Grand Island City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXXI
Telecommunications Facilities
§ 407-168 Telecommunications towers.
A.
The Town recognizes the increased demand for wireless communication transmitting facilities and the need for the services they provide. Often these facilities require the construction of a communication tower and/or similar facilities. The intent of this section is to regulate the location, construction, and modification of these facilities in accordance with sound land use planning by:
(1)
Minimizing adverse visual effects of towers and/or similar facilities through careful design, siting, and vegetative screening and/or buffering;
(2)
Avoiding potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure or falling debris through engineering and careful siting of tower structures;
(3)
Maximizing use of any new and/or existing towers or existing buildings and/or structures to reduce the number of towers and/or similar facilities needed in the Town;
(4)
Providing for the general health, safety and welfare of the Town in and by the regulation of these facilities as such regulation is permitted under applicable federal and/or state law;
(5)
Accommodating and allowing wireless service providers to meet their service objectives insofar as can be accommodated consistent with these regulations and/or other applicable federal or state law.
B.
No telecommunications facility shall be sited, located, constructed, erected, or modified without the issuance of either a site plan approval or tower permit as prescribed in this article.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
C.
The Town Board may waive any provision of this article for telecommunications facilities whose total height above ground does not exceed 60 feet.
§ 407-169 Zoning districts and bulk requirements.
Facilities shall be approved as follows:
A.
Industrial districts. New facilities and co-located facilities: site plan application per this article. If the tower is to be set back in any of these districts less than the height of the proposed tower to any residential district, then the application will also require a tower permit per this article in addition to site plan approval.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
B.
Residential and business zoning districts. New towers or towers with increased height: Site plan review and a tower permit as forth set forth in this article; co-located facilities need site plan review only.
C.
The tower must be set back a minimum from any residentially zoned property or any front yard line, and from any residential dwelling, school or historic structure, by a minimum of the lesser of 1 1/2 times its height and any antenna attached thereto, or 1 1/2 times the tower’s highest pre-engineered breaking point, as certified by a licensed engineer in a manner acceptable to the Town Engineer.
[Amended 2-3-2014 by L.L. No. 6-2014]
E.
The Town Board may hold public hearings or public informational meetings on any application whenever it deems holding such a hearing or meeting to be in the public interest.
[Added 12-20-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004; amended 10-15-2012 by L.L. No. 3-2012]
F.
Initial approvals under this article shall be for a period of one year. Renewals shall be for a period of two years, unless the Town Board determines a shorter period is appropriate. Special use permits for telecommunications facilities outstanding at the time of adoption of this code shall be deemed tower permits, and renewals shall be reviewed under this article.
[Added 12-20-2004 by L.L. No. 4-2004]
§ 407-170 General standards.
A.
No initial approval or renewal hereof or modification of the conditions of a current permit or plan relating to a telecommunications facility shall be authorized by the Town Board unless it finds that such telecommunications facility:
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
(1)
Is necessary to meet current or expected demands for the services supported by the telecommunications facility;
(2)
Conforms with all applicable regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission and/or any other applicable state or federal regulatory agency;
(3)
Is designed and constructed in a manner which minimizes its visual impact;
(4)
Complies with all other requirements of this Code; and
(5)
Is the most appropriate site within the immediate area for the location of a telecommunications facility, based on the preferences in this article.
B.
All applicants are required to provide a report which establishes to the satisfaction of the Town Board that the applicant is required to provide service to locations which it is not able to serve through existing facilities which are located either within or outside of the Town, showing the specific locations and/or areas the applicant is seeking to serve.
C.
The report shall set forth an inventory of existing facilities and/or structures within or outside the Town which might be utilized or modified in order to provide coverage to the locations applicant is seeking to serve and include a report on the possibilities and opportunities for a co-location as an alternative to a new site.
D.
The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed facility cannot be accommodated on any such existing facility or structure either within or outside of the Town, due to one or more of the following reasons:
(1)
The proposed equipment would exceed the existing and reasonable potential structural capacity of existing facilities or structures within or outside of the Town considering existing and planned use for those facilities or structures;
(2)
The existing or proposed equipment would cause interference with other existing or proposed equipment which could not reasonably be mitigated or prevented;
(3)
Said existing facilities or structures do not have space on which the proposed equipment can be placed so it can function effectively and reasonably and/or the applicant has not been able, following good faith efforts, to reach an agreement with the owner or owners of such facilities or structures; and
(4)
Other reasons which make it impracticable to locate or place the proposed equipment on said facilities or structures.
