[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Barton 4-14-2003
by L.L. No. 1-2003.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Site plan review — See Ch. 117.
[1]
Editor's Note: This local law was adopted as Ch. 136 and renumbered
to reflect the alphabetical organization of the Code.
The purpose of these regulations is to promote health, safety, and the
general welfare of the residents of the Town of Barton, to provide standards
for the safe provision of telecommunications consistent with applicable federal
and state regulations; 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 buildings and other high structures and by encouraging
alternative technologies that would minimize the need for multiple towers;
and to minimize adverse visual effects from telecommunications towers by requiring
careful siting, visual impact assessment, and appropriate landscaping.
No telecommunications facility shall be erected in the Town of Barton
unless and until the person seeking to erect same shall have obtained a special
approval and site plan approval from the Town Board after a recommendation
from the Planning Board in accordance with this chapter.
No special approval or renewal thereof or modification of a current
special approval relating to a telecommunications facility shall be recommended
by the Planning Board or authorized by the Town Board unless it finds that
such telecommunications facility:
A.
Is necessary to meet current or reasonably expected demands
for services;
B.
Conforms with all federal and state laws and all applicable
rules or regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), or any other federal agencies
having jurisdiction;
C.
Is considered a public utility in the State of New York;
D.
Is sited, designed and constructed in a manner which
minimizes visual impact to the extent practical and adverse impacts upon migratory
and other birds and other wildlife;
E.
Complies with all other requirements of this chapter;
F.
Is the most appropriate site among those available within
the technically feasible area for the location of a telecommunications facility;
G.
Is designed so as to be safe and secure and not pose
a hazard to the applicant's property, any surrounding property, and the
community in general;
H.
Is designed such that the location, arrangement, size,
and general site compatibility of buildings, lighting, signs, fencing, towers
and other improvements are adequate and appropriate;
I.
Has adequately and appropriately designed stormwater
drainage and electrical power facilities;
J.
Does not have an adverse effect on environmentally sensitive
areas, including but not limited to wetlands, floodplains, woodlands, steep
slopes, and watercourses, and on other open space areas of importance to the
neighborhood or community or, if the Town Board finds adverse effects are
unavoidable, the Town Board determines that the effects have been minimized
to the greatest extent possible and the benefit to the community of the proposed
facility outweighs such adverse environmental effects as so minimized;
K.
Complies with any other local rule or law, including
any building code or subdivision regulation, if applicable, and any other
applicable laws, rules, requirements, or policies; and
L.
When including the construction of a tower, such tower
is designed to accommodate future shared use by at least two other telecommunications
service providers. Any subsequent location of telecommunications equipment
by other service providers on existing towers specifically designed for shared
use shall not require a new or modified special permit if there would be no
increase in the height of the tower. However, the additional equipment will
require site plan review.
A.
The shared use of existing telecommunications facilities
or other structures shall be preferred to the construction of new facilities.
Any special approval application, renewal or modification thereof shall include
proof that reasonable efforts have been made to collocate within an existing
telecommunications facility or upon an existing structure. The application
shall include an adequate inventory report specifying existing telecommunications
facility sites and structures exceeding 75% of the height of the proposed
tower within the search range of the cell grid. 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 telecommunications
facility cannot be accommodated on existing telecommunications 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 telecommunications facilities or other structures,
considering existing and reasonably anticipated future 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 and cannot be modified to provide 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;
or
(5)
The property owner or owner of the existing telecommunications
facility or other structure refuses to allow such collocation.
A.
A fall zone around any tower constructed as part of a
telecommunications facility must have a radius at least equal to the height
of the tower and any attached antennas. The entire fall zone may 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 and may not,
except as set forth below, contain any structure other than those associated
with the telecommunications facility. If the facility is attached to an existing
structure, relief may be granted by specific permission of the Town Board
on a case-by-case basis if it is determined by such Board after submission
of competent evidence that the waiver of this requirement will not endanger
the life, health, welfare or property of any person. In granting any such
waiver, the Board may impose any conditions reasonably necessary to protect
the public or other property from potential injury.
B.
All telecommunications facilities shall be located on
a single parcel.
C.
All telecommunications facilities shall be located at
least 100 feet from the road and at least 50 feet from any side or rear lot
line and shall also comply with the fall zone requirements of this chapter.
To the extent there is a conflict, the more restrictive provision shall govern.
D.
Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary of any other
section of this chapter, the front, side, and rear yard requirements set forth
above shall apply not only to a tower but also to all tower parts, including
guy wires and anchors, and to any accessory buildings.
A.
