A. 
An application for a permit shall be signed by the applicant, certified to be true and complete, and contain the following information:
(1) 
Name, address (and post office address if different), telephone and FAX numbers, and e-mail address of applicant, owner if different, and operator if different.
(2) 
Name, address (and post office address if different), telephone and FAX numbers, and e-mail address of engineering consultant(s), legal representative(s), and other participants in the project.
(3) 
Name, address (and post office address if different), telephone and FAX numbers, and e-mail address of other providers proposing to collocate on the facility or, if the applicant is proposing to collocate, of the person offering the other site.
(4) 
The legal form of the applicant, and operator if different (corporation, partnership, LLC, etc.), and evidence that each is legally qualified to do business in New York.
(5) 
Address and Tax Map parcel number of the property on which the proposed site is located.
(6) 
Whether the site is or will be a subdivided part of a larger parcel.
(7) 
If the applicant is not the owner, documentary proof of the applicant's rights to the site (option, lease, etc.).
(8) 
Whether or not the property is in an agricultural district established under Article 25AA of the New York Agriculture and Markets Law.
(9) 
Copies of deed restrictions and easements, etc. affecting the site.
(10) 
A diagram [which may be in the form of an extract from the Oneida County Department of Finance Tax Map(s)] showing the location of all parcels (whether within or without the Town) having a boundary 2,500 feet or less from any boundary of the proposed site, giving the name and post office address of the owner of each parcel, and showing the approximate location, size, and height of all buildings and structures on any included parcel.
(11) 
A statement of the applicant's intentions with respect to shared use of the facility, explaining the reasons if collocation will not be permitted or is not contemplated, and disclosing any agreement in effect before submission of the application that would limit or preclude collocation.
(12) 
If the applicant is a provider of personal wireless services or is otherwise required to be licensed by the FCC to provide the intended service, documentary proof that the applicant holds a valid FCC license to operate the facility. If the applicant is not a provider, documentary proof of an agreement for operation of the facility immediately on its completion by a provider with FCC license approval. FCC-licensed providers shall include a copy of any FCC license applicable to the project and a map of the related licensed service area.
(13) 
A description of any feature of the project specified in § 239-m, Subdivision 3(b), of the New York General Municipal Law.
(14) 
A description of the applicant's maintenance, inspection, and recordkeeping procedures for the proposed installation.
(15) 
References to all permits or approvals, not otherwise mentioned, necessary from local, state, or federal agencies for the proposed project, including contact information for agency representatives and copies of all written approvals received and permits issued.
B. 
If the applicant desires a waiver or exemption from any requirement of this chapter, the application shall include a request for such relief. The standards and procedures provided for in § 127-33 shall apply to the Board's consideration and action on the request.
The applicant shall submit a site plan incorporating standard survey information and showing or including at a minimum:
A. 
Locator map showing where in the Town the site is.
B. 
Boundaries of the site plotted to scale, including distances, bearings, and area. If the site is a subdivided parcel, also a map of the parcel from which it is taken showing the location of the site.
C. 
Location, name, and width of public highway(s) to which the site will have access.
D. 
All existing and proposed easements, rights-of-way, setbacks, reservations, and the like.
E. 
Hydrologic features, including bodies of water, permanent or intermittent streams, and wetlands, and a grading and drainage plan showing existing and proposed contours at a maximum of two-foot intervals.
F. 
Site plan of the entire development, showing and identifying all improvements and features including utilities, roads, grading and drainage plans, existing vegetation cover types and tree lines and extent of proposed vegetation disturbance and clearing, landscaping, plantings, fencing, and screening, and precise latitude and longitude coordinates of the base of any tower(s).
The applicant shall submit a report from a qualified and licensed professional engineer which:
A. 
Includes complete and detailed construction plans and specifications of all structural and operational features of the proposed facility and required site improvements and elevations showing all facades, indicating exterior materials and colors of all buildings and structures, including towers.
B. 
Certifies that a topographic and geomorphologic study and analysis has been conducted, and that taking into account the subsurface and substrata and the proposed drainage plan, the site is adequate to assure the stability of the proposed tower and related facilities on the site.
C. 
Describes any visual impact mitigation not depicted in the site plan.
D. 
Towers shall not be lighted nor display beacons except as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or other legal authority. If lighting is required, the report shall include a detailed plan of the least intrusive, but sufficient, lighting permissible under the applicable legal requirement and an artist's rendering or other visual representation showing the effect of light emanating from the site on the property in the vicinity.
E. 
Describes according to standard industry terms the operational character and specifications of the transmission/reception service that the proposed facility is intended to provide.
F. 
Demonstrates compliance of all proposed facilities with applicable electrical standards, including grounding, bonding, and appropriate surge protection.
G. 
Presents in detail the reasons why the applicant considers the proposed facility necessary to meet the frequency reuse and spacing needs of the applicant's communications system and to provide adequate service and coverage to the intended area. In support of this presentation the following documentation should be included:
(1) 
A map of the coverage area intended to be served from the proposed facility with alternate sites identified.
