Lake Success City Zoning Code
ARTICLE XXIV
Wireless Service Antennas
§ 105-221 Findings.
The Board of Trustees of the Village of Lake Success finds that the potential and/or actual adverse impacts on aesthetic resources and potential damage to adjacent properties from failure to adhere to structural standards and setback requirements in the siting and screening of wireless services antennas, towers and accessory structures may be a problem to the residents and community of the Village. In order to minimize the threat of such potential adverse impacts and to achieve the purposes and objectives hereinafter set forth, this article is adopted.
§ 105-222 Statement of purpose and intent.
The purpose of this article is to establish predictable and balanced regulations for the siting and screening of wireless service antennas, towers, and accessory structures in order to accommodate the growth of such systems within the Village while protecting the public against any adverse impacts on aesthetic resources, avoiding potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure through structural standards and setback requirements, and reduce the number of towers needed to serve the community by maximizing the use of existing towers and buildings.
§ 105-223 Definitions.
For the purpose of this article, the following terms are defined as follows:
Accessory buildings and structures, including base stations designed and used to shelter equipment and/or to support wireless service antennas. The term "accessory structures" does not include offices, long-term storage of vehicles or other equipment storage or broadcast studios.
A device used to transmit and/or receive or electromagnetic waves, including but not limited to directional antennas, such as panels and microwave dishes and omnidirectional antennas, such as whip antennas.
A device that holds up the antenna, which device can also be, but is not limited to, a tower.
Any ground- or roof-mounted pole, spire, structure or combination thereof taller than 15 feet, including supporting lines, cables, wires, braces and masts, built for the purpose of mounting an antenna, meteorological device or similar apparatus above grade.
Commercial mobile services, unlicensed wireless services and common carrier wireless exchange access services as used and defined by 47 U.S.C. § 332.
§ 105-224 Authority.
The Board of Trustees is hereby authorized to review and approve, approve with modifications or disapprove special use permits to construct, modify or maintain wireless services, antennas, accessory structures and/or towers. This article shall not effect the construction or use of parabolic satellite antennas or other antennas employed solely for receiving electromagnetic waves and which measure less than three square feet in area and less than two feet in diameter, length and width.
A.
No antenna, tower, support structure, accessory structure or wireless services shall hereafter be used, erected, changed or altered except after obtaining a special use permit in conformity with this article.
B.
The Board of Trustees shall review and approve, with modifications or disapprove special use permits pursuant to this law. The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed antenna, tower or accessory structures.
§ 105-225 Collocation requirements.
All towers erected, constructed or located within the Village shall comply with the following requirements:
A.
A proposal for a tower shall not be approved unless the Board of Trustees finds that the antenna planned for the proposed tower cannot be accommodated on an existing or approved tower or building within a one-mile search radius (one-half-mile search radius for towers under 120 feet in height, one-fourth-mile search radius for towers under 80 feet in height) of the proposed tower due to one or more of the following reasons:
(1)
The antenna would exceed the structural capacity of the existing or approved tower or building, as documented by a qualified professional engineer, and the existing or approved tower cannot be reinforced, modified or replaced to accommodate the planned or equivalent antenna at a reasonable cost.
(2)
The antenna would cause interference materially impacting the usability of other existing or planned antenna at the tower or building as documented by a qualified professional engineer and the interference cannot be prevented at a reasonable cost.
(3)
Existing or approved towers and buildings within the search radius cannot accommodate the antenna at a height necessary to function reasonably as documented by a qualified professional engineer.
(4)
Other foreseen reasons that make it infeasible to locate the antenna upon an existing or approved tower or building.
B.
Future shared use.
(1)
Any proposed tower shall be designed, structurally, electrically and in all respects, to accommodate both the applicant's antennas and comparable antennas for at least two additional users. Towers must be designed to allow for future rearrangement of antennas upon the tower and to accept antennas mounted at varying height.
(2)
The applicant shall submit to the Board of Trustees a letter of intent committing the applicant and his/her successors in interest to negotiate in good faith for shared use of the proposed tower by other wireless service providers in the future. The issuance of a permit, if the tower is approved according to this section, shall commit the new tower owner and his/her successors in interest to:
(a)
Respond in timely comprehensive manner to a request for information from a potential shared-use applicant.
(b)
Negotiate in good faith concerning future requests for shared use of the new tower, by other wireless service providers.
(c)
Allow shared use of the new tower if another wireless service provider agrees in writing to pay charges.
(d)
Make no more than a reasonable charge for shared use, based on generally accepted accounting principles. The charge may include but is not limited to a pro rata share of the cost of site selection, planning, project administration, land costs, site design, construction and maintenance financing, return on equity and depreciation, and all of the costs of adapting the tower or equipment to accommodate a shared user without causing electromagnetic interference.
C.
In order to keep neighboring municipalities informed and to facilitate the possibility of directing that an existing tall structure or existing tower in a neighboring municipality be considered for shared use, the Board of Trustees shall require that:
(1)
An applicant who proposes a new tower shall notify in writing the legislative body of each municipality that borders the Village and the Nassau County Planning Commission. Notification shall include the exact location of the proposed tower and a general description of the project including but not limited to the height of the tower and its capacity for future shared use.
(2)
Documentation of this notification shall be submitted to the Board of Trustees at the time of application.
§ 105-226 Performance standards.
A.
Proof of noninterference from antenna. Each application for installation of an antenna shall include either a preliminary or a certified statement that the installation of the antenna, including reception and transmission functions, will not interfere with the radio or television service enjoyed by adjacent residential and nonresidential properties or with public safety telecommunications. In the event that only a preliminary statement is submitted with the application, a final certified statement of noninterference will be provided and approved by the Village prior to the issuance of a permit. The statement shall be prepared by a professional engineer.