Towers shall not be artificially lighted and marked beyond
the requirements of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
or any successor agency regulating aviation matters in the United States.
B.
Notwithstanding the preceding subsection, 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 and would not unduly adversely affect residents of any surrounding
property.
A.
The use of any portion of a telecommunications facility
for signs, promotional or advertising purposes, including but not limited
to company name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons, is prohibited.
B.
The facility shall have the least practical visual effect
on the environment, as determined by the Town Board. Any tower that is not
subject to FAA marking as set forth above shall otherwise:
(1)
Have a galvanized finish or shall be painted gray above
the surrounding tree line and gray or green below the tree line, as deemed
appropriate by the Town Board; or
(2)
Be disguised or camouflaged to blend in with the surroundings,
to the extent that such alteration does not impair the ability of the facility
to perform its designed function.
C.
Accessory structures shall maximize the use of building
materials, colors, and textures designed to blend in with the natural surroundings.
D.
Each application for a proposed facility shall be accompanied
by a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) full environmental assessment
form (EAF). A visual environmental assessment form (visual EAF) shall be required
as an addendum to the full EAF. Either the Planning Board or the Town Board
may require submittal of a more detailed visual analysis based on the results
of the visual EAF.
E.
The facility shall have appropriate vegetative buffering,
satisfactory to the Town Board, 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, or public roads. The Town
Board may similarly require screening adjacent to waterways, landmarks, refuges,
community facilities, or conservation or historic areas within common view
of the public.
F.
Without limiting the requirements of the preceding subsection,
existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible,
and no cuffing of trees exceeding four inches in diameter (measured at a height
of four feet off the ground) shall occur in connection with the telecommunications
facility prior to the granting of special approval and site plan approval.
Clearcutting of all trees in a single contiguous area exceeding 20,000 square
feet shall be prohibited.
G.
Either the Town Board or the Planning Board, or both,
may require additional information, such as line-of-sight drawings, detailed
elevation maps, visual simulations, before-and-after renderings, and alternate
tower designs to more clearly identify adverse impacts for the purpose of
their mitigation.
H.
Equipment or vehicles not used in direct support, renovations,
additions or repair of any telecommunications facility shall not be stored
or parked on the facility site.
A.
Accessways shall make maximum use of existing public
or private roads to the extent practicable. New accessways constructed solely
for telecommunications facilities must be at least 12 but no more than 24
feet wide and closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual disturbance
and reduce soil erosion potential.
B.
The road surface (driveways) shall be centered within
accessways and shall not comprise more than 60% of the width of the accessway.
C.
Parking areas shall be sufficient to accommodate the
usual number of service vehicles expected on the premises at any one time.
Space off of public highways shall be provided (not necessarily in parking
areas) to accommodate the greatest number of service vehicles expected on
the premises at any one time.
D.
Driveways or parking areas shall provide adequate interior
turnaround such that service vehicles will not have to back out onto a public
thoroughfare.
A.
Towers, anchor points of guyed towers, and accessory
structures shall each be surrounded by fencing at least eight feet in height,
the top foot of which may, at the discretion of the Planning Board in deference
to the character of the neighborhood, be comprised of three strands of barbed
wire to discourage unauthorized access to the site. The Town Board may waive
the requirement of fencing if, in its discretion, it determines that other
forms of security are adequate or that, by reason of location or occupancy,
security will not be significantly compromised by the omission or reduction
in size of the otherwise required fencing.
B.
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. Such lighting should only
occur when the area within the fenced perimeters has been entered.
C.
There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet
of the ground of any tower.
D.
A locked gate at the junction of the accessway and a
public thoroughfare may be required to obstruct entry by unauthorized vehicles.
Such gate must not protrude into the public right-of-way.
A.
Site plans for all telecommunications facilities must
bear the seal of a professional engineer licensed to practice in the State
of New York. Every facility shall be built, operated and maintained to acceptable
industry standards, including but not limited to the most recent, applicable
standards of the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and
the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
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 Code Enforcement Officer
of the Town of Barton. Any unsafe condition revealed by such report shall
be corrected within ten days of notification of same to the record landowner
on which the facility is constructed. The time period for correction may,
on application of the landowner or owner of the facility, be extended by the
Town Board if it is impracticable to complete the correction within said 10
days and if there is no imminent danger to life, limb, or other, person's
property: If the unsafe condition is not corrected within the applicable time
period or if the required inspection is not provided to the Town, the special
approval for construction of the facility may, after a hearing by the Town
Board on at least ten days' prior notice to the landowner of record given
by certified mail, return receipt requested, or other equally effective manner
of providing notice, be revoked by such Board. Revocation may occur only if
the Board finds either that the required inspection has not been provided
or that there is an unsafe condition which poses a risk of bodily injury or
significant property damage. Upon such revocation, the facility shall be removed
or dismantled to the point of removing all unsafe conditions.
