[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Alden 5-5-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997 (Ch. 19D of the 1981 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 365.
The purpose of these supplemental regulations is to promote
the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Town,
to provide standards for the safe provision of telecommunications
consistent with applicable federal and state regulations and to protect
the natural features and aesthetic character of the Town of Alden
with special attention to:
A.
Minimizing adverse visual effects of towers and/or similar facilities
through careful design, siting and vegetative screening.
B.
Avoiding potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure
or falling debris through engineering and careful siting of tower
structures.
C.
Maximizing use of any new or existing tower or existing building
and/or structures to reduce the number of towers and/or facilities
needed, while also allowing wireless service providers to meet their
technological and service objectives.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An accessory facility or structure serving or being used
in conjunction with a communications tower and/or similar facility
and located on the same lot as the communications tower. Examples
of such structures include utility or transmission equipment storage
sheds or cabinets.
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive
radio-frequency signals. Such signals shall include but not be limited
to radio, television, cellular, paging, personal communication services
(PCS) and microwave communications.
Communication facilities which utilize existing building
and structures, other than towers as defined in this section, for
supporting antennas. A building-mounted antenna which does utilize
a building or structure for its primary means of attachment or structural
support will be defined as a tower, as set forth in this section.
Communications facilities which utilize existing towers,
as defined in this section, for placement of antenna(s) or replacement
of existing towers which do not require construction of a new tower.
(Replacement of an existing tower to accommodate co-location, provided
that such new tower does not exceed the height of the existing tower,
will not be deemed to be construction of a new tower as stated in
this definition.)
The radius around a tower within which all portions of the
tower and antenna(s) would fall in the event of a structural failure
of the tower.
When a communication facility is no longer in use for the
originally intended purpose or remains unused for its intended purpose
for a period of more than 12 consecutive months due to a change in
technology or by any fault of the communication facility owner.
Towers and/or antennas and accessory structures used in connection
with the provision of cellular telephone service, personal communications
services, paging services, radio and television broadcast services
and similar broadcast services.
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.
B.
No special permit or renewal thereof or modification of the conditions
of a current special permit relating to a telecommunication facility
shall be authorized by the Town Board unless it finds that such telecommunication
facility:
(1)
Is necessary to meet current or expected demands for the services
supported by the telecommunication facility for that applicant's
network.
(2)
Conforms with all applicable regulations promulgated by the Federal
Communications Commission.
(3)
Is designed and constructed in a manner which minimizes its visual
impact to the extent practical.
(4)
Complies with all other requirements of this chapter.
(5)
Is the most appropriate site within the technically feasible area
for the location of the telecommunication facility.
C.
The Town Board may express a preference that the proposed facility
be located in a higher intensity use district or on higher intensity
use property, provided that there is a technologically feasible and
available location. A guideline for the Town Board's preference,
from most favorable to least favorable districts/property, is as follows:
The Town Board may waive any provision of this Chapter 321 for freestanding towers where total height aboveground does not exceed 35 feet.
A.
The shared use of existing telecommunication facilities or other
structures shall be preferred to the construction of new such facilities.
Any application for a special permit or renewal thereof or modification
of the conditions of a current special permit shall include proof
that reasonable efforts have been made to co-locate with an existing
telecommunication facility or upon an existing structure. The application
shall include an adequate inventory report, specifying existing telecommunication
facilities 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 communications
use or a five-mile radius for other services. The inventory report
shall contain an evaluation of opportunities for shared use as an
alternative to the proposed location.
B.
The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed telecommunication
facility cannot be accommodated on existing telecommunication facility
sites in the inventory due to one or more of the following reasons:
(1)
The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing
and approved telecommunication facilities or other structure, considering
existing and planned use for those facilities.
(2)
The planned equipment would cause radio frequency with other existing
or planned equipment which cannot be reasonably prevented.
(3)
Existing or approved telecommunication facilities or other structures
do not have space on which proposed equipment can be placed so it
can function effectively and reasonably.
(4)
Other technical reasons make it impractical to place the equipment
proposed by the applicant on existing facilities or structures.
(5)
The property owner or owner of the existing tower, etc., or other
structure refuses to allow such co-location.
Each proposed telecommunication facility shall meet the following
design requirements:
A.
The facility shall be separated from residential dwellings, schools
and designated historical districts by the distance of 500 feet. The
Town Board may modify condition if the facility is attached to an
existing structure or for other satisfactory reasons.
B.
The facility shall have the least possible practical visual effect
on the environment as determined by the Town Board and shall be less
than 150 feet above ground level but may be higher if the applicant
provides satisfactory technical proof to the Town Board. Towers, antenna(s)
and masts shall not be artificially lighted unless otherwise required
by the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal, state or
local authority. Towers shall have a galvanized finish or shall be
painted matte gray above the surrounding treeline and matte gray or
green below the treeline. The Town Board may impose reasonable conditions
designed to lessen any adverse aesthetic impact.
C.
The facility shall be provided with vegetative and landscape screening
of the base area as stipulated by the Planning Board if the proposed
site abuts residential or public property or community facilities.
D.
The facility shall include a fall zone surrounding any support towers,
which fall zone must have a radius of at least equal to the height
of such support tower and any antenna(s) attached thereto. The entire
fall zone shall not include public roads and must be located on property
either owned or leased by the applicant or for which the applicant
has obtained an easement, may not contain any structure other than
those associated with the telecommunication facilities, except as
further allowed in this subsection, and may not be located within
any setback area established by this chapter. If the facility is attached
to an existing structure, fall-zone requirements may be modified by
specific permission of the Town Board.
