Wireless Telecommunications Facility Applications include a
variety of application types that can be reviewed by several different
Boards of the Town of Huntington. The Huntington Town Board has determined
that it is in the best interests of town residents to establish standards
for the location of Wireless Telecommunication Facilities and the
provision of communication services consistent with applicable federal
and state laws, statutes, rules and regulations in order to:
(A)
Protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town.
(B)
Assure access of our residents to wireless telecommunications technologies
while at the same time protecting natural features, aesthetics, and
the residential character of neighborhoods and areas surrounding educational,
environmentally sensitive, historic and other unique or Sensitive
facilities within the Town, and protect the efficient and orderly
development of land uses from potential adverse impacts.
(C)
Promote and encourage the location of these devices in nonresidential
areas of the Town and public lands.
(D)
Minimize the total number of such devices constructed throughout
the Town within legal limits.
(E)
Promote and encourage joint use of such new and existing structures
and discourage the erection of such structures for single users.
(F)
Promote and encourage the location of such devices, to the extent
possible, in areas where adverse impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods
are minimized.
(G)
Promote and encourage the configuration of such devices in a manner
that minimizes adverse visual and aesthetic impacts through careful
design, siting, landscape screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques.
(H)
Promote the ability of service providers to supply such services
as effectively and efficiently as possible.
(I)
Prohibit potential damage to adjacent and/or nearby properties from
collapse or failure of such devices through adequate engineering and
siting requirements.
(J)
Verify that proposed Wireless Telecommunication Facilities and other
facilities subject to this legislation comply with federally established
limits for RF (radiofrequency) emissions.
(K)
Require Applicants to prepare RF propagation studies and produce
such other proof as is reasonably necessary to establish that the
proposed facility is necessary to remedy a Gap in Service, Densification
of a wireless network, introducing new services or otherwise improving
service capabilities at a specified location.
(L)
Ensure meaningful input by the community into important land use
decisions.
(M)
Minimize intrusions on pedestrian and vehicular travel and safety
on roads, streets and sidewalks.
(N)
These regulations are not intended to prohibit or have the effect
of prohibiting the provision of adequate Wireless Telecommunications
Facilities.
The following terms shall have the meanings indicated.
A system of electrical conductors designed for the purpose
of emitting or receiving electromagnetic waves or radio frequency
or other wireless signals from a fixed location.
An Antenna Array (or Array Antenna) is a set of multiple
connected Antennas which work together as a single Antenna, to transmit
or receive radio waves.
The Person submitting an Application for a Wireless Telecommunications
Facility.
All necessary and appropriate information and data submitted
by an Applicant that is necessary in order to receive approval for
Wireless Telecommunications Facilities from the Board or Department
having jurisdiction.
The use of an existing Telecommunications Wireless Facility
or location by more than one Telecommunications provider, which includes
sharing an Antenna, Tower, or mounting location, and which may include
Modifications to the existing facility for the purpose of mounting
or installing new Antennas.
The inability to perform an act on terms that are reasonable
in commerce, the cause or occurrence of which could not have been
reasonably anticipated or foreseen and that jeopardizes the financial
efficacy of the project. The inability to achieve a satisfactory financial
return on investment or profit, standing alone, shall not deem a situation
to be "Commercially Impracticable" and shall not render an act or
the terms of an agreement "Commercially Impracticable".
An individual or entity consisting of qualified professionals
retained by the Town at the Applicant's expense to verify that the
proposed Wireless Telecommunication Facility subject to this Chapter
complies with the applicable limits for RF emissions, that the proposed
facility is necessary to remedy a Gap in Service or Densification
at a specified location, and to advise the Town on any technical aspect
of the Application including conducting a physical inspection of the
site or facility.
The establishment by the Applicant of sufficient Wireless
Telecommunications capacity to not only provide basic area coverage
but to also meet all reasonably foreseeable demand for communications
and data in the service area.
The Director of the Department of Planning and Environment
or their designee.
A network of spatially separated Antenna nodes connected
to a common source via a transport medium that provides wireless service
within a geographic area or structure.
Any request for the Modification of an existing Tower or
base station that does not Substantially Change the physical dimensions
of such Tower or base station, involving:
The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States
or successor agency.
The Federal Communications Commission of the United States
or successor agency.
A Gap in Service exists where a remote user of services is
unable to either connect with the land-based national telephone network,
or to maintain a connection capable of supporting a reasonably uninterrupted
communication. When a coverage Gap exists customers cannot receive
and send signals, and when customers pass through a coverage Gap their
calls are disconnected.
