[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Fairport 9-8-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997 (Ch. 49 of the 1968 Code). Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 550.
This chapter shall be entitled "Telecommunication
Facilities Law of the Village of Fairport."
The purpose of this chapter is to implement
the basic goal of the United States Telecommunications Act of 1996,
as amended; namely, to encourage telecommunications competition wherever
and whenever possible by providing facilities to accommodate the increased
demand for wireless telecommunication via transmitting and receiving
facilities and concurrently providing for and protecting the health,
safety and welfare of the residents of the Village of Fairport by
protecting sound land use planning. In enacting this chapter, the
governing body makes the following specific findings:
A.
The residentially zoned districts within the Village
of Fairport are almost completely developed by existing one- and two-family
residences and, consequently, there is little vacant land in any residential
zone which lends itself to construction of a telecommunication facility.
B.
Any telecommunication facility located in a residential
district should be permitted only where the natural ground altitude
is of a significant amount higher than its immediate surroundings
to provide a proposed telecommunication facility a natural advantage
for receiving and transmitting.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
An accessory facility or structure serving or being used
in conjunction with a communication tower and located on the same
lot as the communication tower.
A man-made tower whose primary function is to support an
antenna used in amateur radio installation. Such a structure may also
be an integral part of the radiating function of an antenna. Said
structure shall include any guy wires and anchors.
The equipment used by a person who holds a valid amateur
radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
This equipment includes, but is not limited to, transmitters, receivers,
antennas, antenna support structures, guy wires and anchors, interconnecting
wire and cables.
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive
radio frequency signals; such signals include, but are not limited
to, radio, television, cellular, paging, personal communication services
(PCS) and microwave communications.
A structure designed to support one or more antennas, including
but not limited to, freestanding towers, guyed towers, monopoles and
similar structures which may employ camouflage technology.
Communication towers, antennas and accessory structures used
in connection with the provision of cellular telephone service, PCS,
paging services, radio and television services and similar broadcast
services and microwave communications.
No antenna, communication tower, telecommunication
facility or accessory structure shall be constructed or maintained
within the Village of Fairport without the issuance of a special use
permit by the Board of Appeals, except as may be otherwise expressly
provided by applicable law. The procedure for obtaining a special
use permit shall be as follows:
A.
The applicant shall file a written application for
special use permit with the Board of Appeals on a form acceptable
in content and form to the Village, together with a site plan, which
shall be prepared to scale and in sufficient detail and accuracy to
show the following:
(1)
The location of property boundary lines and easements,
if any;
(2)
The location of the telecommunication facility, communication
tower and antenna, together with guy wires and anchors, if applicable;
(3)
A side elevation or other sketch of the communication
tower, showing the proposed antennas;
(4)
The location of all structures on the property and
all structures on any adjacent property within 10 feet of the property
lines, together with the distance of these structures to the proposed
communication tower;
(5)
The names of all adjacent landowners;
(6)
The location, nature and extent of any proposed fencing,
landscaping and/or screening;
(7)
The location and nature of proposed utility easements
and access road, if applicable; and
(8)
A viewshed map or visual simulation showing the view
from surrounding properties of the proposed communication towers and/or
antennas.
B.
Preliminary and final site plan approval by the Planning
Board.
C.
Issuance of the special use permit by the Board of
Appeals, after a public hearing, upon the findings, hereinafter set
forth, and a determination by the Board that the proposed installation
will comply with the provisions of this chapter and is in accordance
with the principles and requirements contained herein:
(1)
The proposed installation shall comply with all existing
setback requirements within the affected zone. Setbacks shall apply
to all parts of the telecommunication facility or tower, including
guy wires, anchors and accessory structures. Communication towers
permitted under this chapter shall be exempt from height limitations
otherwise applicable in the district in which it is located, except
as may be otherwise expressly provided in this chapter.
(2)
The proposed installation shall be located so as to
have the least practical adverse effect on the aesthetics of the surrounding
environment. In order to minimize any adverse aesthetic effect on
the surrounding environment, the Board of Appeals may impose reasonable
conditions on the permit, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a)
Require a monopole or guyed tower, if sufficient
land is available to the applicant, instead of a freestanding tower.
(b)
Require reasonable landscaping consisting of
trees or shrubs to screen the telecommunication facility to the extent
possible from adjacent properties. Existing on-site trees and vegetation
shall be preserved to the maximum extent.
(c)
Require that the applicant show that it has
made good faith efforts to co-locate the proposed installation on
existing communication towers or, where such shared use is unavailable,
locating antennas on preexisting structures.
[1]
In the interest of minimizing the number of
communication towers, the Board of Appeals may require that an applicant
agree, in writing, that it will permit other telecommunication providers
to make use of the proposed installation and that the applicant will
design the proposed installation to provide future shared usage, subject
to the following conditions:
[a]
The new antennas and equipment
do not exceed structural loading requirements, interfere with communication
tower space used or to be used by the applicant or create any technical
frequency interference with existing equipment;
[b]
The person desiring to co-locate
pays the applicant a fair and reasonable sum to co-locate; and
[c]
The person desiring to co-locate
provides a written commitment to permit the applicant to co-locate
on its facilities in other locations.
