The Village of Pulaski recognizes the increased demand for wireless
communications transmitting facilities and the need for services they provide.
Often these facilities require the construction of a communications tower.
The intent of this chapter is to regulate telecommunications facilities, as
herein defined, in order to achieve the following:
A. Promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the
residents of the Village of Pulaski.
B. Protect the natural features and aesthetic character
of the Village of Pulaski.
C. Provide standards for the safe provision of telecommunication
facilities consistent with applicable federal and state regulations.
D. Protect the Village's interest in properly siting towers
in a manner consistent with sound land use planning, while also allowing wireless
services providers to meet their technological and service objectives.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
An accessory facility or structure serving or being used in conjunction
with a telecommunication facility or tower and located on the same lot as
a telecommunication facility or tower. Examples of such structures include
utility or transmission equipment, storage sheds or cabinets.
ANTENNA
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive radio
frequency signals. Such signals shall include but not be limited to radio,
television, cellular, paging, PCS and microwave communications.
CAMOUFLAGING
The construction of facilities to house or support telecommunications
towers so that the towers blend readily with the landscape, neighborhood,
and adjacent architectural features. Examples of camouflaging that could be
used are: silo and barn, windmill, and simulated tree.
COLLOCATED ANTENNAS
Telecommunication facilities which utilize existing towers, buildings
or other structures for placement of antenna(s) and which do not require construction
of a new tower.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
Towers and/or antennas and accessory structures used in connection
with the provision of cellular telephone service, personal communications
services (PCS), paging services, radio and television broadcast services and
similar broadcast services. The following types of telecommunication facilities
are not subject to the provisions of this section:
A.
Antennas used solely for residential household television and radio
reception.
B.
Satellite antennas measuring two meters or less in diameter and located
in commercial districts and satellite antennas one meter or less in diameter,
regardless of location.
TOWER
A structure designed to support antennas. It includes, without limit,
freestanding towers, guyed towers, monopoles and similar structures which
employ camouflage technology.
No special use permit or renewal thereof or modification of a current
special use permit relating to a telecommunication facility shall be authorized
by the Planning Board unless it finds that such telecommunication facility:
A. Is necessary to meet current or expected demands for
services;
B. Conformed with all applicable regulations promulgated
by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration,
and other federal agencies;
C. Is considered a public utility in the State of New York;
D. Is designed and constructed in a manner which minimizes
visual impact to the extent practical;
E. Complies with all other requirements of this chapter,
unless expressly superseded herein;
F. Is the most appropriate site among those available within
the technologically feasible area for the location of a telecommunications
facility.
The following criteria and additional requirements shall apply to each
application for a telecommunications facility.
A. Dimensional standards.
(1) Setbacks.
(a)
All new towers shall be set back from all adjacent property
lines a sufficient distance to safeguard the general public and/or adjacent
property. In the absence of any evidence supporting a greater or lesser setback
distance, a setback of the tower from any adjacent property line equal to
the height of the tower plus 50 feet shall be deemed adequate. In no case
shall a tower be located closer than 1,000 feet to a residential dwelling
located upon any other parcel.
(b)
Accessory structures and guy anchors must comply with
the minimum setback requirements of the underlying district.
(2) All telecommunication facilities shall be located on
a single parcel. A lot leased or owned for the purpose of construction of
a tower as part of a telecommunications facility shall not result in the creation
of a nonconforming lot.
B. Collocation.
(1) The shared use of existing telecommunications facilities
shall be preferred to the construction of new facilities. Additionally, where
such shared use is unavailable, location of an antenna on preexisting structures
shall be considered. Land availability in the Village of Pulaski for such
use is limited and applicants shall make every effort to utilize existing
facilities. Any special permit application, renewal or modification thereof
shall include proof that reasonable efforts have been made to collocate within
(share) an existing telecommunication facility or upon an existing structure.
Copies of written requests and responses for shared use shall be provided.
The application shall also include an adequate inventory report specifying
existing telecommunication facility sites and structures exceeding 75% of
the height of the proposed tower within the search range of the cell grid.