An area mapped and identified as a Hamlet Center in the Horizons
2020 Comprehensive Plan or successor plan.
The distance measured from the lowest point to the highest
point on the Tower or other structure, including the highest point
of the mount, Antenna, or any lightning protection device attached
to the Tower or structure. Changes in Height should be measured from
the original support structures in cases where deployments are or
will be separated horizontally, such as on the rooftops of buildings;
in other circumstances, changes in Height should be measured from
the dimensions of the Tower or base station, inclusive of originally
approved appurtenances and any Modifications that were approved prior
to the passage of the Spectrum Act.
The addition, removal, replacement, or change of any of the
physical and visually discernible components or aspects of a Wireless
Telecommunication Facility, such as Antennas, cabling, equipment shelters,
equipment cabinets, generators, utility feeds, Tower Height and mounting
Heights, or changing the color or materials of any visually discernible
components. Adding a new wireless carrier or service provider to a
Wireless Telecommunications Facility as a Collocation is a Modification.
Town-owned streetlamps, light poles, lighting fixtures, electroliers,
flagpoles, and other similar town-owned structures, excluding such
facilities in the Public Rights-of-Way.
Town-owned buildings, and the space in, upon, above, under,
along, across, and over real property that is under the sole ownership,
jurisdiction, possession and control of the Town, except property
licensed to the Town, any property where the Town holds an easement
or other beneficial interest, Public Rights-of-Ways, and underwater
lands.
Any individual, corporation, estate, trust, partnership,
joint stock company, association of two (2) or more Persons having
a joint common interest, or any other business entity.
These terms shall have the same meaning as defined and used
in the 1996 Telecommunications Act or successor law.
The space in, upon, above, under, along, across and over
the public streets, roads, highways, lanes, courts, ways, alleys,
sidewalks, and similar places, that are under the jurisdiction and
exclusive control of the Town together with public utility easements
and public service easements. The term shall not include county, state,
or federal rights-of-way or places owned by the Town jointly with
another Person, entity or agency.
Locations within and adjacent to historic districts and individual
historic landmarks, and within 500 feet of the boundary lines of a
public or private school and day care centers.
For the purpose of determining whether an excavation or deployment
is within or outside of a proposed Site and is therefore a Substantial
Change, the term Site shall include Towers other than Towers in the
Public Rights-of-Way, the current boundaries of the leased or owned
property surrounding the Tower and any access or utility easements
currently related to the site, and, for other eligible support structures,
further restricted to that area in proximity to the structure and
to other Transmission Equipment already deployed on the ground. The
current boundaries of a Site are the boundaries that existed as of
the date that the original support structure or a Modification to
that structure was last reviewed and approved by the Town, if the
approval of the Modification occurred prior to the Spectrum Act [Eff.
February 22, 2012] or otherwise outside of the Section 6409(a) process.
The minimization of potential adverse aesthetic and visual
impacts from the installation of Wireless Telecommunications Facilities
as directed in this Chapter.
A Modification Substantially Changes the physical dimensions
of an eligible support structure if it meets any of the following
criteria:
For Towers other than Towers in the Public Rights-Of-Way, it
increases the Height of the Tower by more than 10% or by the Height
of one additional Antenna Array with separation from the nearest existing
Antenna not to exceed twenty (20) feet, whichever is greater; for
other eligible support structures, it increases the Height of the
structure by more than 10% or more than ten (10) feet, whichever is
greater;
For Towers other than Towers in the Public Rights-Of-Way, it
involves adding an appurtenance to the body of the Tower that would
protrude from the edge of the Tower more than twenty (20) feet, or
more than the width of the Tower structure at the level of the appurtenance,
whichever is greater; for other eligible support structures, it involves
adding an appurtenance to the body of the structure that would protrude
from the edge of the structure by more than six (6) feet;
For any eligible support structure, it involves installation
of more than the standard number of new equipment cabinets for the
technology involved, but not to exceed four (4) cabinets; or, for
Towers in the Public Rights-Of-Way and base stations, it involves
installation of any new equipment cabinets on the ground if there
are no pre-existing ground cabinets associated with the structure,
or else involves installation of ground cabinets that are more than
10% larger in Height or overall volume than any other ground cabinets
associated with the structure. A generator shall be considered the
equivalent of two (2) new equipment boxes;
It entails any excavation or deployment outside of the current
Site, except that, for Towers other than Towers in the Public Rights-Of-Way,
it entails any excavation or deployment of Transmission Equipment
outside of the current Site by more than thirty (30) feet in any direction.