(2) 
Propagation plots for:
(a) 
Existing operational sites for the applicant's type of service up to five miles from the boundary of the Town;
(b) 
All proposed sites that are not the subject of the application;
(c) 
The site proposed in the application and the alternate sites included in the coverage area.
(3) 
RF drive tests conducted with respect to the site proposed in the application and the alternate sites included in the coverage area.
H. 
Certification that the proposed facility will operate within the threshold levels adopted by the FCC for nonionizing electromagnetic radiation (NIER). If the facility generates ionizing radiation, a full explanation shall be included.
I. 
Environmental assessment form. A completed Part 1 of the full environmental assessment form (FEAF), including the visual EAF addendum. Particular attention shall be given to visibility from key viewpoints identified in the visual EAF addendum, existing tree lines and proposed elevations. The project description in Part 1 of the FEAF should include the anticipated five-year build-out of the provider's telecommunications network in the Town of Steuben, including any future planned telecommunication facilities.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
J. 
A visual impact assessment of the viewshed of the proposed site encompassing a study area with a radius of five miles from its location prepared by or under the direction of a qualified landscape architect or other professional experienced in doing such studies and conforming to procedures and guidelines contained in established visual impact assessment methodologies.
(1) 
If requested by the Board, the applicant shall furnish a visual impact assessment for alternate sites.
K. 
Written determinations from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation that the project will not have any impact on any sites that are on or eligible for inclusion on the National or New York State Historic Registers; or if there are potential impacts on such sites provide what the Office recommends for mitigation.
L. 
Documentation from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation concerning the presence or absence of any protected species.
The applicant may submit and the Board may require other information that either, respectively, considers necessary to evaluate the request.
The Board will normally seek to have lead agency status with respect to compliance with SEQR and its implementing regulations (6 NYCRR Part 617) in cooperation with other involved agencies in the review of the application. The Board shall have authority to require such information from the applicant as will enable the Board to properly define the SEQR action pursuant to 6 NYCRR 617.3(g).
[Amended 3-13-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]
The Town is responsible for administration within the Town of the State Uniform Code. The Board shall refer the application to the Town Code Enforcement Officer for Code compliance. No application can be approved by the Board unless the Code Enforcement Officer advises the Board in writing that a building permit can be issued for the project.
A. 
Before acting on an application, the Board shall hold a public hearing, notice of which shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the Town no less than 10 days before the hearing date and shall refer the application to the Oneida County Planning Department if its review is required under § 239-m of the General Municipal Law.
B. 
The Board shall schedule the hearing once it finds the application is complete.
A. 
The Board will undertake a timely review of each application consistent with its SEQRA responsibilities and shall act within a reasonable period of time, recognizing the application's degree of complexity and the circumstances, due regard for the public's interest and need to be involved, and the applicant's desire for a prompt resolution.
B. 
Except for necessary building permits, no additional permits or approvals from the Town shall be required for wireless communications facilities covered by this chapter.
C. 
After the public hearing and after formally considering the application, the Board may approve, approve with modifications, or disapprove the application. The Board's decision shall be in writing and shall be supported by substantial evidence contained in a written record. The burden of proof for the grant of the permit shall always be upon the applicant.
D. 
The Board's decision shall be mailed to the applicant and filed in the Town Clerk's office within five days after it is rendered.
E. 
If the application is approved or an approval with modifications is accepted by the applicant, the permit shall be issued forthwith.
The Board will review the application for the presence or absence of the following principal findings:
A. 
If the applicant qualifies as a public utility under New York law, the public necessity of the facility to provide adequate service has been demonstrated. If the applicant is not a public utility, the business judgment of the applicant with respect to the necessity or desirability of the project shall be given such weight as the Board in its discretion may determine.
B. 
The site selected is the alternative that offers the project the least practicable intrusion on the social and environmental character of the Town. In conducting its review, the Board may consider among other things:
(1) 
The prominence of the installation in relation to land users in its vicinity and within its viewshed in respect to its height, design and construction, color, lighting, number of structures and accessory buildings and other visually significant features.
(2) 
Proposed mitigation of visual intrusion on other properties in the vicinity.
(3) 
The adequacy of the site to contain the installation in the event of mishap: collapse, breakaway of components, icefall, wind damage, and the like.
(4) 
The availability of locations where the facility would be less intrusive, including opportunities for collocation. If the applicant contends that collocation is not feasible, proof should be offered that reasonable efforts to do so have been fruitless for reasons such as the following:
(a) 
The proposed equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing and acceptable communications facilities or other structures, considering their present and planned use.
(b) 
The proposed equipment would cause radio frequency interference with other existing or planned equipment that cannot be reasonably prevented.
(c) 
Candidates for collocation do not have room for proposed equipment to work effectively.
(d) 
Other technical reasons make it impracticable to place the proposed equipment on existing facilities or structures.
(e) 
Collocation has been refused by those controlling the other sites or has been conditioned on unreasonably high fees compared to prevailing industry rates or other requirements not commercially reasonable.
C. 
It is recognized that issues of collocation are interrelated with issue of tower design, e.g., slender silhouettes or lattice, that the Board will have to consider and resolve.