C.
A safety analysis by a qualified professional must accompany
any special permit or site plan application, renewal thereof or modification,
for the purpose of certifying that general public electromagnetic radiation
exposure does not exceed standards set by the FCC or any permit granted by
the United States Federal Communications Commission or any successor agency
regulating radio transmission facilities.
D.
At the request of either the Planning Board or the Town
Board, an applicant for special permit or site plan approval shall submit
an intermodulation study by a qualified engineer certifying that the proposed
facility will not adversely affect any other existing radio, telecommunications,
television, or other radio or television transmission facility.
E.
The municipality, at the expense of the applicant, may
employ its own consulting assistance to examine the application and related
documentation and make recommendations as to whether the criteria for granting
the special approval have been met, including whether the applicant's
conclusions regarding need, collocation, safety analysis, visual analysis,
and structural inspection, are valid and supported by generally accepted and
reliable engineering and technical data and standards. Such consultants may
include but are not limited to engineers and attorneys.
A.
At the time of submittal of the application for a special
approval 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(s) dedicated solely for use within 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 of said facility, the land shall be restored to its previous condition,
including but not limited to the seeding of exposed soils.
B.
At the time of obtaining a building permit, the applicant
must provide a financial security bond for removal of the telecommunications
facility and property restoration, with the municipality as the obligee, in
an amount approved by the Town Board but not less than $50,000.
C.
At times of modification of the special approval, the
Town Board may adjust the required amount of the financial security bond to
adequately cover increases in the cost of removal of the telecommunications
facility and property restoration.
The application for a special approval and site plan approval for the
construction of a telecommunications facility shall include, without altering
any other application requirements set forth elsewhere in this chapter:
A.
A completed project application form in such detail and
containing such information as. the Town Planning Board or Town Board may
require.
B.
Completed EAF and visual EAF.
C.
Site plan showing such information and details as the
Planning Board or Town Board may reasonably require, including but not limited
to:
(1)
The exact location, including geographic coordinates,
of the proposed telecommunications facility, including any towers, guy wires
and anchors, if applicable;
(2)
The maximum height of the proposed facility, including
all appurtenances;
(3)
A detail of tower type, if any, including engineering
drawings from the tower manufacturer (monopole, guyed, freestanding or other),
showing the tower, if applicable, any guying or anchoring, the foundation
of any structure, colors of any structure, and all other construction details;
(4)
The location, type and intensity of any lighting on the
tower;
(5)
Property boundaries and names of all adjacent landowners;
(6)
Proof of the landowner's consent to the erection
of the facility and agreement to abide by this chapter, if the applicant is
not the landowner;
(7)
The location of all other structures on the property
and all structures on any adjacent property within 100 feet of the property
lines together with the distance of these structures from any proposed tower
or other structure;
(8)
The location, nature and extent of any proposed fencing,
landscaping and screening; and
(9)
The location and nature of any proposed utility easements
and access roads or drives.
D.
Agreement that the applicant will negotiate in good faith
with any subsequent applicant seeking to collocate a telecommunications facility
on the initial applicant's structures. This agreement shall commit the
initial applicant and landowner and their respective successors in interest
to:
(1)
Respond in a timely, comprehensive manner to a request
for information from a potential shared-use applicant.
(2)
Negotiate in good faith for shared use by third parties.
(3)
Allow shared use if an applicant agrees in writing to
pay reasonable charges for same.
(4)
Make no more than a reasonable charge for shared use,
based upon generally accepted accounting principles. The charge may include
but is not limited to a pro rata share of the cost of site selection, planning,
project administration, land costs, site design, construction and maintenance,
financing, return on equity, and depreciation, and all of the costs of adapting
the tower or equipment to accommodate a shared user without causing electromagnetic
interference or causing uses on the site to emit electromagnetic radiation
in excess of levels permitted by the FCC.
E.
The agreement for removal of the facility referred to
above.
F.
Copies of all documents submitted to the FCC or any other
governmental agency having jurisdiction.
G.
Certification from an engineer licensed in New York to
the effect that all structures, including particularly any towers, have been
designed in accordance with good engineering practices and in accordance with
generally accepted standards for construction of structures in the geographic
location of intended construction, and including, if a tower is planned, a
certification as to the wind loads the tower as constructed on the proposed
site is designed to withstand and that such wind loads are those for which
it is appropriate to design towers in the area of the Town of Barton.
