Source: https://ecode360.com/10645871
Timestamp: 2020-08-04 11:41:17
Document Index: 285250349

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476', '§ 476']

Village of Fairport, NY Telecommunication Facilities
§ 476-1 Title.
§ 476-2 Legislative purpose.
§ 476-3 Definitions.
§ 476-4 Special use permit required.
§ 476-5 Districts in which permitted.
§ 476-6 Radio frequency effects.
§ 476-7 Traffic, access and safety.
§ 476-8 Exemptions.
§ 476-9 Revocation of special use permit.
§ 476-10 Penalties for offenses.
§ 476-11 Cessation of operation.
Chapter 476 Telecommunication Facilities
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Fairport 9-8-1997 by L.L. No. 3-1997 (Ch. 49 of the 1968 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
Zoning — See Ch. 550.
This chapter shall be entitled "Telecommunication Facilities Law of the Village of Fairport."
The purpose of this chapter is to implement the basic goal of the United States Telecommunications Act of 1996, as amended; namely, to encourage telecommunications competition wherever and whenever possible by providing facilities to accommodate the increased demand for wireless telecommunication via transmitting and receiving facilities and concurrently providing for and protecting the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Village of Fairport by protecting sound land use planning. In enacting this chapter, the governing body makes the following specific findings:
The residentially zoned districts within the Village of Fairport are almost completely developed by existing one- and two-family residences and, consequently, there is little vacant land in any residential zone which lends itself to construction of a telecommunication facility.
Any telecommunication facility located in a residential district should be permitted only where the natural ground altitude is of a significant amount higher than its immediate surroundings to provide a proposed telecommunication facility a natural advantage for receiving and transmitting.
An accessory facility or structure serving or being used in conjunction with a communication tower and located on the same lot as the communication tower.
AMATEUR RADIO ANTENNA SUPPORT STRUCTURE
A man-made tower whose primary function is to support an antenna used in amateur radio installation. Such a structure may also be an integral part of the radiating function of an antenna. Said structure shall include any guy wires and anchors.
AMATEUR RADIO INSTALLATION
The equipment used by a person who holds a valid amateur radio license issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). This equipment includes, but is not limited to, transmitters, receivers, antennas, antenna support structures, guy wires and anchors, interconnecting wire and cables.
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive radio frequency signals; such signals include, but are not limited to, radio, television, cellular, paging, personal communication services (PCS) and microwave communications.
A structure designed to support one or more antennas, including but not limited to, freestanding towers, guyed towers, monopoles and similar structures which may employ camouflage technology.
Communication towers, antennas and accessory structures used in connection with the provision of cellular telephone service, PCS, paging services, radio and television services and similar broadcast services and microwave communications.
No antenna, communication tower, telecommunication facility or accessory structure shall be constructed or maintained within the Village of Fairport without the issuance of a special use permit by the Board of Appeals, except as may be otherwise expressly provided by applicable law. The procedure for obtaining a special use permit shall be as follows:
The applicant shall file a written application for special use permit with the Board of Appeals on a form acceptable in content and form to the Village, together with a site plan, which shall be prepared to scale and in sufficient detail and accuracy to show the following:
The location of property boundary lines and easements, if any;
The location of the telecommunication facility, communication tower and antenna, together with guy wires and anchors, if applicable;
A side elevation or other sketch of the communication tower, showing the proposed antennas;
The location of all structures on the property and all structures on any adjacent property within 10 feet of the property lines, together with the distance of these structures to the proposed communication tower;
The names of all adjacent landowners;
The location, nature and extent of any proposed fencing, landscaping and/or screening;
The location and nature of proposed utility easements and access road, if applicable; and
A viewshed map or visual simulation showing the view from surrounding properties of the proposed communication towers and/or antennas.
Preliminary and final site plan approval by the Planning Board.
Issuance of the special use permit by the Board of Appeals, after a public hearing, upon the findings, hereinafter set forth, and a determination by the Board that the proposed installation will comply with the provisions of this chapter and is in accordance with the principles and requirements contained herein:
The proposed installation shall comply with all existing setback requirements within the affected zone. Setbacks shall apply to all parts of the telecommunication facility or tower, including guy wires, anchors and accessory structures. Communication towers permitted under this chapter shall be exempt from height limitations otherwise applicable in the district in which it is located, except as may be otherwise expressly provided in this chapter.
The proposed installation shall be located so as to have the least practical adverse effect on the aesthetics of the surrounding environment. In order to minimize any adverse aesthetic effect on the surrounding environment, the Board of Appeals may impose reasonable conditions on the permit, including, but not limited to, the following:
Require a monopole or guyed tower, if sufficient land is available to the applicant, instead of a freestanding tower.
Require reasonable landscaping consisting of trees or shrubs to screen the telecommunication facility to the extent possible from adjacent properties. Existing on-site trees and vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent.
Require that the applicant show that it has made good faith efforts to co-locate the proposed installation on existing communication towers or, where such shared use is unavailable, locating antennas on preexisting structures.
