The Village of Fayetteville hereby finds:
A.
The wireless telecommunications industry has expressed interest in submitting applications to lease space within the Village for the installation of "small cell" wireless telecommunications facilities (hereinafter "small cell installations") in the Village.
B.
The installation of small cell facilities may have both positive and negative impacts on our community. Multiple installations can impact property values; pose a threat to the public health, safety and welfare; create traffic and pedestrian safety hazards; impact trees where proximity conflicts may require trimming of branches or require removal of roots; create visual and aesthetic blights and potential safety concerns from excessive size, height, weight, noise or lack of camouflaging of wireless facilities including the associated pedestals, meters, equipment and power generators which negatively impact the quality and character of the Village.
C.
The Village currently regulates wireless telecommunications facilities through zoning and the special permit process (Article IX, Chapter 187 and § 187-41). The existing standards have not been updated to reflect current telecommunications trends or necessary legal requirements. Further, the primary focus of zoning regulations has been on wireless telecommunications facilities located on private property, and the existing Code provisions were not specifically designed to address the unique legal and practical issues that arise in connection with multiple small cell installations deployed in the public rights-of-way.
D.
Federal regulations have changed substantially since the Village last adopted regulations on wireless telecommunications. A recent FCC order provides that all local jurisdictions must comply with various restrictions on the exercise of local aesthetic, zoning, public works, and fee restrictions when dealing with wireless installation siting applications by the effective date of the order which is January 14, 2019. The FCC order further provides that all agencies should be capable of fully implementing its provisions within 180 days of its adoption which was on September 26, 2018. The order also include modifications to "shot clocks" which require the Village to approve or deny applications within certain periods of time and may actually deem an application approved when a failure to act occurs. Thus the Village is in clear need of updated regulations for small cell installations given the number of anticipated applications and legal timelines during which the Village must act.
E.
The Village recognizes its responsibilities under the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 and state law, and believes that it is acting consistent with the current state of the law in ensuring that development activity does not endanger public health, safety, or welfare. The Village intends these code provisions to ensure that the installation, augmentation and relocation of small cell installations are conducted in such a manner as to lawfully balance the legal rights of applicants under the Federal Telecommunications Act and New York State with the rights, safety, privacy, property and security of residents of the Village.
F.
This chapter is not intended to, nor shall it be interpreted or applied to:
(1)
Prohibit or effectively prohibit any personal wireless service provider's ability to provide personal wireless services in the Village;
(2)
Prohibit or effectively prohibit any entity's ability to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications service, subject to any competitively neutral and nondiscriminatory rules or regulation;
(3)
Unreasonably discriminate among providers of functionally equivalent services;
(4)
Deny any request for authorization to place, construct or modify personal wireless service facilities on the basis of environmental effects of radio frequency emissions so long as such wireless facilities comply with the FCC's regulations concerning such emissions;
(5)
Prohibit any collocation or modification that the Village may not deny under federal or state law; or
(6)
Otherwise authorize the Village to preempt any applicable federal or state law.