The inventory report shall contain an alternative to new construction.
(2) The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed telecommunication
facility cannot be accommodated on existing telecommunications facilities
sites or other structures in the inventory due to one or more of the following
reasons:
(a)
The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity
of existing and approved telecommunication facilities or other structures,
considering existing and planned use for those facilities;
(b)
The planned equipment would cause radio frequency interference
with other existing or planned equipment which cannot be reasonably prevented;
(c)
Existing or approved telecommunications facilities or
other structures do not have space on which proposed equipment can be placed
so it can function effectively and reasonably;
(d)
Other technical reasons make it impracticable to place
the equipment proposed by the applicant on existing facilities or structure;
(e)
The property owner or owner of the existing telecommunication
facility or other structure refuses to allow such collocation.
(3) The applicant must examine the feasibility of designing
a proposed commercial communication tower to accommodate future demand for
commercial broadcasting and reception facilities. The scope of this analysis
shall be determined by the Village Planning Board for special use permit approvals.
This requirement may be waived, provided that the applicant demonstrates that
the provision of future shared usage of the facility is not feasible and an
unnecessary burden, based upon:
(a)
The number of FCC licenses foreseeable available for
the area;
(b)
The kind of tower site and structure proposed;
(c)
The number of existing and potential licenses without
tower spaces/sites;
(d)
Available spaces on existing and approved towers; and
(e)
Potential adverse visual impact by a tower designed for
shared usage.
C. Lighting and markings.
(1) Towers shall not be artificially lighted and marked beyond
the requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
(2) Notwithstanding the preceding subsection, an applicant
may be compelled to add FAA-style lighting and marking if in the judgment
of the Planning Board such a requirement would be of direct benefit to public
safety.
D. Appearance and buffering.
(1) The use of any portion of a telecommunications facility
for signs, promotional or advertising purposes, including but not limited
to company name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons is prohibited.
(2) The facility shall have the least practical visual effect
on the environment, as determined by the Planning Board. Any tower that is
not subject to FAA-markings shall otherwise:
(a)
Have a galvanized finish, or shall be painted gray or
green below the tree line, as deemed appropriate by the Village Planning Board;
or
(b)
Be disguised or camouflaged to blend in with the surroundings,
to the extent that such alteration does not impair the ability of the facility
to perform its designed function.
(3) Accessory structures shall maximize the use of building
materials, colors, and textures designed to blend in with the natural surroundings.
(4) The Village Planning Board shall require that the facility
have appropriate vegetative buffering around the fences of the tower base
area, accessory structure and the anchor points of guyed towers to buffer
their view from neighboring residences, recreation areas, or public roads.
Such screening shall include the maximum feasible retention of existing vegetation.
E. Traffic access and safety.
(1) A gated and locked road turnaround and two parking spaces
shall be provided to assure adequate emergency and service access. Maximum
use of existing roads, public or private, shall be made. Road construction
shall at all times minimize ground disturbance and vegetation cutting and
road grades shall closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual
disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.
(2) All towers and guy anchors, if applicable, shall be enclosed by a fence not less than eight feet in height or otherwise sufficiently secured to protect them from trespassing or vandalism. All such fenced areas shall be screened as provided in Subsection
D(4) above.
(3) The applicant must comply with all applicable state and
federal regulations, including but not limited to FAA and FCC regulations,
and must submit written evidence of such compliance.
(4) The applicant shall in each instance provide a certification
from a qualified, licensed engineer, certifying that the tower or telecommunications
facility meets structural safety standards.
F. Height. The applicant shall submit sufficient information
to justify the proposed height of a tower as the minimum necessary to achieve
its coverage objectives. In no event, however, shall any tower exceed a height
of 199 feet above existing adjoining grade level. The applicant must also
submit documentation justifying the height of any telecommunication tower
and/or antenna. The maximum height of any tower with antenna shall not exceed
a height which will require artificial lighting of any kind and nature in
accordance with any town, county, state, and federal laws or regulations without
first obtaining an area variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.