In the interest of minimizing the number of communication towers, the Board of Appeals may require that an applicant agree, in writing, that it will permit other telecommunication providers to make use of the proposed installation and that the applicant will design the proposed installation to provide future shared usage, subject to the following conditions:
The new antennas and equipment do not exceed structural loading requirements, interfere with communication tower space used or to be used by the applicant or create any technical frequency interference with existing equipment;
The person desiring to co-locate pays the applicant a fair and reasonable sum to co-locate; and
The person desiring to co-locate provides a written commitment to permit the applicant to co-locate on its facilities in other locations.
A condition for co-location shall not be required if the applicant demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Board of Appeals that provisions for shared future usage are not feasible or impose an unnecessary burden based upon:
The number of FCC licenses foreseeably available for the area;
The kind of installation proposed;
Available space on other existing and approved communication towers; and
Potential adverse visual effects of a communication tower designed for shared usage.
The proposed installation shall be designed and sited so as to avoid, whenever possible, application of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lighting and painting requirements. Communication towers shall not be artificially lighted, except as required by the FAA. Communication towers shall be painted so as to be camouflaged as much as possible to blend into their surroundings.
No tower shall contain any signs or advertising devices.
The proposed installation complies with all applicable requirements of the FCC and the FAA.
The proposed installation is necessary to provide adequate service and coverage to the intended area, as demonstrated by documentation furnished by the applicant.
The proposed installation, including reception and transmission functions, will not interfere with radio, television or telephone service enjoyed by adjacent properties or with public safety telecommunication service.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, on municipal or government-owned property, a tower at any setback or height shall be permitted upon the issuance of a special use permit by the Village Board pursuant to the foregoing procedure, and a building permit in accordance with the standards set forth in the Code of the Village of Fairport. Preliminary and final site plan approval by the Planning Board shall not be required but shall be obtained by an administrative review by the Village Manager.
[Added 12-14-2015 by L.L. No. 7-2015]
Telecommunication facilities shall be a permitted use only:
In residential districts of sufficient ground altitude, in relation to their immediate surroundings, to provide a natural advantage for transmitting and receiving by the proposed telecommunication facility; and
In commercial and industrial districts.
Amateur radio installations are permitted in any district subject to the following:
The antenna support structure or antenna is within or on a previously approved structure or within the rear yard area and meets the applicable setback requirements for that district;
There is no more than one antenna support structure on the property;
The total height of the antenna and antenna support structure above grade shall not exceed 62 feet;
In the case of a single-wire or dipole-type antenna, naturally occurring features, e.g., trees, may be used as support and not be subject to the rear yard limitation. If a naturally occurring feature is not available on the property and other means are not feasible, then a second antenna support structure may be utilized solely to support a single-wire or dipole-type antenna and shall be subject to the setback requirements set forth in § 476-5B(1) of this chapter;
A building permit is obtained for the support structure; and
The proposed antenna and antenna support structure will not, by reason of its location or nature, create a hazard to the public or to any adjacent property owner or occupant.
Federal law currently provides that local municipal regulation of cellular and PCS communication towers based upon the environmental effect of radio frequency emissions is preempted and prohibited as long as those emissions comply with FCC standards. The Board of Appeals shall, as a condition of granting a special use permit, require that the applicant provide sufficient evidence that the telecommunication facility will comply with FCC radio frequency emission standards.
The following conditions shall apply to all telecommunication facilities:
Suitable emergency and service access and parking; maximum use of existing roads, public or private, shall be made.
All communication towers, guy wires and anchors shall be enclosed by a fence not less than six feet in height or otherwise sufficiently protected against trespassing or vandalism.
The telecommunication facility shall at all times comply with all applicable federal, state and local regulations, including but not limited to those of the FAA and FCC.
The following shall be exempt from the application of this chapter:
The repair and maintenance of existing telecommunication facilities.
Antennas used solely for residential and household television and radio reception.
Satellite antenna limited to receiving television broadcast signals, direct broadcast signals (DBS), direct broadcast satellite services (DBBS), or multichannel multipoint distribution services (MMDS), measuring one meter or less in diameter in any district or two meters or less in a commercial or industrial district, provided that such antenna is 10 feet or less above the surrounding grade or building to which it is mounted and a building permit is obtained to ensure its installation is safe.
Amateur radio installation, provided that it complies with § 476-5B of this chapter.
A special use permit granted pursuant to this chapter may be revoked by the Board of Appeals, after a hearing, on not less than 10 days' notice to the person holding the permit, if the telecommunication facility and the operation thereof shall not comply with any of the conditions of the permit or any provisions of this chapter.
Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $50 nor more than $250 for each day or part thereof during which such violation continues.[1]
Any person who, after written notice of violation of this chapter, fails to cure said violation within five days after written notice is personally served upon said person, or within 10 days after written notice has been sent to said person by registered mail at his last known residence or place of business, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $50 nor more than $250 for each day that said violation continues.
The remedies and penalties provided herein shall be cumulative and shall be in addition to any other remedies or penalties provided by law.
If the telecommunication facility shall cease to operate as a telecommunication facility for a period of 180 consecutive days or more, the facility shall be deemed to be abandoned. Upon such abandonment and written notice thereof by the Village to the owner and/or operator of the facility, the owner and/or operator of the facility shall remove the facility at its own expense, and failing the same, the Village may, at its option, either take possession, control and ownership of said facility or remove the facility at the expense of the owner and/or operator. Any and all special use permits, variances and approvals of any nature granted by the Village shall automatically expire and terminate as of the date of the abandonment of the facility.