Facilities shall be approved as follows:
A. Industrial districts. New facilities and co-located facilities: site
plan application per this article. If the tower is to be set back
in any of these districts less than the height of the proposed tower
to any residential district, then the application will also require
a tower permit per this article in addition to site plan approval.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
B. Residential and business zoning districts. New towers
or towers with increased height: Site plan review and a tower permit
as forth set forth in this article; co-located facilities need site
plan review only.
C. The tower must be set back a minimum from any residentially
zoned property or any front yard line, and from any residential dwelling,
school or historic structure, by a minimum of the lesser of 1 1/2
times its height and any antenna attached thereto, or 1 1/2 times
the tower’s highest pre-engineered breaking point, as certified
by a licensed engineer in a manner acceptable to the Town Engineer.
[Amended 2-3-2014 by L.L.
No. 6-2014]
D. Towers exceeding 175 feet in height shall be treated
as Type I actions under the State Environmental Quality Review Act
(SEQRA).
E. The Town Board may hold public hearings or public
informational meetings on any application whenever it deems holding
such a hearing or meeting to be in the public interest.
[Added 12-20-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004; amended 10-15-2012 by L.L. No.
3-2012]
F. Initial approvals under this article shall be for
a period of one year. Renewals shall be for a period of two years,
unless the Town Board determines a shorter period is appropriate.
Special use permits for telecommunications facilities outstanding
at the time of adoption of this code shall be deemed tower permits,
and renewals shall be reviewed under this article.
[Added 12-20-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004]
The shared use of existing telecommunications
facilities or other structures shall be preferred to the construction
of new such facilities. Any application for a telecommunications facility
permit or renewal thereof or modification of the conditions of a current
telecommunications facility permit shall include proof that reasonable
efforts have been made to co-locate with an existing telecommunications
facility or upon an existing structure. The application shall include
an adequate inventory report specifying existing telecommunications
facility sites and structures of height exceeding 75% of the height
of the proposed tower within a one-mile radius from the proposed site
if the application is for cellular telephone or personal communication
use, or a five-mile radius for other services, and outlining opportunities
for shared use as an alternative to the proposed location. The application
must demonstrate that the proposed telecommunications facility cannot
be accommodated on all sites in the inventory due to one or more of
the reasons set forth in this article.
[Amended 3-29-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006; 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
All applications for telecommunications facilities
towers and/or antennas shall make a written application to the Town
Board.
A. This
application shall include:
(1)
Site plan application and, where applicable,
tower permit application form, supplied by the Town.
(2)
Long form environmental assessment form (EAF),
including but not limited to a visual EAF addendum.
(4)
Site plan in accordance with this chapter, showing
at a minimum:
(a)
The exact location of the proposed tower, together
with guy wires, guy anchors, if applicable;
(b)
The maximum height of the proposed tower;
(c)
A detail of tower type (monopoles, guyed, freestanding,
or other);
(d)
The color or colors of the tower;
(e)
The location, type, and intensity of any lighting
on the tower;
(f)
The property boundaries (a copy of a property
survey must also be provided);
(g)
Proof of the landowner's consent if the applicant
will not own the property, (a copy of a lease agreement must also
be provided if the applicant will not own the property);
(h)
The location of all 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;
(i)
Names and addresses of adjacent landowners;
(j)
The location, nature and extent of any proposed
fencing, landscaping, or screening;
(k)
The location and nature of proposed utility
easements and/or access roads, if applicable; and
(l)
Building elevations of accessory structures
or immediately adjacent buildings.
(5)
Before and after propagation studies prepared
by a qualified radio frequency engineer demonstrating existing signal
coverage contrasted with the proposed signal coverage resulting from
the proposed telecommunications facility.
(6)
A search ring prepared by a qualified radio
frequency engineer 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 area or cell. The applicant must be prepared to explain
to the Board why it selected the proposed site, discuss the availability
or lack of availability of a suitable site within the search ring,
which would have allowed for co-located antennas and to what extent
the applicant explored locating the proposed tower in a more intensive
use district. Correspondence with other telecommunications companies
concerning co-location is part of this requirement.
(7)
The applicant must submit a copy of its policy
regarding co-location of the proposed tower with other potential applications.
Such policy should allow co-location if new antennas and/or equipment
do not or will not exceed structural loading requirements, interfere
with tower space use, or pose any technical or radio frequency or
interference with existing equipment.
(8)
A report prepared by a New York State licensed
professional engineer, which in the case of a tower describes its
height and design, including a cross section of the structure, demonstrates
the towers compliance with applicable structural standards and describes
the tower's capacity including the number and type of antennas it
can accommodate. In the case of an antenna or antennas mounted on
an existing structure, the report shall indicate the existing structures
suitability to accept the antenna and proposed method of affixing
the antenna to the structure. Complete details of all fixtures and
couplings and the precise point of attachment shall be indicated.
(9)
An agreement by the applicant in writing to
remove the telecommunications facility if such facility becomes technically
obsolete or ceases to be used for its originally intended purpose
for 12 consecutive months.
