Hudson Falls City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XII
Telecommunications Towers
§ 215-81 Purpose.
The purpose of this article is to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the Village of Hudson Falls; 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 to minimize adverse visual effects from telecommunications towers by requiring careful siting, visual impact assessment and appropriate landscaping.
§ 215-82 Applicability.
A.
An application to the Code Enforcement Officer for a building permit to place, construct or collocate telecommunications antennas and associated equipment on an existing telecommunications tower or tall structure shall be filed with the Code Enforcement Officer upon a form prescribed by the Inspector. The requisite number of copies of the application shall be established by the Building Department. The application fee is as established in Chapter A219, Schedule of Fees.
B.
No telecommunications tower, except those approved prior to the effective date of this chapter, shall be used unless in conformity with these regulations. No telecommunications tower shall hereinafter be erected, moved, reconstructed, changed or altered unless in conformity with these regulations. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, telecommunications towers or any tall structures which preexist the enactment of these regulations may be utilized for purposes of collocation of antennas upon issuance of a building permit by the Code Enforcement Officer.
D.
Applicants proposing to collocate on previously approved telecommunications towers or tall structures in any district shall require a building permit.
§ 215-83 Shared use of existing tall structures.
A.
At all times, shared use of existing tall structures (for example, water towers, multistory buildings, church steeples and farm silos) and existing or approved towers shall be preferred to the construction of new towers. As part of the application to install a new telecommunications tower, the applicant must demonstrate that collocation on an existing tall structure is impossible and that the tower is a public necessity in that it is required to render adequate service and that there are compelling reasons, economic or otherwise, which make it more feasible to construct or modify the proposed telecommunications tower before construction of a new tower will be approved.
B.
An applicant proposing to locate, collocate or share use of an existing tall structure shall, in addition to a building permit application, submit:
(1)
A site plan showing all existing and proposed structures and improvements, including antennas, roads, buildings, guide wires and anchors, parking and landscaping. Any method used to conceal the modification of the existing facility shall be indicated on the site plan.
(2)
Written documentation of intent from the owner of the existing facility to allow shared use.
(3)
An engineer's report certifying that the proposed shared use will not diminish the structural integrity and safety of the existing tall structure and explaining what modifications, if any, will be required.
(4)
A copy of the applicant's FCC license.
C.
The issuing of any such building permit for location, collocation or shared use of an existing tall structure is determined to be a Type II action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) [see 6 NYCRR § 617.5 (b)] and no SEQRA review is required. If the Code Enforcement Officer determines that any modifications indicated according to Subsection B(3) are significant, further review by the Planning Board will be required.
§ 215-84 New telecommunications towers.
§ 215-85 Future shared use of new towers.
§ 215-86 Submission requirements for new towers.
Applications for the development of new telecommunications towers shall comply with submission requirements as outlined in Article IV, Site Plan Review.
§ 215-87 Lot size and setbacks.
§ 215-88 Visual impact assessment.
A visual impact assessment of new towers may be requested by the Planning Board. Visual impact assessments shall comply with the guidelines as established by the NYSDEC or APA.