the proposed tower, together
with guy wires and ground anchors, if applicable, and any accessory
structures.
(2)
The maximum height of the proposed tower and
antennas.
(3)
A detail of tower type (monopole, guyed, freestanding
or other).
(4)
The color or colors of the tower.
(5)
The location, type and intensity of any lighting
on the tower and antennas and adjacent structures.
(6)
A survey showing the boundary of the property
and a topographical map of the property with contour lines not exceeding
five-foot intervals.
(7)
Proof of ownership of the land by the applicant
or the landowner's consent if the applicant will not own the property.
A copy of the final lease agreement, plus any amendments thereto,
must also be provided if the applicant will not own the property.
(8)
The location of all current and proposed structures
on the property and all structures on any adjacent property within
50 feet of the property lines, together with the distance of these
structures to the tower and antennas and location of any adjacent
residential dwellings, schools and historic structures within 500
feet.
(9)
Identification of adjacent landowners.
(10)
The location, nature and extent of any proposed
fencing and landscaping or screening. Existing on-site vegetation
shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(11)
The location and nature of proposed utility
easements and access roads, if applicable. The applicant must demonstrate
that all private access roads will be maintained in order to ensure
access by emergency vehicles on a year-round basis.
(12)
Building elevations of accessory structures
or immediately adjacent buildings within 50 feet.
D. "Before" and "after" propagation studies prepared
by a qualified radio frequency engineer (signed and sealed by a professional
engineer licensed in the State of New York) demonstrating existing
signal coverage resulting from the proposed telecommunications facility.
E. A search ring analysis prepared by a qualified radio
frequency engineer (signed and sealed by a professional engineer licensed
in the State of New York) and overlaid on an appropriate background
map demonstrating the area within which the telecommunications facility
needs to be located in order to provide proper signal strength and
coverage to the target cell. The applicant must be prepared to explain
to the Town of Fenton Planning Board how and why it selected the proposed
site, discuss the availability (or lack of availability) of a suitable
structure within the search ring, which would have allowed for collocated
antenna(s) and to what extent the applicant explored locating the
proposed tower and antennas in a more desirable use district. Proof
of correspondence with other telecommunications companies or structure
owners concerning collocation shall be part of this requirement.
F. The Town of Fenton Planning Board, upon reviewing
the application, may request reasonable additional visual and aesthetic
and site information, as it deems appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
Such additional information may include, among other things, visual
impact statements, enhanced landscaping plans, line of sight drawings
and/or visual simulations from viewpoints selected by the Town staff.
G. For sites in close proximity to significant historical
sites or important preservation/conservation areas, the Town of Fenton
Planning Board may request additional site plans and tower permit
requirements. These requirements may include specially designed towers,
additional screening, greater setbacks and improved landscaping. Siting
in these areas should be avoided to the maximum extent possible.
H. The applicant must submit a copy of its policy regarding
collocation of other facilities on the proposed tower. Such policy
shall allow collocation under the following conditions: the new antenna(s)
and equipment do not exceed structural loading requirements, interfere
with tower space used or to be used by the applicant or pose any technical
or radio frequency interference with existing equipment; the party
desiring to collocate pays the applicant an appropriate and reasonable
sum to collocate; and the party desiring to collocate has a similar
policy of collocation as the applicant.
I. During the application process and after construction
of the tower, the applicant shall provide a certification from a qualified
New York State licensed professional engineer, certifying that the
tower and antennas meet applicable federal, New York State and American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) structural safety standards.
Upon issuance of a tower permit by the Town of Fenton Planning Board, the applicant must obtain a building permit, pursuant to §
150-20.4, before the facility may be constructed.
The following criteria will be considered by
the Town of Fenton Planning Board prior to the approval/denial of
a request for a tower permit. The criteria listed may be used as a
basis to impose reasonable conditions on the applicant. Tower permits
run with the land and may not be transferred to a different parcel
of land.
Telecommunications facilities shall be located
and buffered to the maximum extent that is practical and technologically
feasible to help ensure compatibility with surrounding land uses.
In order to minimize any adverse aesthetic effect on neighboring residences
to the extent possible, the Town of Fenton Planning Board may impose
reasonable conditions on the applicant, including, but not limited
to, the following:
A. Tower height, including antennas, and design are matters
of primary public concern. The Board may require a monopole or guyed
tower (if sufficient land is available to the applicant) instead of
a freestanding tower. Monopoles are a preferred design. The Board
may impose reasonable restrictions and/or conditions on height. For
example, the Board may reasonably determine that adverse impact upon
the community will be best mitigated by requiring the applicant to
construct multiple towers of lower height at several different locations
to meet the applicant's demonstrated service coverage requirement(s).
B. The Board may require reasonable landscaping consisting
of trees or shrubs to screen the base of the tower and antennas and/or
to screen the tower and any accessory structure or buildings to the
extent possible from adjacent residential property. Existing on-site
trees and vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
C. The Town of Fenton Planning Board shall require the
applicant to show that it has made good faith efforts to collocate
on existing towers or other available and appropriate structures and/or
to construct new towers near existing towers in an effort to consolidate
visual disturbances.
D. The type of finish, color and lighting shall be subject
to Town and/or Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval. The
Town of Fenton Planning Board may require lights to be shielded to
minimize ground visual impact.
E. No tower shall contain any signs or advertising devices.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board shall require appropriate
signage indicating ownership of the facility and phone numbers to
call in case of emergency.
All telecommunications facilities shall be maintained
in good order and repair as directed by the Building Inspector and/or
Town Engineer. The Town of Fenton Planning Board may require that
reasonable records of such maintenance be kept and available for Town
review upon request.
Except as provided herein, the following towers
and antennas, or combinations thereof, shall be exempt from the provisions
of this article:
A. Tower and antenna(s) may be repaired and maintained
without restriction.
B. Towers and antennas used:
(1)
Solely for residential household television
and radio reception.
(2)
For two-way station-to-station radio communications. This exemption shall include amateur radio and citizens' band installations, dispatch stations, such as are commonly utilized by taxicab and trucking companies, and similar installations not intended to provide the sort of commercial communications and broadcasting services described and defined in §
150-20.3 of this article, provided that tower and antenna installations under this Subsection
B exceeding 40 feet in height measured from ground level shall require site plan review by the Planning Board and a building permit issued by the Building Inspector after appropriate inspection or inspections as determined by the Building Inspector.
C. Satellite antennas measuring eight feet or less in
diameter and located in commercial districts and satellite antennas
two feet or less in diameter regardless of location.
If there are any conflicts or inconsistencies
between this article and any other local law, including the zoning
law, this article shall control telecommunications towers and similar
facilities in the Town unless otherwise specifically referenced in
this article.
If any part of this article shall be judicially
declared to be invalid, void, unconstitutional or unenforceable, all
unaffected provisions hereof shall survive such declaration and this
article shall remain in full force and effect as if the invalidated
portion had not been enacted.