[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Shelter Island 6-28-2002
by L.L. No. 7-2002. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to establish predictable and balanced
regulations for the siting of telecommunication facilities in order to accommodate
the growth of such facilities, while protecting the public against any adverse
impacts on aesthetic resources and the public safety and welfare. The Town
of Shelter Island wants to accommodate the need for telecommunications facilities
while regulating their location and number, minimizing adverse visual impacts
through proper design, siting and screening, avoiding potential physical damage
to adjacent properties, and encouraging joint use of tower structures. This
chapter also seeks to minimize the total number of telecommunications towers
in the community by encouraging shared use of existing and future towers,
and the use of existing tall structures and high points, in order to further
minimize adverse visual effects from telecommunications towers. This chapter
is not intended to prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision
of personal wireless services nor shall it be used to unreasonably discriminate
among providers of functionally equivalent services consistent with current
federal regulations.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
An accessory use serves the principal use, is subordinate in area,
extent or purpose to the principal use, and is located on the same lot as
the principal use. Examples of such uses include transmission equipment and
storage sheds.
A facility other than a telecommunication tower or telecommunication antenna for the provision of public utility services, including facilities constructed, altered or maintained by utility corporations, either publicly or privately owned, or government agencies, necessary for the provision of electricity, gas, steam, heat, communication, water, sewage collection, or other such service to the general public. Such facilities shall include poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, alarms and call boxes and other similar equipment, but shall not include office or administration buildings. For purposes of Chapter 133, Zoning, telecommunication towers or telecommunication antenna, defined separately in Chapter 133, Zoning, shall not be governed by the zoning regulations which apply to the broader definition of public utility facilities, but shall be governed by these regulations.
A system of electrical conductors that transmits or receives radio
frequency waves.
A structure on which one or more antenna will be located, that is
intended for transmitting and/or receiving radio, television, telephone, wireless
or microwave communications for an FCC-licensed carrier, but excluding those
used exclusively for fire, police and other dispatch communications, or exclusively
for private radio and television reception and private citizen's bands,
amateur radio and other similar private, residential communications. Also
known as "cell towers."
Any or all of the physical elements of the central cell facility
that contain all the receivers, transmitters, and other apparatus needed for
cellular/pc's operation [also known as "base transceiver station" (BTS)].
A.
The Town Board will review and approve, approve with
modifications or disapprove special permits for telecommunications facilities
pursuant to this chapter. The Town Board shall have the authority to impose
such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and
incidental to the proposed telecommunication facility, including the use of
camouflage of the tower structure and/or antenna to reduce visual impact.
B.
Except as provided below, no telecommunication facility
shall hereafter be erected, moved, reconstructed, changed or altered and no
existing structure shall be modified to serve as a telecommunications facility,
except after obtaining a special use permit in conformity with this chapter.
C.
Telecommunication structures placed by lease on Town-owned
property do not require a special permit, since they will undergo review via
the leasing process.
D.
Telecommunication antenna placed on existing telecommunication
towers or on existing structures do not require a special permit, unless it
will be modified in such a way as to increase its height, or a new accessory
structure would be built.
E.
The Town Board may waive any or all of the requirements
for approval for applicants proposing minor changes to existing facilities
and for applicants proposing the use of camouflage for a telecommunication
tower when the Board finds that such camouflage significantly reduces visual
impact to the surrounding area. However, the Board may not waive the requirement
that a public hearing be held on the application.
F.
No building permit shall be issued until the applicant
provides proof that space on the facility has been leased or will be operated
by a provider licensed by the FCC to provide service in the area.
A.
Priority list. The following is a list of priorities
[in order of preference with A(1) being the most preferred] for the placement
of wireless telecommunications facilities:
(1)
Location on publicly owned property, so that the revenues
from the facility can reduce the financial burden on taxpayers, and in that
way mitigate negative impacts of the wireless telecommunication facility.
(2)
Location on existing public utility structures, including,
but not limited to, telephone poles, electric transmission towers, water towers,
etc.
(3)
Collocation on an existing site.
