No commercial mobile service facility shall hereafter be located,
constructed, erected, changed, altered, used or added to except in
conformity with the following provisions.
The Town acknowledges the need, demand and national policy supporting
the availability of commercial mobile services to the public. At the
same time, the Town recognizes the valid concerns and interests its
residents have in the aesthetic enjoyment of their homes and properties.
The purpose of these provisions relating to commercial mobile services
is to encourage the location of commercial mobile service towers,
to the extent they are needed, in nonresidential areas of the Town,
to encourage the shared use of existing and new towers as a means
of reducing the overall need for towers in the Town, to minimize the
adverse impacts of commercial mobile service facilities located in
the Town and to balance the sometimes competing needs of such uses
and their neighbors while at the same time accommodating the public
interest in and demand for such services.
The following factors and considerations shall be considered by the Zoning Board of Appeals in reviewing applications for special use permits related to commercial mobile service facilities in addition to the standards and findings required in Chapter
290, Zoning, §
290-38D:
A. The applicant must demonstrate that location of the commercial mobile
service facility, as proposed, is necessary to meet the frequency
reuse and spacing needs of the applicant's system and to provide adequate
service and coverage to the intended area.
B. The applicant must demonstrate that all reasonable measures have
been taken to minimize the visual impacts of the proposed facilities.
C. Additional standards and factors to be considered in reviewing special
use permits relating to towers:
(1) Height of the proposed tower.
(2) Proximity of the proposed tower to residential structures and residential
district boundaries.
(3) Nature of uses on adjacent and nearby properties.
(5) Surrounding existing tree coverage and foliage.
(6) Design of the proposed tower, with particular reference to design
characteristics that have the effect of reducing or eliminating visual
obtrusiveness.
(7) Proposed ingress to and egress from site.
(8) Alternatives analysis. The applicant must demonstrate that no existing
structure, tower or alternative technology that does not require the
construction of a new tower can accommodate the applicant's coverage
and service needs. Evidence submitted to demonstrate that no such
alternative is reasonably available may consist of the following:
(a)
No existing towers or structures are located within the geographic
area (search ring) which meet the applicant's engineering requirements.
(b)
Existing towers or structures are not of sufficient height to
meet the applicant's engineering requirements.
(c)
Existing towers or structures do not have sufficient structural
strength or space to support applicant's proposed needs.
(d)
The applicant's proposed antenna would cause electromagnetic
interference with the existing or planned antennas on the existing
towers or structures or such existing or planned antennas would cause
such interference with the applicant's antenna.
(e)
The existing tower or structure owner is unwilling to provide
access or the fees, costs or contractual provisions required by the
owner of the existing tower or structure in order for the applicant
to co-locate on such tower or structure are unreasonable. Costs exceeding
new tower construction are presumed to be unreasonable.
(f)
The applicant demonstrates that there are other limiting factors
that render existing towers or structures unsuitable.
An applicant for a special use permit to construct a commercial
mobile service tower shall agree to remove such tower and related
facilities if it becomes obsolete or ceases to be used for its intended
purpose for a period of 12 consecutive months. If there are two or
more users of a single tower, then this provision shall not become
effective until all users cease using the tower. The Board of Appeals
shall require the applicant to provide a demolition bond or other
security acceptable to the Town for the purpose of removing such facilities
in case the applicant fails to do so as required above.
The following are exempt from the provisions of this article:
A. Commercial mobile service facilities located on Town of LaFayette
property.
B. Private, noncommercial television and radio antennas.
C. Commercial mobile service facilities may be repaired or maintained
without restriction.
D. Law enforcement, fire control, E911 and medical emergency facilities.
In approving a site plan or special use permit, the Board of
Appeals or the Town Board, as the case may be, may waive any of the
provisions of these regulations when it finds that doing so will have
no detrimental impact on surrounding properties or on the public health,
safety and welfare and that such waiver is in keeping with the purposes
herein set forth.
In granting any site plan approval or special use permit for
a commercial service facility, the Board of Appeals or the Town Board,
as the case may be, may impose conditions to the extent that such
Board concludes that such conditions are necessary to minimize any
adverse effect of the proposed tower on neighboring properties.