As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE
An accessory facility or structure serving or being used
in conjunction with any telecommunications facilities or tower and
located on the same lot as the telecommunications facility or tower.
Non-exclusive examples of such structures include utility or transmission
equipment, base stations, antennae, wires, utility appurtenances and
connections, anchors, security fencing, storage sheds or cabinets.
ANTENNA
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive
radio frequency and other wireless signals. Such signals shall include,
but not be limited to, radio, television, cellular, paging, personal
communication services, and microwave communications.
DAS
Distributed antenna system(s).
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration.
FCC
The Federal Communications Commission.
NIER
Non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation.
OTARD
The "Over the Air Reception Devices" rules and regulations
of the FCC.
PCS
Personal communications services.
PERSON
Any individual, landowner, lessor, licensee, easement holder,
trust, corporation, LLC, partnership, or other entity.
RFI
Radio frequency interference.
SEQRA
The New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, generally
codified at Environmental Conservation Law Article 8, and including
the regulations pertaining thereto at 6 NYCRR Part 617, each as now
exist or as hereafter amended or re-codified.
SITE PLAN or SITE PLAN REVIEW
Site planning and reviews of site plans per the requirements of Chapter
270, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Lansing and Article 16 of Town Law, as enhanced by this chapter.
SPECIAL USE
A use which is deemed allowable within a given zoning district,
but which is potentially incompatible with other allowed or existing
uses and, therefore, is subject to special standards and conditions
of use and the approval of the Planning Board.
SPECIAL USE PERMIT
A form of land use permitting outlined in Chapter
270, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Lansing and in Town Law Article 16, as enhanced by this chapter, but with the proviso that the Planning Board be and hereby is empowered to review, approve, or issue special use permits for all telecommunications facilities as set forth in and by this chapter, and any requirements of any local laws or ordinance of the Town requiring otherwise are hereby expressly superseded.
TCA
The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, as now exists
and as hereafter amended, supplemented, or re-codified. This includes
all aspects of the TCA, including the codification of its provisions
within Title 47 of the United States Code.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
Towers, antennae, and accessory structures used in connection
with the provision of cellular telephone service, DAS, WAN, personal
communications services (PCS), paging services, radio and television
broadcast services, Internet and data processing, SMS, and similar
broadcast and communication services.
TOWER
A structure not intended for human habitation upon which
antennae are designed to be located or arrayed. It includes, without
limit, freestanding towers, latticework towers, guyed towers, monopoles,
and other similar structures which may employ camouflage technology.
TOWN
The Town of Lansing, in Tompkins County, New York.
In reviewing any application hereunder, the Town may apply site
plan and special permitting rules and standards as set forth in New
York State law and the laws and ordinances of the Town, and the Town
shall also adhere to the requirements of the TCA, including, at a
minimum, the following requirements:
A. The Town shall not unreasonably discriminate between providers of
equivalent or near equivalent services.
B. The Town shall not prohibit or "effectively prohibit" the provision
of the service.
C. The Town shall act on all requests within a reasonable time, taking
into account the nature and scope of the request, including in accord
with applicable FCC "shot clock" rules.
D. All denials must be in writing and based upon substantial evidence,
fairly applied.
E. The Town may not regulate radio frequencies or address potential
health effects of radio emissions, but may require verification of
and compliance with FCC and EPA rules and license, permit, or spectrum
allocation rules or conditions.
F. All co-location rules pertaining to approvals for an "Eligible Facilities
Request" as set forth in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation
Act of 2012 shall be adhered to by the Town.
All essential emergency services will be given access to obtain
necessary space or service on the tower at no cost (other than installation
and maintenance). This provision shall be enforceable only to the
maximum extent permitted by applicable law and in all cases this provision
shall be presumed valid and the burden of proof shall be to establish
the contrary by clear and convincing evidence.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Each application shall include application fees, engineering
review fees and legal fees in the amount as set by resolution of the
Town Board from time to time or as outlined in (or updated by) the
Town's fee schedules. The Town may also retain such technical consultants as
it deems necessary to provide assistance in the review of the site
location alternative analyses, the environmental review of the project,
and any engineering reviews pertaining to building permits or structural
designs, structural integrity, and the feasibility of any modifications
or the carrying capacity of any tower for co-location of any antennas
or other appurtenances. The applicant shall bear the reasonable costs
associated with such consultations, which costs shall be assessed
as an additional application fee. In no case shall the total fees
and charges payable by an applicant be more than 5% of the total project
cost as determined for building permit fee assessment purposes, but
SEQRA costs shall not count towards such 5% limit and shall be separately
assessable pursuant to the statutes and regulations of SEQRA.
