Town of Riverhead, NY Article LI Wireless Communications Towers and Antennas

[Added 8-4-1998 by L.L. No. 8-1998; amended 8-17-1999 by L.L. No. 10-1999; 1-15-2002 by L.L. No. 1-2002; 8-2-2005 by L.L. No. 45-2005]

§ 301-273 Purpose.

In recognition of advancing technology and the increasing demand for the installation of wireless communications tower(s) and/or facilities within the Town, the Town Board of the Town of Riverhead hereby determines that it is in the public interest to specifically regulate the siting and installation of such facilities within the Town in order to protect the public health, safety and welfare. The purpose of this article is to establish standards for the siting of wireless communications towers and antennas in order to protect residential areas and land uses from potential adverse impacts of towers and antennas; encourage the location of towers in nonresidential areas; minimize the total number of towers throughout the Town; encourage the joint use of new and existing tower sites as a primary option rather than construction of additional single-use towers; encourage users of towers and antennas to locate them, to the extent possible, in areas where the adverse impact on the surrounding community is minimal; encourage users of towers and antennas to configure them in a way that minimizes the adverse visual impacts of the towers and antennas through careful design, siting, landscape screening and innovative camouflaging techniques; enhance the ability of the providers of telecommunications services to provide such services to the community quickly, effectively and efficiently; consider the impacts upon the public health and safety of communications towers; and avoid potential damage to adjacent and/or nearby properties from tower failure through appropriate engineering and careful siting of tower structures and/or facilities. In furtherance of the aforementioned objectives, the Town Board shall give due consideration to the Town's Comprehensive Plan, existing land uses and development and environmentally sensitive areas, and other appropriate factors in approving sites for the location of towers and antennas and/or facilities. These standards are not intended to prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services, nor shall they be used to unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent services consistent with current federal regulations.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Original § 108-212 of the 1976 Code, Definitions, which immediately followed this section, was repealed at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 101, General Provisions, Art. I). See now § 301-3, Definitions; word usage.

§ 301-274 Permit required; applicability.

A. No telecommunications tower shall hereafter be used, erected, moved, reconstructed, changed, altered or modified to serve as a telecommunications tower without the issuance of a special use permit(s) by the Town Board in conformity with the requirements of this article.[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 101, General Provisions, Art. I).

B. Towers shall be permitted by special permit only in the following zoning use districts: APZ, PIP, PRP, RFC, DRC, SC, BC, CRC, Ind A, Ind C, RLC, and TRC, but shall not be permitted in whole or in part on any property used for residential purposes.

C. New towers and antennas. All new towers and antennas in the Town shall be subject to these regulations, except as otherwise provided hereinbelow.

D. Exceptions. The requirements set forth in this article shall not be applicable to:

(1) Amateur radio operators' antennas and/or towers not exceeding 50 feet in height, which are owned and operated by a federally licensed amateur radio operator and which are located upon property that is the principal place of business or primary residence of the amateur radio operator.

(2) Preexisting towers or antennas.

§ 301-275 General requirements.

A. Principal and accessory use. Antennas and towers may be considered either principal or accessory uses.

B. Lot size. For purposes of determining whether the installation of a tower or antenna complies with zoning district regulations, the entire lot shall control, even though the antennas or towers may be located on leased parcels within such lots.

C. Inventory of existing sites. Each applicant for an antenna and/or tower shall provide to the Town Board an inventory of its existing towers, antennas or sites approved for towers or antennas that are either within the jurisdiction of the Town or within one mile of the border thereof, including specific information about the location, height and design of each tower. The Town Board may share such information with other applicants applying for administrative approvals or special use permits under this section or other organizations seeking to locate antennas within the jurisdiction of the Town. The Town Board, by sharing such information, shall not be deemed to be in any way representing or warranting that such sites are available or suitable.

D. Aesthetic requirements. All towers and antennas shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) Towers shall be a neutral color so as to reduce visual obtrusiveness.

(2) At a tower site, the design of the buildings and related structures shall, to the extent practicable, use materials, colors, textures, screening and landscaping that will blend them into the natural setting and surrounding buildings.

(3) If an antenna is installed on a structure other than a tower, the antenna and supporting electrical and mechanical equipment must be of a neutral color that is identical to or closely compatible with the color of the supporting structure so as to make the antenna and related equipment as visually unobtrusive as practicable.

(4) Lighting. Towers shall not be artificially lighted, unless required by the FAA or other applicable authority. If required, the lighting shall be designed to minimize to the maximum extent practicable the resultant disturbance to the surrounding views and properties.

