The Board of Trustees of the Village of Lake
Success finds that the potential and/or actual adverse impacts on
aesthetic resources and potential damage to adjacent properties from
failure to adhere to structural standards and setback requirements
in the siting and screening of wireless services antennas, towers
and accessory structures may be a problem to the residents and community
of the Village. In order to minimize the threat of such potential
adverse impacts and to achieve the purposes and objectives hereinafter
set forth, this article is adopted.
The purpose of this article is to establish
predictable and balanced regulations for the siting and screening
of wireless service antennas, towers, and accessory structures in
order to accommodate the growth of such systems within the Village
while protecting the public against any adverse impacts on aesthetic
resources, avoiding potential damage to adjacent properties from tower
failure through structural standards and setback requirements, and
reduce the number of towers needed to serve the community by maximizing
the use of existing towers and buildings.
For the purpose of this article, the following
terms are defined as follows:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURES
Accessory buildings and structures, including base stations
designed and used to shelter equipment and/or to support wireless
service antennas. The term "accessory structures" does not include
offices, long-term storage of vehicles or other equipment storage
or broadcast studios.
ANTENNA
A device used to transmit and/or receive or electromagnetic
waves, including but not limited to directional antennas, such as
panels and microwave dishes and omnidirectional antennas, such as
whip antennas.
SUPPORT STRUCTURE
A device that holds up the antenna, which device can also
be, but is not limited to, a tower.
TOWER
Any ground- or roof-mounted pole, spire, structure or combination
thereof taller than 15 feet, including supporting lines, cables, wires,
braces and masts, built for the purpose of mounting an antenna, meteorological
device or similar apparatus above grade.
WIRELESS SERVICES
Commercial mobile services, unlicensed wireless services
and common carrier wireless exchange access services as used and defined
by 47 U.S.C. § 332.
The Board of Trustees is hereby authorized to
review and approve, approve with modifications or disapprove special
use permits to construct, modify or maintain wireless services, antennas,
accessory structures and/or towers. This article shall not effect
the construction or use of parabolic satellite antennas or other antennas
employed solely for receiving electromagnetic waves and which measure
less than three square feet in area and less than two feet in diameter,
length and width.
A. No antenna, tower, support structure, accessory structure
or wireless services shall hereafter be used, erected, changed or
altered except after obtaining a special use permit in conformity
with this article.
B. The Board of Trustees shall review and approve, with
modifications or disapprove special use permits pursuant to this law.
The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to impose such reasonable
conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental
to the proposed antenna, tower or accessory structures.
All towers erected, constructed or located within
the Village shall comply with the following requirements:
A. A proposal for a tower shall not be approved unless
the Board of Trustees finds that the antenna planned for the proposed
tower cannot be accommodated on an existing or approved tower or building
within a one-mile search radius (one-half-mile search radius for towers
under 120 feet in height, one-fourth-mile search radius for towers
under 80 feet in height) of the proposed tower due to one or more
of the following reasons:
(1)
The antenna would exceed the structural capacity
of the existing or approved tower or building, as documented by a
qualified professional engineer, and the existing or approved tower
cannot be reinforced, modified or replaced to accommodate the planned
or equivalent antenna at a reasonable cost.
(2)
The antenna would cause interference materially
impacting the usability of other existing or planned antenna at the
tower or building as documented by a qualified professional engineer
and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost.
(3)
Existing or approved towers and buildings within
the search radius cannot accommodate the antenna at a height necessary
to function reasonably as documented by a qualified professional engineer.
(4)
Other foreseen reasons that make it infeasible
to locate the antenna upon an existing or approved tower or building.
B. Future shared use.
(1)
Any proposed tower shall be designed, structurally,
electrically and in all respects, to accommodate both the applicant's
antennas and comparable antennas for at least two additional users.
Towers must be designed to allow for future rearrangement of antennas
upon the tower and to accept antennas mounted at varying height.
(2)
The applicant shall submit to the Board of Trustees
a letter of intent committing the applicant and his/her successors
in interest to negotiate in good faith for shared use of the proposed
tower by other wireless service providers in the future. The issuance
of a permit, if the tower is approved according to this section, shall
commit the new tower owner and his/her successors in interest to:
(a)
Respond in timely comprehensive manner to a
request for information from a potential shared-use applicant.
(b)
Negotiate in good faith concerning future requests
for shared use of the new tower, by other wireless service providers.
(c)
Allow shared use of the new tower if another
wireless service provider agrees in writing to pay charges.
(d)
Make no more than a reasonable charge for shared
use, based on generally accepted accounting principles. The charge
may include but is not limited to a pro rata share of the cost of
site selection, planning, project administration, land costs, site
design, construction and maintenance financing, return on equity and
depreciation, and all of the costs of adapting the tower or equipment
to accommodate a shared user without causing electromagnetic interference.
C. In order to keep neighboring municipalities informed
and to facilitate the possibility of directing that an existing tall
structure or existing tower in a neighboring municipality be considered
for shared use, the Board of Trustees shall require that:
(1)
An applicant who proposes a new tower shall
notify in writing the legislative body of each municipality that borders
the Village and the Nassau County Planning Commission. Notification
shall include the exact location of the proposed tower and a general
description of the project including but not limited to the height
of the tower and its capacity for future shared use.
(2)
Documentation of this notification shall be
submitted to the Board of Trustees at the time of application.
Every permit granting approval of an antenna
or tower shall state that any assignment or transfer of the permit
or any rights thereunder may be made only with the approval of the
Board of Trustees.
The permit shall be subject to review by the
Board of Trustees at ten-year intervals, to determine whether the
technology in the provision of wireless services has changed such
that the necessity for the permit at the time of its approval has
been eliminated or modified and whether the permit should be modified
or terminated as a result of any such change.
A permit fee is required for filing an application
for a permit for an antenna or tower and the fee imposed shall be
as set forth in a schedule of fees adopted by resolution of the Board
of Trustees.
Abandoned or unused towers or portions of towers
shall be removed as follows:
A. All abandoned or unused towers and associated facilities
shall be removed within 12 months of the cessation of operations at
the site unless a time extension is approved by the Board of Trustees.
A copy of the relevant portions of a signed lease which requires the
applicant to remove the tower and associated facilities upon cessation
of operations at the site shall be submitted at the time of application.
In the event that a tower is not removed within 12 months of the cessation
of operations at a site, the tower and associated facilities may be
removed by the Village and the costs of removal assessed against the
property.
B. Unused portions of towers above a manufactured connection
shall be removed within six months of the time of antenna relocation.
The replacement of portions of a tower previously removed requires
the issuance of a new special use permit.
Antennas and towers in existence which do not
conform to or comply with this article are subject to the following
provisions:
A. Antennas and towers may continue in use for the purpose
now used and as now existing but may not be replaced or structurally
altered without complying in all respects with this law.
B. If such antennas or towers are hereafter damaged or
destroyed due to any reason or cause whatsoever, the antenna or tower
may be repaired and restored to its former use, location and physical
dimensions without complying with this article; provided, however,
that if the cost of repairing the tower to the former use, physical
dimensions and location would be 10% or more of the cost of a new
tower of like kind and quality, then the tower may not be repaired
or restored except in full compliance with this law.
The Board of Trustees shall conduct a public
hearing within 62 days from the day a complete application is received.
The Board of Trustees shall issue a decision within 60 days after
the hearing. Any denial for a permit under this law shall be in writing
and supported by substantial evidence.