The applicant or its successors or assigns shall file with the
Town on the second day of January of the third year following approval
of the telecommunications facility, and upon every third anniversary
thereafter, a written report certifying that the applicant or its
successors or assigns are complying with maintenance and inspection
procedures; recordkeeping systems, and that the subject telecommunications
facility is not a hazard or a threatened hazard to the health and
safety of the public. Such report and conclusions must be provided
and sealed by a New York State licensed professional engineer. Any
unsafe condition revealed by such report shall be immediately remedied.
If no report is provided and such failure to provide a report continues
unabated for any three-hundred-sixty-day period, then such fact shall
be and be deemed an abandonment of the telecommunications facilities
in question, and the Town may require the dismantling and removal
of such telecommunications facilities, including under the terms of
any removal or related bonds. Further, any failure to provide such
written report within 30 days of request therefor by the Town is and
shall be deemed and construed as a violation of this chapter.
The following types of telecommunications facilities are not
subject to the provisions of this chapter:
A. Satellite dishes and antennas, and similar devices, used solely for
on-site residential household television and radio reception and involving
a structure with a size or height not exceeding the minimum exemptions
listed in OTARD rules.
B. Satellite antennas measuring two meters or less in diameter and located
in commercial districts.
C. Radio antennas and related apparatus for noncommercial personal use
regulated by the FCC for licensed amateur radio operation, so long
as:
(1) Facilities
and antennae are within exemption or preemption as-of-right use levels
promulgated by the FCC;
(2) Facilities
and antennae meet any requirements of applicable building codes; and
(3) No
such facility or antennae are located more than 200 feet above ground
level.
D. Lawful or approved uses existing prior to the effective date of this chapter; however, no telecommunications facility shall be modified unless in conformity with this chapter, and no nonconforming use may be expanded except in accord with Chapter
270, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Lansing and applicable law.
E. Telecommunications facilities may be repaired and maintained without
restrictions.
A Full "Long Form" Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF) shall
be completed and submitted with all applications under this chapter,
pursuant to the provisions of the State Environmental Quality Review
Act and its implementing regulations found at 6 NYCRR Part 617. All
applications for siting any tower or ground station shall be and be
deemed Type I Actions. If the environmental review of the FEAF indicates
that the proposed activity may produce actual or potential moderate
or significant environmental impacts or consequences, then the Town
Board shall require that a Draft Environmental Impact Statement be
submitted by the applicant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a co-location
or related application meets the standards for qualifying as an "Eligible
Facilities Request," as set forth in the Middle Class Tax Relief and
Job Creation Act of 2012, then the matter may be classified as a Type
I, Unlisted, or Type II Action, per the requirements of SEQRA and
its implementing regulations.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the applicant shall
execute an agreement indemnifying and holding the Town harmless from
any and all liabilities, claims of personal injury, or property damage
arising out of or in any way related to the installation and operation
of the tower and its accessory structures and facilities. Further,
the Town, and its officers and agents shall not be liable or responsible
for any injuries to persons or damages to property due to the Town's
actions, or failures to act, under or pursuant to this chapter unless
it is proven to a reasonable degree of certainty that such injury
or damage was solely caused by a willful or intentional act of the
Town or its officers and agents. This provision shall be construed
and applied to the maximum extent permitted by law, and does not create
any theory or claim of liability where none exists at law or in equity.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
All nouns and pronouns shall be construed in the singular, plural,
masculine, feminine, or neutered context when the provisions hereof
so demand or admit. Words shall have their defined meanings and all
words shall have standard meanings as applied within the context of
the clause in which such terms appear. Subject headings are for convenience
and shall not be construed or applied to limit or restrict the subject
matter and terms appearing under such subject heading. Whenever any
reference is made to any section of law or regulations, such reference
shall be interpreted to include such law or regulation as later amended,
renumbered, or re-codified, and a mere typographical citation error
shall not be given effect.
In the event any existing or hereafter adopted federal or state
law restricts the ability of the Town to review or regulate any telecommunications
facility or tower, then the provisions hereof shall be read in harmony
with such restrictions or limitations and applied to the maximum extent
permitted under applicable law or in the face of preemption by a superior
sovereign.