Pursuant to the authority conferred by Article
16 of the Town Law of the State of New York and the Municipal Home
Rule Law of the State of New York, the Village Board of the Village
of Waverly, County of Tioga and State of New York, has ordained and
does hereby enact this chapter regulating and restricting the location,
size and use of telecommunications facilities and their accessory
structures in the Village of Waverly.
The Village of Waverly recognizes the increased
demand for wireless communication transmitting facilities and the
need for the services they provide. Often these facilities require
the construction of a communications tower and/or similar facilities.
The intent of this chapter is to regulate the location, construction
and modification of the telecommunications facilities in accordance
with the guidelines of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other
applicable laws by:
A. Accommodating the need for telecommunications towers/antennas
while regulating their location and numbers in the community.
B. Minimizing adverse visual impacts of these tower/antennas
through proper siting, design and screening.
C. Preserving and enhancing the positive aesthetic qualities
of the natural environment and current development of the Village
of Waverly.
D. Providing for the health, safety and welfare of the
community by avoiding potential damage or other negative impact to
adjacent properties from power failure, falling ice, etc., through
proper siting and engineering.
E. Requiring the joint use of towers when available and
encouraging the placement of antennas on existing structures to minimize
the number of such structures in the future.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
A nonhabitable accessory facility or structure serving or
being used in conjunction with a communications tower and/or similar
facility and usually located on the same lot as the communications
tower. Examples of such structures include utility or transmission
equipment storage sheds or cabinets. All other uses ancillary to the
antenna and associated equipment (including a business office, maintenance
depot, vehicle storage, etc.) are prohibited from the site unless
otherwise permitted in the zoning district in which the facility is
located.
ANTENNA
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive
frequency signals. Such signals shall include but not be limited to
radio, television, cellular, paging, digital and/or data communications,
personal wireless communication services (PWS) and microwave communications.
COLLOCATED/EXISTING STRUCTURE ANTENNAS
Any antenna that will be mounted to an existing communications
tower, smokestack, water tower or other existing structure, and extends
no more than 15 feet above the height of the existing structure.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
Towers and/or antennas and accessory structures together
used in connection with the provision of cellular telephone service,
personal communications services, digital and/or data communication
services, paging services, radio and television broadcast services
and similar broadcast services. (Also referred to as "facilities"
or "equipment.")
TOWER
A structure designed to support antennas. It includes, without
limit, freestanding towers, guyed towers, monopoles and similar structures
which do or which do not employ camouflage technology.
No telecommunications facility shall be sited,
located, constructed, erected or modified without the issuance of
a building permit and such other permits or approvals as are prescribed
in this chapter.
A collocated or existing structure antenna,
as defined in § 155-30, is permitted in all zoning districts
without a tower special use permit upon issuance of a building permit.
The building permit application shall include the following:
A. A structural analysis/report, certified by a professional
engineer or architect licensed in New York State, verifying the ability
of the structure to handle the antenna.
B. Certification by a qualified radio frequency engineer
(signed and sealed by a professional engineer or architect licensed
in the State of New York) that the cumulative emissions from all antennas
proposed to be located at the proposed site meet federal guidelines.
C. The height or the new antenna shall extend no more
than 15 feet above the height of the existing structure.
D. The antenna and any mounting structure and related
equipment shall be integrated into said structure in such a manner
as to minimize its visual impact to the greatest extent possible.
All applicants for a tower special use permit
shall make a written application for special use permit to the Village
of Waverly Planning Board through the Village of Waverly Planning
and Zoning Department. Said application shall include the following.
A. A completed tower special use permit application form.
In addition to the requirements set forth herein, all applications
shall be processed in accordance with the requirements of the Code
of the Village of Waverly generally applicable to special use permits.
The application shall be accompanied by the payment of the tower special
use permit application fee, as established by the Village Board in
the Schedule of Fees.
B. Special use permit application form, including long form environmental assessment form (EAF). The application shall not be deemed complete unless accompanied by the propagation studies and search ring analysis described in Subsections
D and
E of this section.
C. A site plan in the form and content acceptable to
the Village of Waverly Planning Board, prepared to scale and in sufficient
detail and accuracy. At minimum, such site plan shall include:
(1) The exact location of the proposed tower, together
with guy wires and ground anchors, if applicable, and any accessory
structures.
(2) The maximum height of the proposed tower and antennas.