(4)
Location on a portion of the site where they are not
visible from any residential area, public roadway, public property, site of
historical significance or scenic area.
B.
Every applicant for a special permit must establish to
the satisfaction of the Town Board that no site listed higher on the priority
list would satisfy the needs of the applicant for either technological, legal,
economic or other reasons. Reasons supporting incompatibility could include,
but not be limited to the following:
(1)
Higher priority sites are not of sufficient height to
meet the applicant's engineering requirements within the geographic service
area described.
(2)
Higher priority sites do not have sufficient structural
strength to support the applicant's antennas and equipment.
(3)
Higher priority sites would cause electromagnetic interference
with the antenna or antennas of the existing wireless telecommunications facilities.
(4)
The cost or contractual provisions required by the owner
of a higher priority site, or to adapt higher priority sites for sharing,
would exceed the cost of erecting a new site.
C.
No special permit relating to a telecommunications facility
shall be authorized by the Town Board unless it finds that such facility meets
all the following criteria:
(1)
Is necessary to provide adequate service to locations
that the applicant is not able to serve with existing facilities;
(2)
Conforms to all applicable regulations promulgated by
the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, and
other federal agencies;
(3)
Will be designed and constructed in a manner which minimizes
visual impact to the extent practical;
(4)
Is the most appropriate site and is highest on the priority
list among those available within the technically feasible area for the location
of a telecommunications facility.
A.
Applicants shall provide information as required on the
Request for Information Form adopted by resolution of the Town Board. Failure
to provide all the information requested will be considered an incomplete
application and will not be processed.
B.
An application fee in an amount to be set from time to
time by resolution of the Town Board shall be submitted with the application.
C.
In addition, simultaneously with the filing of an application,
the applicant shall deposit with the Town Supervisor an amount to be set by
resolution of the Town Board, which sum shall be used to pay the costs incurred
by the Town for engineering and legal services as described below.
(1)
Upon receipt of this sum, the Town Supervisor shall cause
such monies to be placed in a separate non-interest-bearing account in the
name of the Town and shall keep a separate record of all such monies so deposited
and the name of the applicant or developer and project for which such sums
were deposited.
(2)
Upon receipt and approval by the Town Board of itemized
vouchers from an engineer and/or attorney for services rendered on behalf
of the Town pertaining to the development, the Town Supervisor shall cause
such vouchers to be paid out of the monies so deposited, and shall furnish
copies of such vouchers to the applicant or developer at the same time such
vouchers are submitted to the Town.
(3)
The Town Board shall review and audit all such vouchers
and shall approve payment of only such engineering and legal fees as are reasonable
in an amount and necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review,
consideration and approval of the wireless communications facility application.
For purposes of the foregoing, a fee or part thereof is reasonable in amount
if it bears a reasonable relationship to the average charge by engineers or
attorneys to the Town for services performed in connection with the approval
or construction of similar facilities.
A.
The shared use of existing telecommunications towers
or other structures shall be preferred to the construction of new facilities.
Any special permit application, renewal or modification thereof shall include
proof that reasonable efforts have been made to collocate within an existing
telecommunication facility or upon an existing elevation within a reasonable
distance, regardless of municipal boundaries, of the site. The applicant must
demonstrate that the proposed telecommunications facility cannot be accommodated
on existing telecommunications facilities due to one or more of the following
reasons:
(1)
The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity
of existing and approved telecommunications facilities or other structures,
considering existing and planned use for those facilities;
(2)
The planned equipment would cause radio frequency interference
with other existing or planned equipment, which cannot be reasonably prevented;
(3)
Existing or approved telecommunications 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 impracticable to place
the equipment proposed by the applicant on existing facilities or structures;
and
(5)
The property owner or owner of the existing telecommunications
facility or other structure refuses to allow such collocation or requests
an unreasonably high fee for such collocation compared to current industry
rates.
Telecommunications facilities shall be constructed so as to minimize
the potential safety hazards and located in such a manner that if the facility
should fall, it will remain within the property boundaries and avoid habitable
structures, public streets, utility lines and other telecommunications facilities.