B.
Antenna safety. Antennas shall be subject to state and federal regulations pertaining to nonionizing radiation and other health hazards related to such facilities. The owner shall submit evidence of compliance with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standards on a yearly basis. If new, more restrictive standards are adopted, the antennas shall be made to comply or continued operations may be restricted by the legislative body. The cost of verification of compliance shall be borne by the owner and operator of the tower.
C.
Tower lighting. Towers shall not be illuminated by artificial means and shall not display strobe lights unless such lighting is specifically required by the Federal Aviation Administration or other federal or state authority for a particular tower. When incorporated into the approved design of the tower, light fixtures used to illuminate ball fields, parking lots or similar areas may be attached to the tower.
D.
Signs and advertising on towers. The use of any portion of a tower for signs other than warning or equipment information signs is prohibited.
E.
Tower height limitations. Maximum height of a tower is limited to 105 feet above the ground upon which the antenna is placed, unless the applicant can demonstrate that, based upon the topography of the site and surrounding area, a greater height is required and that by the siting of the antenna, antenna design, surrounding tree cover and structures and/or through the use of screening, that off-site views of the tower will be minimized.
F.
Tower building requirements.
(1)
The use of guyed towers is prohibited. Towers must be self-supporting without the use of wires, cables, beams or other means. The design should utilize an open framework or monopole configuration. Permanent platforms or structures exclusive of antennas that serve to increase off-site visibility are prohibited.
(2)
The base of the tower shall occupy no more than 500 square feet and the top of the tower shall be no longer than the base.
(3)
Minimum spacing between tower locations is 1/4 mile.
G.
Access to towers. A road and parking will be provided to assure adequate emergency and service access. Maximum uses of existing roads, public or private, shall be made.
H.
Setbacks for towers and accessory structures. Towers and all accessory structures shall conform with each of the following minimum setback requirements:
(1)
The minimum setbacks of the underlying zoning district shall be met.
(2)
Towers and accessory structures shall be setback from the planned public rights-of-way, as shown on the most recently adopted plan or map of the Village showing such rights-of-way, by a minimum distance equal to 1/2 of the height of the tower, including all antennas and attachments.
(3)
A tower's setback may be reduced in the sole discretion of the Board of Trustees to allow the integration of a tower into an existing or proposed structure, such as a church steeple, light pole, power line or similar structure.
I.
Screening and security of towers and accessory structures.
(1)
Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent practicable.
(2)
The base of the tower and any accessory structures shall be landscaped to a height and depth of vegetation as determined by the Board to provide adequate screening and be compatible with the surrounding character, buildings or landscape. Nonvegetation screening may also be required.
(3)
Towers and accessory structures shall be provided with security fencing to prevent unauthorized entry.
(4)
The Board, at its sole discretion, may determine a percentage of the total site to be landscaped or screened and may require tree planting in order to provide adequate screening and be compatible with the surrounding character, buildings or landscape.
J.
Design of antennas, towers and accessory structures. Towers and antennas shall be designed to blend into the surrounding environment through the use of color and camouflaging architectural treatment, except in instances where the color is dictated by federal or state authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration. Every antenna and tower shall be of neutral colors that are harmonious with and that blend with the natural features, buildings and structures surrounding such antenna and structure; provided however, that directional or panel antenna and onmidirectional or whip antennas located on the exterior of a building that will also serve as an antenna tower shall be of colors that match and cause the antenna to blend with the exterior of the building. Accessory structures will be designed to be architecturally compatible with principal structures on the site.
§ 105-227 Assignment of permit.
Every permit granting approval of an antenna or tower shall state that any assignment or transfer of the permit or any rights thereunder may be made only with the approval of the Board of Trustees.
§ 105-228 Review.
The permit shall be subject to review by the Board of Trustees at ten-year intervals, to determine whether the technology in the provision of wireless services has changed such that the necessity for the permit at the time of its approval has been eliminated or modified and whether the permit should be modified or terminated as a result of any such change.
§ 105-229 Fees.
A permit fee is required for filing an application for a permit for an antenna or tower and the fee imposed shall be as set forth in a schedule of fees adopted by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
§ 105-230 Abandoned or unused towers.
Abandoned or unused towers or portions of towers shall be removed as follows:
A.
All abandoned or unused towers and associated facilities shall be removed within 12 months of the cessation of operations at the site unless a time extension is approved by the Board of Trustees. A copy of the relevant portions of a signed lease which requires the applicant to remove the tower and associated facilities upon cessation of operations at the site shall be submitted at the time of application. In the event that a tower is not removed within 12 months of the cessation of operations at a site, the tower and associated facilities may be removed by the Village and the costs of removal assessed against the property.
B.
Unused portions of towers above a manufactured connection shall be removed within six months of the time of antenna relocation. The replacement of portions of a tower previously removed requires the issuance of a new special use permit.
§ 105-231 Existing towers and antennas.
Antennas and towers in existence which do not conform to or comply with this article are subject to the following provisions:
A.
Antennas and towers may continue in use for the purpose now used and as now existing but may not be replaced or structurally altered without complying in all respects with this law.
B.
If such antennas or towers are hereafter damaged or destroyed due to any reason or cause whatsoever, the antenna or tower may be repaired and restored to its former use, location and physical dimensions without complying with this article; provided, however, that if the cost of repairing the tower to the former use, physical dimensions and location would be 10% or more of the cost of a new tower of like kind and quality, then the tower may not be repaired or restored except in full compliance with this law.
§ 105-232 Procedural requirements.
The Board of Trustees shall conduct a public hearing within 62 days from the day a complete application is received. The Board of Trustees shall issue a decision within 60 days after the hearing. Any denial for a permit under this law shall be in writing and supported by substantial evidence.