E. Signs. No signs shall be permitted on an antenna or tower.

F. Multiple antenna/tower plan. Users of towers and/or antennas submitting a single application for the approval of multiple towers and/or antenna sites shall be given priority status in the review process.

§ 301-276 Permitted uses; determination by Building Department; appeals.

[Amended 12-19-2023 by L.L. No. 27-2023]

A. Permitted uses. The following uses are deemed to be permitted uses and shall require a building permit, electrical permit, and Fire Marshal construction permit but shall not be subject to site plan approval or a special use permit:

(1) Antennas to be located on towers on property owned, leased or otherwise controlled by the Town of Riverhead or one of its special districts, provided that said property is subject to a license or lease authorizing such antenna which shall be approved by the Town Board, and provided that such towers or antennas comply with the written regulations promulgated by the Town Board.

(2) Lawful or approved towers and antennas, which existed prior to the effective date of this article, except that any and all additions or expansions to existing towers and/or antennas shall be subject to the requirements of this section and article.

(3) The location of additional new antennas on existing towers, so long as the same are in compliance with the following:

(a) A tower which is modified or reconstructed to accommodate the co-location of an additional antenna shall be of the same tower type as the existing tower, unless the Building Department, in its discretion, shall permit reconstruction as a monopole.

(b) Height. An existing tower may be modified or rebuilt with no additional separation to a greater height over the tower's existing height, in order to accommodate the co-location of a single additional antenna.

B. Information required for applications for approval by the Building Department:

(1) All information required under Chapter 217, Buildings, Building Construction and Improvements and Housing Standards, Parts 1 and 2, of the Code of the Town of Riverhead.

(2) An application form as approved by the Building Department.

(3) Mount analysis report, structural analysis report, and RF-EME compliance report prepared by a licensed design professional.

C. The Building Department shall make a final determination to grant, grant with modifications and/or conditions and/or covenants or deny the application submitted pursuant to this section.

D. The Zoning Officer within the Building Department may, in making said determination:

(1) Permit the reconstruction of any existing tower to monopole construction to encourage the use of monopoles.

(2) At his/her sole discretion, refer any application to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

E. Upon a final determination by the Zoning Officer within the Building Department to deny, modify and/or impose conditions and/or covenants upon an application, the applicant may appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals within 60 days of the final determination.

§ 301-277 Uses subject to special permits; requirements.

A. Unless otherwise permitted by this article, the construction of new communications towers and/or the installation of antennas shall be permitted upon the issuance of a special permit by the Town Board, subject to the following:

(1) Applications for special use permits under this section shall be subject to the provisions of § 301-3 of this chapter as specifically set forth therein under "special permits," except as otherwise modified in this article.

(2) A certification, by an engineer licensed by the State of New York, that the towers/antennas meet or exceed current standard regulations of the FAA, the FCC and any other state or federal agency having authority to regulate towers or antennas. Any information of an engineering nature that the applicant submits, whether civil, mechanical or electrical, shall be certified by a New York State licensed professional engineer.

(3) A nonrefundable fee of $500.

B. Special permit requirements for towers/antennas.

(1) Information required. Applications for a special use permit for a tower shall include the following:

(a) A scaled site plan which meets all the requirements of Article LVI, Site Plan Review, §§ 301-302 through 301-307, of this chapter.

(b) Setback distance between the proposed tower and:

[1] Each property line.

[2] Any existing residential dwelling(s) located on the same parcel or any adjoining parcels.

[3] The property line of any parcel that is located in a zoning district that permits a residential use that is within 2,500 feet of the subject parcel.

[4] All other structures located on the same property or any adjoining parcels.

[5] Any existing tower(s) within 25,000 feet.

(c) Separation distance(s) from other towers described in the inventory of existing sites submitted with the application shall be shown on an updated site plan or map, identification of the type of construction of the existing tower(s) and the owner/operator of any existing tower(s), if known.

(d) A written description of the application's compliance with all applicable requirements of this article and with all applicable federal, state and local laws.

(e) A notarized statement by the applicant as to whether construction of the tower will accommodate co-location of additional antennas for future users.

(f) A description of the suitability of existing towers and/or other structures and/or alternative technology, and the services contemplated for the use of the proposed tower.

(g) All information required for a special use permit in § 301-3 of this chapter.

(2) Standards for consideration.

(a) The Town Board shall consider the following factors in determining whether to issue a special use permit, in addition to the standards for consideration of special use permit applications set forth in § 301-3 of this chapter:

[1] The height of the proposed tower.

[2] The proximity of the tower to residential structures and residential district boundaries.

[3] The nature of existing and/or proposed uses on adjacent and nearby properties.

[4] The site and/or surrounding topography.

[5] The surrounding tree coverage and foliage.