H.
An application fee of $2,500 if the application is for
a new facility or an application fee of $500 if the application is for a modification
of an existing facility. In addition, if required by the Town Board, the applicant
shall deposit an amount, not in excess of 1% of the anticipated cost of the
telecommunications facility, for application to the costs of any consultants
retained by the Town as provided above and to the costs of conducting any
environmental or other review. If such deposit is or is about to be expended,
the applicant shall replenish the deposit within 15 days of notification of
the amount required from the Town. Any unused deposit amounts shall be returned
to the applicant upon completion of the review process.
A.
Upon receipt of a complete application, the Planning
Board shall hold a public hearing in accordance with the provisions of Town
Law § 274-a or any similar or successor applicable statutes and
shall render a decision recommending approval, approval with conditions, or
disapproval of the site plan.
B.
In making its decision, the Planning Board shall have
the power to impose conditions and restrictions as authorized by § 274-a
of the Town Law or any similar or successor statute.
C.
The recommendation of the Planning Board and the completed
application shall be forwarded to the Town Board within fifteen days of the
date of the Planning Board's recommendation. If no recommendation is
made within 62 days of the receipt of the final application by the Planning
Board, the application shall be deemed recommended favorably to the Town Board,
and the application shall be forwarded to the Town Board.
D.
Within 20 days of receipt by the Town Board, the Town
Board shall hold a public hearing on at least five days' notice published
in the official newspaper designated by the Town and shall render a decision
approving, disapproving, or approving with conditions the application, in
the time periods set forth in § 274-a of the Town Law or any similar
or successor statute.
E.
If the Planning Board has recommended against the granting
of the application, the Town Board shall not approve the application unless
a majority plus one of the Town Board members vote in favor of the application.
F.
The owner and applicant shall be bound by the final site
plan as approved by the Town Board, and all construction and development shall
occur only in accordance with the finally approved site plan, unless specifically
otherwise authorized by the provisions of this chapter.
A.
The Planning Board or the Town Board may waive one or
more requirements of this chapter with respect to the application materials,
if the Town Board finds the circumstances of the particular application do
not require a full site plan for adequate review (e.g., the application involves
a de minimus change in an existing facility, or the proposed cost of the proposed
facility is not substantial, or the location is such that it is obvious from
the physical circumstances that various items normally required to adequately
review the application are not needed).
B.
The Town Board may waive one or more requirements of
this chapter with respect to the construction of a telecommunications facility.
Such a waiver may include but is not limited to waiver of the deposit, waiver
of the performance bond, waiver of fencing, or waiver of other construction
requirements. The Town Board shall not grant such a waiver unless it finds:
C.
The Planning Board may recommend waivers. However, the
final determination as to any waiver shall rest with the Town Board, which
shall not be bound to accept the Planning Board's recommendation regarding
a waiver. Any waiver that is given by the Planning Board pursuant to the terms
of this section may be reviewed, modified, or canceled by the Town Board.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any equipment, other than equipment used by amateur radio licensees
regulated by the Federal Communications Commission; equipment that is used
by a governmental unit or agency that is statutorily expressly exempt from
regulation by the Town of Barton; or mobile equipment that is contained in
a car or other motor vehicle or is completely portable and not affixed in
any manner to realty (the exception for mobile equipment does not extend to
any antenna(s) attached, directly or indirectly such as on a tower or other
structure, to realty or to other facilities used in connection with such mobile
equipment, which is used in connection with the provision of two-way wireless
communication services, including cellular telephone services, personal communications
services, private radio communications services, fire and emergency communications,
and any other private or public radio communications transmissions regulated
by the FCC in accordance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other
federal laws. Such uses shall include private commercial uses as well as public
uses. A telecommunications facility shall include monopole, guyed, or latticework
tower(s), as well as antenna(s), switching stations, principal
and accessory telecommunications equipment and supporting masts, wires, structures,
and buildings.
A.
Any special approval or site plan approval granted hereunder
shall be valid only for the dimensions and number of structures for the telecommunications
facility contained in the original application as so approved. Any subsequent
changes or modifications shall require a new application for same, following
the procedures set forth in this section.
B.
In considering the application, the Town Board may, if
the application is granted, impose such reasonable conditions as it may deem
necessary to minimize any adverse impacts of the facility or its construction
or to assure continued compliance with the terms of this chapter. Any conditions
recommended by the Planning Board relating to the special approval may be
included by the Town Board in any special approval granted by such Board.