B. The applicant,
at the time of obtaining a tower permit, if one is obtained, must
provide a financial security bond with the Town as assignee in an
amount fixed by the Town Board, but not less than $10,000. Said bond
shall be adequate, in the opinion of the Town Engineer or other licensed
engineer, to insure that the tower shall be removed if not removed
at the end of its use by the permittee.
C. The Town
reserves the right upon review of the application to request reasonable,
additional, visual, and aesthetic information it deems appropriate
on a case by case basis and as it may pertain to a residential district,
historic District, agricultural use, or other special situation.
D. The Town Board shall determine the components of applications for
a telecommunications facility in accordance with this chapter.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
The Town may express a preference that the proposed
telecommunications facility be located in a higher-intensity use district
or on higher intensity use property. As a general guideline, the Town's
preference from most favorable to least favorable districts shall
be as follows:
A. Property with existing structure suitable for co-location;
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
Telecommunications facilities shall be located
and buffered to the maximum extent practicable and technologically
feasible to help insure compatibility with surrounding land uses.
In order to minimize any adverse impact on neighboring residents to
the extent possible, the Town Board may impose conditions on the applicant
(and in the case of Subsection E herein shall impose said condition),
including the following:
A. Tower height, location and design are matters of primary
public concern. The Town may require monopoles or guyed tower instead
of a freestanding tower.
B. The Town may require reasonable landscaping consisting
of trees or shrubs to screen historic sites and/or residential districts.
The Town Board may modify this condition if the facility is attached
to an existing structure or for other satisfactory reasons supported
by expert testimony.
C. All telecommunications facilities shall be separated
from residential dwellings, schools, houses of worship, places of
public assembly and designated historic sites and/or districts by
the greater of 500 feet or five times the height of the facility.
The Town Board may modify this condition if the facility is attached
to an existing structure or for other satisfactory reasons supported
by expert testimony.
D. Towers shall be designed and sited so as to avoid
whenever possible, application of Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) lighting and painting requirements. The towers shall not be
artificially lighted except as required by the FAA or the Town. The
towers shall be of a nonreflective finish, color subject to Town approval
unless otherwise required by the FAA. Any lighting which may be required
by the FAA shall not consist of strobe lights unless specifically
mandated by FAA.
E. All facilities shall include a fall zone surrounding any support,
which fall zone must have a radius of at least equal to the lesser
of 1 1/2 times the height of such support tower and any antenna
attached thereto or 1 1/2 times the tower's highest pre-engineered
breaking point, as certified by a licensed engineer in a manner acceptable
to the Town Engineer. The entire fall zone may not include public
roads, must be on private property, either owned or leased by the
applicant, or for which the applicant has obtained an easement. The
fall zone may not contain any structure other than those associated
with the telecommunications facilities. If the facility is attached
to an existing structure, fall zone requirements may be modified by
the Town Board. All other requests for variances from this provision
may be submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
F. No tower or device or facility shall contain any signs
or advertising. The Town may, however, require appropriate signage
indicating ownership of the facility and telephone number to call
in case of emergency.
G. Towers and auxiliary structures shall be surrounded
by a fence or wall at least eight feet in height of a design approved
by the Board so as to make intrusion difficult. Barbed wire is not
to be used in a residential area or on public property unless specifically
permitted by the Board. There shall be no permanent climbing pegs
within 15 feet of the ground on any tower or facility.
H. All other uses ancillary to the telecommunications
facility and associated equipment are prohibited unless otherwise
permitted in zone.
I. The Town may impose as a condition on the applicant
that the antennas be operated only at FCC designated frequencies on
power levels and/or EPA technical exposure limits and that the applicant
provide competent documentation to support the maximum allowable frequencies,
power levels, and exposure limits will not be exceeded.
All telecommunications facilities, both predating
and otherwise this article, shall fulfill the requirements of this
section. A Code Enforcement Officer is empowered to enforce these
regulations.
A. The sufficiency of the removal bond shall be confirmed
at least every five years by a removal and property restoration cost
analysis performed by a licensed New York State professional engineer
with the results sent to the Town. If the bond amount in force is
insufficient to cover the cost of removal, it shall be immediately
increased to cover such amount.
B. The facility shall be inspected at least every two
years for structural integrity by a licensed New York State professional
engineer, and a copy of the inspection report submitted to the Town.
C. All telecommunications facilities shall be maintained
in good order and repair and all such work shall comply with all applicable
code requirement of any governmental body issuing such rules and/or
regulations.
D. Any additional antennas, reception or transmission
devices or other similar receiving or transmitting device proposed
for attachment to an existing facility shall require review in accordance
with this article. The intent of this requirement is to insure the
structural integrity, visual aesthetic and land use compatibility
of communication towers upon which additional antennas, reception
or transmission devices are to be installed. Towers and antennas may
be repaired and maintained (but not expanded) without restriction.
E. No outside storage of vehicles, materials or waste
shall be allowed except for the limited periods when the facility
is undergoing construction, repair, or maintenance.