[2]
A condition for co-location shall not be required
if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board of
Appeals that provisions for shared future usage are not feasible or
impose an unnecessary burden based upon:
(d)
The proposed installation shall be designed
and sited so as to avoid, whenever possible, application of Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) lighting and painting requirements.
Communication towers shall not be artificially lighted, except as
required by the FAA. Communication towers shall be painted so as to
be camouflaged as much as possible to blend into their surroundings.
(e)
No tower shall contain any signs or advertising
devices.
(3)
The proposed installation complies with all applicable
requirements of the FCC and the FAA.
(4)
The proposed installation is necessary to provide
adequate service and coverage to the intended area, as demonstrated
by documentation furnished by the applicant.
(5)
The proposed installation, including reception and
transmission functions, will not interfere with radio, television
or telephone service enjoyed by adjacent properties or with public
safety telecommunication service.
D.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, on municipal or government-owned property,
a tower at any setback or height shall be permitted upon the issuance
of a special use permit by the Village Board pursuant to the foregoing
procedure, and a building permit in accordance with the standards
set forth in the Code of the Village of Fairport. Preliminary and
final site plan approval by the Planning Board shall not be required
but shall be obtained by an administrative review by the Village Manager.
[Added 12-14-2015 by L.L.
No. 7-2015]
A.
Telecommunication facilities shall be a permitted
use only:
B.
Amateur radio installations are permitted in any district
subject to the following:
(1)
The antenna support structure or antenna is within
or on a previously approved structure or within the rear yard area
and meets the applicable setback requirements for that district;
(2)
There is no more than one antenna support structure
on the property;
(3)
The total height of the antenna and antenna support
structure above grade shall not exceed 62 feet;
(4)
In the case of a single-wire or dipole-type antenna, naturally occurring features, e.g., trees, may be used as support and not be subject to the rear yard limitation. If a naturally occurring feature is not available on the property and other means are not feasible, then a second antenna support structure may be utilized solely to support a single-wire or dipole-type antenna and shall be subject to the setback requirements set forth in § 476-5B(1) of this chapter;
(5)
A building permit is obtained for the support structure;
and
(6)
The proposed antenna and antenna support structure
will not, by reason of its location or nature, create a hazard to
the public or to any adjacent property owner or occupant.
Federal law currently provides that local municipal
regulation of cellular and PCS communication towers based upon the
environmental effect of radio frequency emissions is preempted and
prohibited as long as those emissions comply with FCC standards. The
Board of Appeals shall, as a condition of granting a special use permit,
require that the applicant provide sufficient evidence that the telecommunication
facility will comply with FCC radio frequency emission standards.
The following conditions shall apply to all
telecommunication facilities:
A.
Suitable emergency and service access and parking;
maximum use of existing roads, public or private, shall be made.
B.
All communication towers, guy wires and anchors shall
be enclosed by a fence not less than six feet in height or otherwise
sufficiently protected against trespassing or vandalism.
C.
The telecommunication facility shall at all times
comply with all applicable federal, state and local regulations, including
but not limited to those of the FAA and FCC.
The following shall be exempt from the application
of this chapter:
A.
The repair and maintenance of existing telecommunication
facilities.
B.
Antennas used solely for residential and household
television and radio reception.
C.
Satellite antenna limited to receiving television
broadcast signals, direct broadcast signals (DBS), direct broadcast
satellite services (DBBS), or multichannel multipoint distribution
services (MMDS), measuring one meter or less in diameter in any district
or two meters or less in a commercial or industrial district, provided
that such antenna is 10 feet or less above the surrounding grade or
building to which it is mounted and a building permit is obtained
to ensure its installation is safe.
A special use permit granted pursuant to this
chapter may be revoked by the Board of Appeals, after a hearing, on
not less than 10 days' notice to the person holding the permit, if
the telecommunication facility and the operation thereof shall not
comply with any of the conditions of the permit or any provisions
of this chapter.
A.
Any person who fails to comply with the provisions
of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine
of not less than $50 nor more than $250 for each day or part thereof
during which such violation continues.[1]
B.
Any person who, after written notice of violation
of this chapter, fails to cure said violation within five days after
written notice is personally served upon said person, or within 10
days after written notice has been sent to said person by registered
mail at his last known residence or place of business, shall be subject
to a civil penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $250 for each
day that said violation continues.
C.
The remedies and penalties provided herein shall be
cumulative and shall be in addition to any other remedies or penalties
provided by law.
If the telecommunication facility shall cease
to operate as a telecommunication facility for a period of 180 consecutive
days or more, the facility shall be deemed to be abandoned. Upon such
abandonment and written notice thereof by the Village to the owner
and/or operator of the facility, the owner and/or operator of the
facility shall remove the facility at its own expense, and failing
the same, the Village may, at its option, either take possession,
control and ownership of said facility or remove the facility at the
expense of the owner and/or operator. Any and all special use permits,
variances and approvals of any nature granted by the Village shall
automatically expire and terminate as of the date of the abandonment
of the facility.
