Source: https://www.ecode360.com/14434376
Timestamp: 2019-10-18 11:40:59
Document Index: 174527678

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223', '§ 223']

Town of Kendall, NY Telecommunications Facilities
§ 223-1 Purpose.
§ 223-3 General criteria.
§ 223-4 Co-location.
§ 223-5 Dimensional standards.
§ 223-6 Lighting; marking.
§ 223-7 Appearance; buffering.
§ 223-8 Access; parking.
§ 223-9 Security.
§ 223-10 Engineering and maintenance.
§ 223-11 Removal.
§ 223-12 Assessable improvement.
Chapter 223 Telecommunications Facilities
[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Kendall 7-17-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to supplement the Town of Kendall zoning regulations relating to the regulation of essential services as such term is defined in Chapter 265, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Kendall, which includes telecommunication facilities. These supplemental regulations are intended to promote health, safety, and the general welfare of the residents of the Town of Kendall; 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 use of existing tall buildings and other high structures; and to minimize adverse visual effects from telecommunications towers by requiring careful siting, visual impact assessment, and appropriate landscaping.
Any commercial equipment used in connection with the provision of wireless communication services, including cellular telephone services, personal communications services, radio and television broadcast communications and private radio communications services, and are regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, both in accordance with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other federal laws. A "telecommunication facility" shall include monopole, guyed, or latticework tower(s), as well as antenna(s), switching stations, principal accessory telecommunication equipment and supporting masts, wires, structures, and buildings.
No special use permit or renewal thereof or modification of a current special use permit relating to a telecommunications facility shall be authorized by the Planning Board unless it finds that such telecommunications facility:
Is necessary to meet current or expected demands for service;
Conforms with all applicable regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, and other federal agencies;
Is considered a public utility in the State of New York;
Is designed and constructed in a manner which minimizes visual impact to the extent practical;
Complies with all other requirements of this chapter, unless expressly superseded herein;
Complies with all the requirements of Chapter 265, Zoning, of the Code of the Town of Kendall, unless expressly superseded herein;
Is the most appropriate site among those available within the technically feasible area for the location of a telecommunications facility;
When including the construction of a tower, such tower is designed to accommodate future shared use by at least one other telecommunication service provider. Any subsequent location of telecommunication equipment by other service providers on existing towers specifically designed for shared use shall not require a new or modified special use permit if there would be no increase in the height of the tower. However, the additional equipment will require site plan review.[1]
The shared use of existing telecommunications facilities or other structures shall be preferred to the construction of new facilities. Any special use permit application, renewal or modification thereof shall include proof that reasonable efforts have been made to co-locate within (share) an existing telecommunication facility or upon an existing structure. The application shall include an adequate inventory report specifying existing telecommunication 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. Where practicable, preference should be given to locating any new facilities on municipally owned lands, buildings or existing emergency service towers within the municipality. Preference shall also be given to locating telecommunication facilities so that lands of the abandoned railroad right-of-way, the so-called Hojack Line, can be utilized.[1]
The application must demonstrate that the proposed telecommunication facility cannot be accommodated on existing telecommunications facility sites in the inventory due to one or more of the following reasons:
The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing and approved telecommunication facilities or other structures, considering existing and planned use for those facilities;
Other technical reasons make it impracticable to place the equipment proposed by the applicant on existing facilities or structures;
The property owner or owner of the existing telecommunication facility or other structure refuses to allow such co-location.
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 antenna(s) attached upon its zenith plus 20 feet. The entire fall zone in all directions from the tower base 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 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 Zoning Board of Appeals on a case-by-case basis.
All telecommunications facilities shall be located on a single parcel. Only one tower may be constructed on any one parcel.
All telecommunications facilities shall not comply with the lot size and setback standards of the underlying zoning district, but, instead, the size of the leased or owned lot shall be, at a minimum, three acres and of sufficient size to include the entire fall zone. The minimum setback standard shall provide for free fall plus 20 feet. A lot leased or owned for the purpose of construction of a tower as part of telecommunications facility shall not result in the creation of a nonconforming lot.
The frontage requirement of the underlying zoning district shall not apply, provided the telecommunications facility is not proposed on a parcel to be partitioned specifically for the facility and/or is designed for occupancy by staff. In the absence of required frontage, an accessway for service vehicles, either through easement, lease or ownership, shall be in accord with § 223-8 herein.
Towers shall not be artificially lighted and marked beyond requirements of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Notwithstanding the preceding Subsection A, an applicant may be compelled to add FAA-style lighting and marking, if in the judgement of the Planning Board, such a requirement would be of direct benefit to public safety.
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.
The facility shall have the least practical visual effect on the environment, as determined by the Planning Board. Any tower that is not subject to FAA marking, pursuant to § 223-6A and B herein, shall otherwise:
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 Planning Board; or
Be disguised or camouflaged to blend in with the surroundings, to extent that such alteration does not impair the ability of the facility to perform its designed function.
Accessory structures shall maximize the use of building materials, colors and textures designed to blend in with the natural surroundings.
The Planning Board may require a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) Full Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) for proposed facilities at key viewpoints in the community. A Visual Environmental Assessment Form (Visual EAF), may be required as an addendum to either the full or short EAF. The Planning Board may require submittal of a more detailed visual analysis based on the results of the Visual EAF.
The Planning Board shall require that the facility have 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, or public roads. Such screening shall included the maximum feasible retention of existing vegetation. The Planning Board may similarly require screening adjacent to waterways, landmarks, refuges, community facilities, or conservation or historic areas within common view of the public.
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.
Accessways shall make maximum use of existing public or private roads to the extent practicable. New accessways provided solely for telecommunications facilities must be at least 20 feet, but no more than 30 feet wide, and closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.
The road surface (driveways) shall be centered within accessways and shall not comprise more than 60% of the width of the accessway. All driveways must be constructed of a gravel base capable of supporting emergency vehicles.
Parking areas shall be sufficient to accommodate the greatest number of service vehicles expected on the premises at any one time.
Driveways or parking areas shall provide adequate interior turnaround, such that service vehicles will not have to back out onto a public thoroughfare.
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 strand of barbed wire to discourage unauthorized access to the site.
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 activate when the area within the fenced perimeters has been entered.
There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet of the ground of any tower.
A locked gate at the junction of the driveway and a public thoroughfare may be required to obstruct entry by unauthorized vehicles. Such gate must not protrude into the public right-of-way.
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).
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 municipal zoning office.
A safety analysis by a qualified professional must accompany any special use permit or site plan application, renewal thereof or modification, for the purpose of certifying to the general public electromagnetic radiation exposure does not exceed standards set by federal regulations.[1]
The municipality, at the expense of the applicant, may employ its own consulting assistance to review the findings and conclusions of safety analysis, visual analysis, or structural inspection, provided by the applicant.
At the time of submittal of the application of a special use permit 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.
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 assignee, in an amount approved by the Planning Board, but not less than $100,000.
At times of renewal or modification of the special use permit, the Planning Board may adjust the required amount of the financial security bond to adequately cover increases in cost of removal of the telecommunications facility and property restoration.
The construction or location of telecommunication facilities upon a parcel of land within the Town of Kendall shall be deemed to be an assessable improvement subject to real property taxation under the applicable provisions of the laws of the State of New York.