§ 407-171 Co-located antennas preferred.
The shared use of existing telecommunications facilities or other structures shall be preferred to the construction of new such facilities. Any application for a telecommunications facility permit or renewal thereof or modification of the conditions of a current telecommunications facility permit shall include proof that reasonable efforts have been made to co-locate with an existing telecommunications facility or upon an existing structure. The application shall include an adequate inventory report specifying existing telecommunications facility sites and structures of height exceeding 75% of the height of the proposed tower within a one-mile radius from the proposed site if the application is for cellular telephone or personal communication use, or a five-mile radius for other services, and outlining opportunities for shared use as an alternative to the proposed location. The application must demonstrate that the proposed telecommunications facility cannot be accommodated on all sites in the inventory due to one or more of the reasons set forth in this article.
§ 407-172 Applications for telecommunications facilities.
[Amended 3-29-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006; 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
All applications for telecommunications facilities towers and/or antennas shall make a written application to the Town Board.
A.
This application shall include:
(1)
Site plan application and, where applicable, tower permit application form, supplied by the Town.
(2)
Long form environmental assessment form (EAF), including but not limited to a visual EAF addendum.
(3)
Applicable fees.
(4)
Site plan in accordance with this chapter, showing at a minimum:
(a)
The exact location of the proposed tower, together with guy wires, guy anchors, if applicable;
(b)
The maximum height of the proposed tower;
(c)
A detail of tower type (monopoles, guyed, freestanding, or other);
(d)
The color or colors of the tower;
(e)
The location, type, and intensity of any lighting on the tower;
(f)
The property boundaries (a copy of a property survey must also be provided);
(g)
Proof of the landowner's consent if the applicant will not own the property, (a copy of a lease agreement must also be provided if the applicant will not own the property);
(h)
The location of all structures on the property and all structures on any adjacent property within 50 feet of the property lines, together with the distance of these structures to the tower;
(i)
Names and addresses of adjacent landowners;
(j)
The location, nature and extent of any proposed fencing, landscaping, or screening;
(k)
The location and nature of proposed utility easements and/or access roads, if applicable; and
(l)
Building elevations of accessory structures or immediately adjacent buildings.
(5)
Before and after propagation studies prepared by a qualified radio frequency engineer demonstrating existing signal coverage contrasted with the proposed signal coverage resulting from the proposed telecommunications facility.
(6)
A search ring prepared by a qualified radio frequency engineer and overlaid on an appropriate background map demonstrating the area within which the telecommunications facility needs to be located in order to provide proper signal strength and coverage to the target area or cell. The applicant must be prepared to explain to the Board why it selected the proposed site, discuss the availability or lack of availability of a suitable site within the search ring, which would have allowed for co-located antennas and to what extent the applicant explored locating the proposed tower in a more intensive use district. Correspondence with other telecommunications companies concerning co-location is part of this requirement.
(7)
The applicant must submit a copy of its policy regarding co-location of the proposed tower with other potential applications. Such policy should allow co-location if new antennas and/or equipment do not or will not exceed structural loading requirements, interfere with tower space use, or pose any technical or radio frequency or interference with existing equipment.
(8)
A report prepared by a New York State licensed professional engineer, which in the case of a tower describes its height and design, including a cross section of the structure, demonstrates the towers compliance with applicable structural standards and describes the tower's capacity including the number and type of antennas it can accommodate. In the case of an antenna or antennas mounted on an existing structure, the report shall indicate the existing structures suitability to accept the antenna and proposed method of affixing the antenna to the structure. Complete details of all fixtures and couplings and the precise point of attachment shall be indicated.
(9)
An agreement by the applicant in writing to remove the telecommunications facility if such facility becomes technically obsolete or ceases to be used for its originally intended purpose for 12 consecutive months.
B.
The applicant, at the time of obtaining a tower permit, if one is obtained, must provide a financial security bond with the Town as assignee in an amount fixed by the Town Board, but not less than $10,000. Said bond shall be adequate, in the opinion of the Town Engineer or other licensed engineer, to insure that the tower shall be removed if not removed at the end of its use by the permittee.
C.
The Town reserves the right upon review of the application to request reasonable, additional, visual, and aesthetic information it deems appropriate on a case by case basis and as it may pertain to a residential district, historic District, agricultural use, or other special situation.