[6] The design of the tower, with particular reference to design characteristics that have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual obtrusiveness.

[7] The proposed ingress and egress.

[8] The availability of suitable existing towers, other structures or alternative technologies not requiring the use of new towers and/or structures.

(b) The Board may waive or reduce the burden on the applicant of one or more of these criteria if it concludes the goals of this article are better served thereby.

(3) No new tower shall be permitted unless the applicant demonstrates to the reasonable satisfaction of the Town Board that no existing tower, structure or alternative technology not requiring the construction/alteration of new towers or structures can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna. An applicant shall submit any information requested by the Town Board related to the availability of suitable existing towers, other structures or alternative technology. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no existing tower, structure or alternative technology can accommodate the applicant's proposed antenna may consist of any or all of the following:

(a) That no suitable (as to height and structural strength) towers or structures are located within the geographic area which meet the applicant's engineering requirements, or that the applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic interference with the antenna on the existing towers or structures, or the antenna on the existing towers or structures would cause interference with the applicant's proposed antenna and/or that there are other limiting factors that render existing towers and structures unsuitable.

(b) That the costs or contractual provisions required by the owner in order to share an existing tower or structure or to adapt an existing tower or structure for sharing are unreasonable. Costs exceeding new tower development are presumed to be unreasonable.

(c) The applicant demonstrates that an alternative technology that does not require the use of towers or structures, such as a cable microcell network using multiple low-powered transmitter/receivers attached to a wireline system, is unsuitable. Costs of alternative technology that exceed new tower or antenna development shall not be presumed to render the technology unsuitable.

(4) Setbacks. The following setback requirements shall apply to all towers for which a special use permit is required:

(a) Towers shall be set back a distance equal to at least 100% of the height of the tower from any adjoining lot line.

(b) Accessory buildings shall satisfy the minimum zoning district setback requirements in the zoning district where the tower or antenna is proposed.

(5) Separation. The following separation requirements shall apply to all towers for which a special use permit is required; provided, however, that the Town Board may reduce the standard separation requirements if the goals of this article would be better served thereby:

(a) Separation between towers. Separation distances between towers shall be applicable to and measured between the proposed tower and preexisting towers; separation distances shall be measured by drawing or following a straight line between the base of the existing tower and the proposed base, pursuant to a site plan for the proposed tower. The separation distances between towers shall be 25,000 linear feet.

(6) Security fencing. Towers shall be enclosed by security fencing not less than eight feet in height and shall be equipped with appropriate anti-climbing devices; provided, however, that the Town Board may waive such requirements as it deems appropriate.

(7) Landscaping. The following requirements shall govern the landscaping surrounding towers for which a special use permit is required; provided, however, that the Town Board may waive such requirements if the goals of this article would be better served thereby:

(a) Tower facilities shall be landscaped utilizing a buffer of plant materials that effectively screens the view of the tower compound from residential property. Deciduous or evergreen tree plantings may be required. The standard buffer shall consist of at least one row of native mixed evergreen shrubs or trees capable of forming a contiguous hedge at least eight feet in height, which shall be provided to effectively screen the tower base and accessory facilities. In the case of poor soil conditions, planting shall be required on topsoil berms to assure plant survival. Plant height in these cases shall include the height of any berm.

[Amended 6-7-2016 by L.L. No. 18-2016]

(b) In locations where the visual impact of the tower would be minimal, the landscaping requirement may be reduced or waived by the Town Board.

(c) Existing mature tree growth and natural land forms on the site shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. In some cases where such towers are sited on large, wooded lots, natural growth around the property perimeter may be sufficient buffer.

§ 301-278 Site plan application.

An applicant must submit a site plan application to the Planning Department pursuant to the requirements of Article LVI, Site Plan Review, §§ 301-302 through 301-307, of this chapter. Such site plan application shall be submitted prior to any application for a special permit to the Town Board.

§ 301-279 Removal of abandoned antennas and towers.

[Amended 6-7-2016 by L.L. No. 18-2016]

Any antenna or tower that is not operated for a continuous period of 12 months shall be deemed abandoned. The owner of such antenna or tower shall remove the same within 90 days of receipt of notice from the Town notifying the owner of such abandonment. Failure to remove an abandoned antenna or tower within said 90 days shall be grounds to remove the tower or antenna at the owner's expense. In the event that two or more entities are using a single tower, then this provision shall not apply unless all uses cease with respect to such tower.

§ 301-280 Nonconforming uses.

Preexisting towers shall be permitted as they presently exist. Routine maintenance (including replacement with a new tower of like construction and height) shall be permitted on such preexisting towers. New construction other than routine maintenance of a preexisting tower shall comply with the requirements of this chapter.