The purpose of this article is to promote the
health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Village
of Hudson Falls; to provide standards for the safe provision of telecommunications
consistent with applicable federal and state regulations; to minimize
the total number of telecommunications towers in the community by
encouraging shared use of existing and future towers and the use of
existing tall buildings and other high structures; and to minimize
adverse visual effects from telecommunications towers by requiring
careful siting, visual impact assessment and appropriate landscaping.
A.
An application to the Code Enforcement Officer for a building permit to place, construct or collocate telecommunications antennas and associated equipment on an existing telecommunications tower or tall structure shall be filed with the Code Enforcement Officer upon a form prescribed by the Inspector. The requisite number of copies of the application shall be established by the Building Department. The application fee is as established in Chapter A219, Schedule of Fees.
B.
No telecommunications tower, except those approved
prior to the effective date of this chapter, shall be used unless
in conformity with these regulations. No telecommunications tower
shall hereinafter be erected, moved, reconstructed, changed or altered
unless in conformity with these regulations. Notwithstanding any provision
to the contrary, telecommunications towers or any tall structures
which preexist the enactment of these regulations may be utilized
for purposes of collocation of antennas upon issuance of a building
permit by the Code Enforcement Officer.
D.
Applicants proposing to collocate on previously approved
telecommunications towers or tall structures in any district shall
require a building permit.
A.
At all times, shared use of existing tall structures
(for example, water towers, multistory buildings, church steeples
and farm silos) and existing or approved towers shall be preferred
to the construction of new towers. As part of the application to install
a new telecommunications tower, the applicant must demonstrate that
collocation on an existing tall structure is impossible and that the
tower is a public necessity in that it is required to render adequate
service and that there are compelling reasons, economic or otherwise,
which make it more feasible to construct or modify the proposed telecommunications
tower before construction of a new tower will be approved.
B.
An applicant proposing to locate, collocate or share
use of an existing tall structure shall, in addition to a building
permit application, submit:
(1)
A site plan showing all existing and proposed structures
and improvements, including antennas, roads, buildings, guide wires
and anchors, parking and landscaping. Any method used to conceal the
modification of the existing facility shall be indicated on the site
plan.
(2)
Written documentation of intent from the owner of
the existing facility to allow shared use.
(3)
An engineer's report certifying that the proposed
shared use will not diminish the structural integrity and safety of
the existing tall structure and explaining what modifications, if
any, will be required.
(4)
A copy of the applicant's FCC license.
C.
The issuing of any such building permit for location, collocation or shared use of an existing tall structure is determined to be a Type II action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) [see 6 NYCRR § 617.5 (b)] and no SEQRA review is required. If the Code Enforcement Officer determines that any modifications indicated according to Subsection B(3) are significant, further review by the Planning Board will be required.
Applications for the development of new telecommunications towers shall comply with submission requirements as outlined in Article IV, Site Plan Review.
A visual impact assessment of new towers may
be requested by the Planning Board. Visual impact assessments shall
comply with the guidelines as established by the NYSDEC or APA.