The Site boundary from which the 30 feet is measured excludes any
access or utility easements currently related to the Site;
It would defeat the Concealment elements of the eligible support
structure; or
It does not comply with conditions associated with the siting
approval of the construction or Modification of the eligible support
structure or base station equipment, provided however that this limitation
does not apply to any Modification that is non-compliant only in a
manner that would not exceed the thresholds identified in § 1.40001(b)(7)(i)
through (iv).
The transmission and/or reception of audio, video, data,
and other information by wire, radio frequency, light, and other electronic
or electromagnetic systems.
Any structure built for the sole or primary purpose of supporting
any FCC authorized Antennas and their associated facilities, including
structures that are constructed for Wireless Telecommunications services
including, but not limited to, private, broadcast and public safety
services, as well as unlicensed Wireless Telecommunications Facilities
and fixed services, and the associated site. A Tower shall include
the structure and any support systems appurtenant thereto. Any pole,
mast, mount, or other structure, and all attached equipment, including
Antennas, exceeding 50 feet in Height above ground level shall be
considered a Tower.
The Town of Huntington, Huntington Board of Trustees, and
any subdivision thereof, including Town-operated special improvement
districts and agencies, including the Dix Hills Water District.
Equipment that facilitates transmission for any Commission-licensed
or authorized wireless communication service, including, but not limited
to, radio transceivers, Antennas, coaxial or fiber-optic cable, and
regular and backup power supply. The term includes equipment associated
with wireless communications services including, but not limited to,
private, broadcast, and public safety services, as well as unlicensed
wireless services and fixed wireless services such as microwave backhaul.
Includes Antennas, Towers, and any structure, equipment,
installation, facility, device, wires, cables or appurtenance designed,
installed or intended to be used to support Antennas or other transmitting
or receiving devices used for the purpose of transmitting, receiving,
distributing, providing or accommodating cellular, radio, television,
specialized mobile radio (SMR), enhanced specialized mobile radio
(ESMR), paging, 911, Personal Telecommunication Services (PCS), commercial
satellite services, microwave, mobile and any commercial Wireless
Telecommunication service not licensed by the FCC, including without
limit mounts, Towers of all types, structures, buildings, church steeples,
or anything that is used to support Antennas or its functional equivalent;
and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) including all accessory facilities,
installations, and equipment such as utility poles, transmission cables,
wires, mounts, cabling, equipment shelters and other appurtenances.
Unless otherwise provided, this Chapter shall not apply to the
following:
(A)
All Antennas which are accessory to permitted residential uses and
are mounted on the residential dwelling without a tower, including
but not limited to the reception Antennas for direct broadcast satellites
(DBS), television broadcast stations (TVBS) and other customer-end
Antennas that receive and transmit fixed wireless signals that are
primarily used for reception.
(B)
Such uses that are licensed to operate by the Federal Communications Commission, pursuant to 47 CFR 97, or successor law, such as amateur radio operations, private citizen's bands, and other similar non-commercial Telecommunications, subject to the provisions of Article IX of Chapter 198 (Height, Area & Bulk Regulations).
(C)
Uses which are pre-empted or exempt from local regulation by federal
or state law or regulation.
(D)
Repairs and maintenance to existing equipment shall not require any
permits from the Town unless otherwise determined by the Director
of Engineering Services or his designee.
(E)
No license agreement shall be required of any entity that already
holds a cable franchise issued by the Town for cable service as defined
in 47 USCA § 522(6), or telephone franchise, except that
proposed installations of cabinets, boxes, equipment or other structures
on the ground or partially below the surface of the ground along the
public rights-of way shall be subject to site plan review (by the
Planning Board unless exempted), highway work permits, building permits,
and certificates of occupancy. The provisions of this section shall
apply to both wired and wireless equipment.
(F)
Facilities used exclusively for providing unlicensed spread spectrum
technology i.e. Bluetooth or WiFi, where the facility does not require
a new tower, where the service is not to be used for commercial purposes,
where there is no fee or charge for the use of the service, and where
the service is intended to be useable for less than 200 feet.
Variances from the requirements of this Chapter shall be considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals subject to the notice and hearing requirements set forth in § 194-30. Any variances that may be necessary shall be identified in the Application for the installation of the Wireless Telecommunications Facility.