(3) A detail of tower type (monopole, guyed, freestanding
or other).
(4) The color or colors of the tower.
(5) The location, type, and intensity of any lighting
on the tower and antennas.
(6) A survey showing the boundary of the property and
a topographical map of the property with contour lines not exceeding
five-foot intervals.
(7) Proof of ownership of the land by the applicant or
the landowner's consent if the applicant will not own the property.
A copy of the final lease agreement, plus any amendments thereto,
must also be provided if the applicant will not own the property.
(8) The location of all current and proposed structures
on the property and all structures on any adjacent property within
50 feet of the property lines, together with the distance of these
structures to the tower and antennas and location of any adjacent
residential dwellings, schools and historic structures within 500
feet.
(9) Identification of adjacent landowners.
(10)
The location, nature and extent of any proposed
fencing and landscaping or screening. Existing on-site vegetation
shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible.
(11)
The location and nature of proposed utility
easements and access roads, if applicable. The applicant must demonstrate
that all private access roads will be maintained in order to ensure
access by emergency vehicles on a year-round basis.
(12)
Building elevations of accessory structures
or immediately adjacent buildings within 50 feet.
D. Before and after propagation studies prepared by a
qualified radio frequency engineer (signed and sealed by a professional
engineer licensed in the State of New York) demonstrating existing
signal coverage resulting from the proposed telecommunications facility.
E. A search ring analysis prepared by a qualified radio
frequency engineer (signed and sealed by a professional engineer licensed
in the State of New York) and overlaid on an appropriate background
map demonstrating the area within which the telecommunications facility
needs to be located in order to provide proper signal strength and
coverage to the target cell. The applicant must be prepared to explain
to the Village of Waverly Planning Board how and why it selected the
proposed site, discuss the availability (or lack of availability)
of a suitable structure within the search ring which would have allowed
for collocated antenna(s) and to what extent the applicant explored
locating the proposed tower and antennas in a more desirable use district.
Proof of correspondence with other telecommunications companies concerning
collocation shall be a part of this requirement.
F. The Village of Waverly Planning Board, upon reviewing
the application, may request reasonable additional visual and aesthetic
and site information as it deems appropriate on a case-by-case basis.
Such additional information may include, among other things, visual
impact statements, enhanced landscaping plans, line-of-site drawings
and/or visual simulations from viewpoints selected from the Village
staff.
G. For sites in close proximity to significant historical
sites or important preservation/conservation areas, the Village of
Waverly Planning Board may request additional site plans and tower
special use permit requirements. These requirements may include specially
designed towers, additional screening, greater setbacks and improved
landscaping. Siting in these areas should be avoided to the maximum
extent possible.
H. The applicant must submit a copy of its policy regarding
collocation of other facilities on the proposed tower. Such policy
shall allow collocation under the following conditions:
(1) The new antenna(s) and equipment do not exceed structural
loading requirements, interfere with tower space used or to be used
by the applicant nor pose any technical or radio frequency interference
with existing equipment.
(2) The party desiring to collocate pays the applicant
an appropriate and reasonable sum to collocate.
(3) The party desiring to collocate has a similar policy
of collocation as the applicant.
I. During the application process and after the construction
of the tower, the applicant shall provide a certification from a qualified
professional engineer licensed in New York State, certifying that
the tower and antennas meet applicable New York State and American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) structural safety standards.
Upon issuance of a tower special use permit
by the Village of Waverly Planning Board, the applicant must obtain
a building permit, pursuant to § 155-29, before the facility
may be placed in service.
The following criteria will be considered by
the Village of Waverly Planning Board prior to the approval/denial
of a request for a tower special use permit. The criteria listed may
be used as a basis to impose reasonable conditions on the applicant.
Tower special use permits run with the land and may not be transferred
to a different parcel of land.
All telecommunications facilities shall be maintained
in good order and repair. The Village of Waverly Planning Board may
require reasonable records of such maintenance to be kept and available
for Village review upon request.
The following shall be exempt:
A. The tower and antennas may be repaired and maintained
without restriction.
B. Antennas and satellite antennas used solely for residential
household television and radio reception.
C. 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.
In the event of any conflicts or inconsistencies
between this chapter and any other local law, this chapter shall control
telecommunications towers and similar facilities in the town unless
otherwise specifically referenced in this chapter.