Telecommunications facilities shall comply with all existing setbacks
within the affected zone. Setbacks shall apply to all tower parts including
guy wire anchors, and to any accessory facilities. Additional setbacks may
be required by the Town Board to contain on-site substantially all icefall
or debris from tower failure and/or to preserve privacy of adjoining residential
and public property.
Towers shall not be artificially lighted except to assure human safety
as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Notwithstanding,
an applicant may be compelled to add FAA-style lighting and marking, if in
the judgment of the Town Board, such a requirement would be of direct benefit
to public safety. The Board may choose the most appropriate lighting and marking
plan from the options acceptable by the FAA at that location. The applicant
must provide both standard and alternative lighting and marking plans for
the Board's review.
A.
The maximum height for telecommunication towers permitted
under this chapter, including any antennas or other devices extending above
the tower, measured from the ground surface shall be 150 feet.
B.
Towers shall be a galvanized finish or painted gray above
the surrounding treeline and painted gray, green, black or similar colors
designed to blend into the natural surroundings below the surrounding treeline
unless other standards are required by the FAA. Towers should be designed
and sited so as to avoid, whenever possible, application of FAA lighting and
painting requirements. Accessory uses shall maximize use of building materials,
colors and textures designed to blend with the natural surroundings.
C.
The project shall be designed to blend with the natural
and/or man-made surroundings to the maximum extent practicable.
D.
Structures offering slender silhouettes (i.e., monopoles
or guyed towers) may be preferable to freestanding lattice structures except
where such freestanding structures offer capacity for future shared use. The
Town Board may consider the type of structure being proposed and the surrounding
area.
E.
The applicant must examine the feasibility of designing
a proposed telecommunication tower to accommodate future demand for additional
facilities.
A.
Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the
maximum extent possible, and no cutting of trees exceeding four inches in
diameter shall take place prior to approval of the special use permit. Clear-cutting
of all trees in a single contiguous area shall be minimized to the extent
possible.
B.
The Town Board may require appropriate vegetative buffering
around the fences of the tower base area, accessory structures and the anchor
points of guyed towers to buffer their view from neighboring residences, recreation
areas, waterways, historic or scenic areas, or public roads.
A.
A road and parking will be provided to assure adequate
emergency and service access. Maximum use of existing roads, public or private,
shall be made. Road construction shall be consistent with standards for private
roads and shall at all times minimize ground disturbance and vegetation cutting.
Road grades shall closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual
disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.
B.
Equipment or vehicles shall not be stored on the facility
site.
The use of any portion of a telecommunications facility for signs for
promotional or advertising purposes, including but not limited to company
name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons, is prohibited. The
Town Board may require the installation of signage with safety information.
A.
Towers, anchor points around guyed towers, and accessory
structures shall each be surrounded by fencing not less than six feet in height.
B.
There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet
of the ground.
C.
Motion-activated or staff-activated security lighting
around the base of a tower or accessory structure entrance may be provided
if such lighting does not project off the site.
D.
A locked gate at the junction of the access way and a
public thoroughfare may be required to obstruct entry by unauthorized vehicles.
Such gate must not protrude into the public thoroughfare.
A.
All telecommunications facilities shall be built, operated
and maintained to acceptable industry standards. Each application must contain
a site plan for the facility containing the signature of an engineer
licensed by the State of New York.
B.
Every facility shall be inspected at least every second
year for structural integrity by a New York State licensed engineer. A copy
of the inspection report shall be submitted to the Town.
At the time of submission of the application for a telecommunications
facility, the applicant shall submit an agreement to remove all antennas,
driveways, structures, buildings, equipment sheds, lighting, utilities, fencing,
gates, accessory equipment or structures, as well as any tower used as a telecommunications
facility if such facility becomes technologically obsolete or ceases to perform
its originally intended function for more than 12 consecutive months. Upon
removal, the land shall be restored to its previous condition, including but
not limited to the seeding of exposed soils.