D.
The Town Board shall determine the components of applications for a telecommunications facility in accordance with this chapter.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
§ 407-173 Siting preferences.
The Town may express a preference that the proposed telecommunications facility be located in a higher-intensity use district or on higher intensity use property. As a general guideline, the Town's preference from most favorable to least favorable districts shall be as follows:
§ 407-174 Aesthetics.
[Amended 11-16-2015 by L.L. No. 13-2015]
Telecommunications facilities shall be located and buffered to the maximum extent practicable and technologically feasible to help insure compatibility with surrounding land uses. In order to minimize any adverse impact on neighboring residents to the extent possible, the Town Board may impose conditions on the applicant (and in the case of Subsection E herein shall impose said condition), including the following:
A.
Tower height, location and design are matters of primary public concern. The Town may require monopoles or guyed tower instead of a freestanding tower.
B.
The Town may require reasonable landscaping consisting of trees or shrubs to screen historic sites and/or residential districts. The Town Board may modify this condition if the facility is attached to an existing structure or for other satisfactory reasons supported by expert testimony.
C.
All telecommunications facilities shall be separated from residential dwellings, schools, houses of worship, places of public assembly and designated historic sites and/or districts by the greater of 500 feet or five times the height of the facility. The Town Board may modify this condition if the facility is attached to an existing structure or for other satisfactory reasons supported by expert testimony.
D.
Towers shall be designed and sited so as to avoid whenever possible, application of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lighting and painting requirements. The towers shall not be artificially lighted except as required by the FAA or the Town. The towers shall be of a nonreflective finish, color subject to Town approval unless otherwise required by the FAA. Any lighting which may be required by the FAA shall not consist of strobe lights unless specifically mandated by FAA.
E.
All facilities shall include a fall zone surrounding any support, which fall zone must have a radius of at least equal to the lesser of 1 1/2 times the height of such support tower and any antenna attached thereto or 1 1/2 times the tower's highest pre-engineered breaking point, as certified by a licensed engineer in a manner acceptable to the Town Engineer. The entire fall zone may not include public roads, must be on private property, either owned or leased by the applicant, or for which the applicant has obtained an easement. The fall zone may not contain any structure other than those associated with the telecommunications facilities. If the facility is attached to an existing structure, fall zone requirements may be modified by the Town Board. All other requests for variances from this provision may be submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
F.
No tower or device or facility shall contain any signs or advertising. The Town may, however, require appropriate signage indicating ownership of the facility and telephone number to call in case of emergency.
G.
Towers and auxiliary structures shall be surrounded by a fence or wall at least eight feet in height of a design approved by the Board so as to make intrusion difficult. Barbed wire is not to be used in a residential area or on public property unless specifically permitted by the Board. There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet of the ground on any tower or facility.
H.
All other uses ancillary to the telecommunications facility and associated equipment are prohibited unless otherwise permitted in zone.
I.
The Town may impose as a condition on the applicant that the antennas be operated only at FCC designated frequencies on power levels and/or EPA technical exposure limits and that the applicant provide competent documentation to support the maximum allowable frequencies, power levels, and exposure limits will not be exceeded.
§ 407-175 Maintenance.
All telecommunications facilities, both predating and otherwise this article, shall fulfill the requirements of this section. A Code Enforcement Officer is empowered to enforce these regulations.
A.
The sufficiency of the removal bond shall be confirmed at least every five years by a removal and property restoration cost analysis performed by a licensed New York State professional engineer with the results sent to the Town. If the bond amount in force is insufficient to cover the cost of removal, it shall be immediately increased to cover such amount.
B.
The facility shall be inspected at least every two years for structural integrity by a licensed New York State professional engineer, and a copy of the inspection report submitted to the Town.
C.
All telecommunications facilities shall be maintained in good order and repair and all such work shall comply with all applicable code requirement of any governmental body issuing such rules and/or regulations.
D.
Any additional antennas, reception or transmission devices or other similar receiving or transmitting device proposed for attachment to an existing facility shall require review in accordance with this article. The intent of this requirement is to insure the structural integrity, visual aesthetic and land use compatibility of communication towers upon which additional antennas, reception or transmission devices are to be installed. Towers and antennas may be repaired and maintained (but not expanded) without restriction.
E.
No outside storage of vehicles, materials or waste shall be allowed except for the limited periods when the facility is undergoing construction, repair, or maintenance.