The purpose of this chapter is to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Town of Hyde Park, and
A. To preserve the scenic, historic, natural and man-made character and appearance of the Town, for the safe provision of the service, installation, monitoring and removal of wireless telecommunications towers and facilities consistent with applicable federal and state regulations.
B. 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.
C. To minimize adverse visual effects from telecommunications towers by requiring careful siting, configuration, visual impact assessment and appropriate landscaping.
D. To provide a procedural basis for action within a reasonable period of time for requests for authorization to place, construct, operate, modify and camouflage telecommunications towers.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ANTENNA A device for the reception or transmission of electromagnetic waves that is connected to a transmitter or receiver through a feed line either directly or through a phasing network.
[Added 10-2-2001 by L.L. No. 8-2001]
APPROVING BOARD The Planning Board shall be the approving Board for the special use permit and site plan approval of all telecommunications towers and facilities.
[Amended 10-7-2019 by L.L. No. 7-2019]
CAMOUFLAGE To give a false appearance in order to conceal or to cause an object to blend with its background or to appear to be something different from what it actually is, which includes the definition of "disguise."
COLLOCATION The addition of commercial telecommunications equipment to any existing tall structure or existing or approved telecommunications tower.
TALL STRUCTURE A structure which complies with the requirements of this chapter and is of sufficient height to be used as a telecommunications tower. Such structures include, but are not limited to, water towers, multistory buildings, church steeples, farm silos, flag poles, forest ranger towers, bell towers, bridges and fire towers.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES Any commercial structures, buildings, sheds, huts, equipment closures, emergency generator buildings and other such structures used in support of any auxiliary use to a telecommunications tower.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER Any structure the primary purpose of which is to support antennas used in the provision of commercial telecommunications services.
[Amended 10-7-2019 by L.L. No. 7-2019]
The Planning Board may require the applicant to undertake a visual impact assessment, which may include:
A. A "zone of visibility" map in order to determine locations where the telecommunications tower may be seen.
B. Pictorial representations of "before" and "after" views from key viewpoints both inside and outside of the Town, including, but not limited to, state highways and other major roads, state and local parks, other public lands, preserves and historic sites normally open to the public, and from any other location where the telecommunications tower is visible to a large number of visitors, travelers or persons. The Planning Board shall determine the appropriate key sites at a meeting with the applicant.
C. Assessment of alternative telecommunications tower designs and color schemes, as described in §
101-10.
D. Assessment of the visual impact of the telecommunications tower base, guy wires, accessory buildings and overhead utility lines from abutting properties and streets.
Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. No cutting of trees shall take place on a site connected with an application made under this chapter prior to the approval of the special use permit.
No exterior lighting shall spill from the site. Telecommunications towers shall not be lighted except where FAA/FCC-required lighting of the telecommunications towers is necessary or unless the lighting is a part of the camouflage scheme, such as a spotlight on a flagpole or church steeple.
Parking shall be provided to assure adequate emergency and service access. The Planning Board shall determine the amount of spaces required.
To ensure security of the facility, the telecommunications tower and any accessory structures may be required to be enclosed by a fence, the design of which shall be approved by the Planning Board.
Telecommunications towers and telecommunications facilities shall be dismantled and removed by the applicant and/or the owner of the subject premises when they are no longer used or needed.
A. All applications for approval of new telecommunications towers shall be accompanied by a plan covering reclamation of the site after removal of the tower.
B. No approvals shall be given under this chapter until all owners of the subject premises give the Town of Hyde Park, in a form suitable to the Town Attorney, a recordable instrument, running with the land, granting the Town of Hyde Park the right to enter upon the premises to dismantle and to remove the tower or facilities in the event of the owners' failure to comply, within three months, with the lawful written directive to do so by the Zoning Administrator. This instrument shall give the Town the right, after the owners of the premises have been given fair notice and opportunity to be heard before the Town Board, to charge the actual costs associated with disassembly or demolition, and of removal, including any necessary and reasonable engineering or attorney's fees incurred to carry out its rights hereunder, by adding that charge to and making it a part of the next annual real property assessment roll of the Town of Hyde Park, to be levied and collected in the same manner and at the same time as Town-assessed real property taxes.
C. The giving of such an agreement to the Town shall not preclude the Town from pursuing the alternative enforcement actions of:
(1) Seeking an injunction from a court of competent jurisdiction to compel removal; or
(2) Seeking judgment to recover the costs, together with reasonable and necessary engineering and attorney's fees, of dismantling and removal by the Town.
D. The Town may secure removal of towers or facilities hereunder by requiring the applicant and/or the owner(s) of the premises to provide an undertaking and a continuing letter of credit or other financial security covering the projected costs of dismantling and removal.
Notice of any public hearing shall be mailed by the Town of Hyde Park directly to all landowners whose property is located within 500 feet of the property line of the parcel on which a new telecommunications tower is proposed; notice shall also be mailed to the administrator of any state or federal parklands from which the proposed tower would be visible. The cost of such notification shall be borne by the applicant.
The applicant and the owner of the property where the communications tower is to be located shall provide the Town Clerk with proof of liability insurance in the amount not less than $3,000,000 to cover potential personal injury and property damage claims associated with construction and subsequent operation and maintenance.
Any person or entity violating this chapter or any condition of approval shall be guilty of a violation, pursuant to the Penal Law of the State of New York punishable by a fine not to exceed $250. Each week (seven-day period) during which said violation shall continue shall constitute a separate and distinct violation within the meaning of this chapter. The applicant shall first be notified by the Zoning Administrator of the violation(s) and granted a period of 30 days to reestablish compliance. If these violations are not resolved, fines may result beginning on the first day following the thirty-day period.