E.
In the interest of public safety (mercy flights in particular), towers
exceeding 100 feet in height shall have red warning lights meeting
Federal Aviation Administration standards.
F.
Towers and auxiliary structures shall be surrounded by a fence or
wall at least eight feet in height.
G.
There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet of the ground
on any tower.
Any application for a special permit or renewal thereof or modification
of the conditions of a current special permit relating to a telecommunication
facility shall include:
A.
A safety analysis of the electromagnetic environment surrounding
the proposed site. Such safety analysis shall be prepared by a qualified
electromagnetic engineering specialist or health professional qualified
to produce such analysis. The safety analysis must demonstrate that
the general public electromagnetic radiation exposure does not exceed
the standards set by federal regulations.
B.
Visual and aesthetic impact.
(1)
A completed visual environmental assessment form (visual EAF) and
a landscape plan, with particular attention given to the visibility
of the facility from key viewpoints identified in the visual EAF,
existing tree lines and proposed elevations.
(2)
The Planning Board, upon its review as set forth in § 321-5 above, may request additional visual and aesthetic information as it deems appropriate on a case-by-case basis. Such additional information may include, among other things, line-of-sight drawings and/or visual simulations recommended by the Planning Board.
(3)
The visual impact analysis shall be prepared by a landscape architect
registered in New York State. The Town, at the expense of the applicant,
may employ consulting assistance to review the findings and conclusions
of the visual impact analysis.
C.
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 tower's 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(s) mounted on an existing structure, the
report shall indicate the existing structure's suitability to
accept the antenna and proposed method of the antenna(s) to the structure.
Complete details of all fixtures and couplings and the point of attachment
shall be indicated on a design plan.
D.
An agreement by the applicant, in writing, to remove the tower, etc.,
antenna(s) and accessory structures if such facility becomes technically
obsolete or ceases to be used for its originally intended purpose
for 12 consecutive months.
E.
The applicant, at the time of obtaining a building permit, must provide
a financial security bond for removal of the telecommunication facility
with the Town as assignee, in an amount approved by the Town Board,
but not less than $50,000.
F.
Applicant shall submit a letter of intent, stating whether the applicant
intends to lease excess space on the facility to other potential users
at reasonable rental rates and on reasonable terms. The Town Board
may modify this condition if the facility is attached to an existing
structure. The letter shall require the facility owner and successors
in interest to do the following:
(1)
Respond in a timely, comprehensive manner to a request for information.
(2)
Negotiate in good faith for shared use by third parties.
(3)
Allow shared use if an applicant agrees in writing to pay reasonable
rental charges or other consideration and to pay all costs of adapting
the facility or existing users' equipment to accommodate a shared
user without causing uneconomically correctable electromagnetic interference
or causing electromagnetic radiation in excess of levels set by federal
regulations and can otherwise agree on reasonable business terms and
conditions for shared use of the facility.
(4)
Respond to inquiries for shared use with the information required
herein.
A.
The sufficiency of the facility removal bond shall be confirmed at
least every five years by an analysis of the cost of removal and property
restoration performed by the New York State licensed professional
engineer. The results of such analysis shall be communicated to the
Town Building Inspector. If the bond amount in force is insufficient
to cover the costs of removal of the tower, etc., it shall be immediately
increased to cover such amount.
B.
Any facility 150 feet or higher shall be inspected at least every
second year for structural integrity by a New York State licensed
professional engineer, and a copy of such inspection report shall
be submitted to and filed with the Town Building Inspector.
C.
Any work to augment or repair the facility shall comply with all
applicable Code requirements, and a building permit shall be obtained to conduct such work when
required by the Code. Work required under this subsection must be
completed within 30 days.
D.
The safety analysis described in § 321-8 shall be updated at least every second year to demonstrate that the telecommunication facilities continue to comply with the federal regulations for public exposure to electromagnetic radiation. This safety analysis update shall be prepared by the applicant's expert and shall be submitted to the Town Building Inspector. Any specific conditions set forth in the operation of the telecommunication facility shall be individually addressed.
E.
Any additional antennas, reception or transmission dishes or other
similar receiving or transmitting devices proposed for attachment
to an existing facility shall require review in accordance with this
section. The intent of this requirement is to ensure the structural
integrity, visual aesthetics and land use compatibility of communication
towers upon which additional antennas, communication dishes, etc.,
are to be installed. The application for approval to install additional
antennas, dishes or similar receiving devices shall include certification
from a New York State licensed professional engineer, indicating that
the additional device or devices installed will not adversely affect
the structural integrity of the facility. A visual impact analysis
shall be included as part of the application for approval to install
one or more additional communications devices to an existing facility.
F.
The use of any portion of a facility for signs or advertising purposes,
including company name, banners, streamers, etc., is prohibited.
G.
No outside storage of vehicles, materials or waste shall be allowed,
except for limited periods when the facility is undergoing additions,
repair or renovation.
H.
The facility shall be maintained in good order and repair at all
times according to Town Code requirements.
I.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of the tower to take
whatever corrective measures are required to alleviate television
interference which is deemed to be caused by the communications cell
tower.
The Building Inspector shall be empowered to enforce this chapter
and the regulations set forth herein.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Code Enforcement Officer relative to the provisions of this chapter or the Town Board may appeal such decision to the Zoning Board of Appeals, as provided in Chapter 365, Zoning.
