The Town of Wheatfield recognizes the increased demand for wireless communications transmitting facilities and the need for the services they provide. Often these facilities require the construction of telecommunications towers, radios, television towers and/or similar facilities. The intent of this article is to regulate the location, construction, siting and modification of telecommunications facilities in accordance with the guidelines of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other applicable laws, by:

This article is not intended to prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services nor shall it be used to unreasonably discriminate among the providers of functionally equivalent services consistent with current federal regulations.

Telecommunications towers and telecommunications antenna, as defined in § 200-107, shall be governed by this article.

No person, firm or corporation being the owner or occupant of land or premises within the Town of Wheatfield shall use or permit the use of said land or premises for the construction of a telecommunications facility or tower without obtaining an approved special use permit and building permit and such other permits or approvals as prescribed in this article. (See § 200-109D.)

The applicant will include a description of what the communications towers and/or similar facilities will be used for and the services such a facility will provide, including a description of the applicant's long-range plans which project market demand on long-range facility expansion needs within the Town.

All applications shall be processed with due regard to lighting and safety requirements of federal, state or local agencies and/or emergency services. The applicant will send courtesy letters to the local Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard flying units at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Base notifying them of the tower/pole construction. A similar letter will be addressed to the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority, Mercy Flight and the Niagara County Sheriff's Department. Copies of all correspondence will be sent to the Town Building Department. (See § 200-108F.)

Exemption from the permit requirements. The following are exempted from permit requirements:

Dish antennas mounted on a resident's home are exempt from these provisions.

Before permits are issued for new towers in the Town of Wheatfield or any upgrades of existing towers, wireless carriers must inform the Planning Board where emergency calls in the Town are routed. In cooperation with the Niagara County Sheriff, the Town requires that all 9-1-1 calls be routed to the nearest Public Safety Answering Point.

No cutting of trees exceeding four inches in diameter (measured at the height of four feet off the ground) shall take place prior to approval of the special use permit. Clear-cutting of all trees, in a single contiguous area exceeding 20,000 square feet is prohibited.

Required landscaping around towers and/or similar facilities shall be maintained at all times. Dead trees shall be replaced within 90 days with similar sized trees, if possible. Property shall be mowed regularly to a height of six inches or less during the growing season.

The Planning Board shall have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed telecommunications facility, including the use of camouflage of the tower structure and/or antenna to reduce visual impact. (See § 200-116.)

The Planning Board is authorized to secure independent professional assistance to address the specific community planning, legal, aesthetic and technical issues related to wireless telecommunications facility development, when deemed appropriate, at the applicant's expense, in accordance with § 200-108A(4).

Except as provided below, no telecommunications facility shall hereafter be erected, moved, reconstructed, changed or altered and no existing structure shall be modified to serve as a telecommunications facility, except after obtaining a special use permit in conformity with this article. (See § 200-108A.)

Telecommunications antennas placed on existing telecommunications towers or on existing structures do not require a special use permit, unless the existing tower or structure is located in a residential district or unless is will be modified in such a way as to increase its height or area designated to house a new accessory structure.

The Planning Board may waive any or all of the requirements for approval for applicants proposing minor changes to existing facilities and for applicants proposing the use of camouflage for a telecommunications tower when the Board finds that such camouflage significantly reduces visual impact to the surrounding area. However, the Board may not waive the requirement that a public hearing be held on the application.

No building permit shall be issued until the applicant provides proof that space on the facility has been leased and will be operated by a provider licensed by the FCC to provide service in the area. (See § 200-110B.)

The Planning Board may require a monopole or guyed tower (if sufficient land is available to the applicant) instead of a freestanding tower. Monopoles are a preferred design.

The Planning Board shall not authorize a special use permit relating to a telecommunications facility unless it finds that such facility:

Other considerations:

The Cellular Tower/Pole Construction Guidelines[1] require all items to be completed in writing, initialed and signed by the applicant or authorized representative subsequent to a preapplication conference meeting with the Planning Board.

The Planning Board encourages service providers to schedule a preapplication conference to meet with the Town's staff to discuss the proposed project in general terms and to clarify the application requirements. The conference, although informal, permits the Town to share with the applicant the Town's siting goals and objectives in addition to reviewing technical data, thus ensuring adequacy and completeness prior to formal application. Once appropriate materials are received, the application will be placed on the next appropriate Planning Board meeting agenda. The procedures for a special use permit will be followed.

The Planning Board may waive any particular submission requirement(s) it determines unnecessary for review of a particular project (see § 200-109E). The Cellular Tower/Pole Construction Guidelines may be amended, as needed, by the Planning Board to reflect changing needs and compliance with governmental requirements. Applicants may obtain forms from the Town Building Department or duplicate the guidelines if more convenient. The forms are also available on the Town website, www.wheatfield.ny.us, under "forms." They include the following:

Any special use permit application, renewal or modification thereof shall include proof that reasonable efforts have been made to co-locate within an existing telecommunications facility or upon an existing structure within a reasonable distance, regardless of municipal boundaries, of the site. The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed telecommunications facility cannot be accommodated on existing telecommunications facilities due to one or more of the following reasons:

The Planning Board requests all service providers who plan on filing applications to submit a two-year build-out plan. The build-out plan must include propagation plots of existing and planned future coverage over the geographic area of the Town and two miles beyond the border. Existing and proposed towers and their search rings should be identified on these plots. This information alerts the Planning Board of future base station needs even if those sites are not to be built right away and provides insight into how decisions on current applications may be affected in the future.

All telecommunications facilities shall be built, operated and maintained to acceptable industry standards. Each application shall contain a site plan for the facility containing the signature of an engineer licensed by the State of New York.

Preexisting towers that do not conform to this article shall not be granted a transferable permit unless they are brought up to code.

No applicant shall lease or sublease any approved telecommunications tower and/or similar facilities without the Town's written consent, that will not be unreasonably withheld.

Any lease or sublease between the applicant and the landowner shall be subject to review and approval of the Town to ensure that it is consistent with this article.

An annual use tax of 10% of the revenue generated by leasing or subleasing will be paid to the Town by March 1 of each year.

The maximum height for telecommunications towers permitted under this article, including any antennas or other devices extending above the tower, measured from the ground surface, shall be 195 feet in nonresidential areas and 100 feet in residential areas. (See § 200-110B.)

Towers shall be of galvanized finish or painted gray above the surrounding treeline and painted gray, green, black or similar colors designed to blend into the natural surroundings below the surrounding treeline, unless the FAA requires other standards. Towers should be designed and sited so as to avoid, wherever possible, application of FAA lighting and painting requirements. Accessory uses shall maximize use of building materials, colors and textures designed to blend with the natural surroundings.

The project shall be designed to blend with the natural and/or man-made surroundings to the maximum extent possible.

Structures offering slender silhouettes (i.e., monopoles or guyed towers) may be preferable to freestanding lattice structures except where such freestanding structures offer capacity for future shared use. The Planning Board may consider the type of structure being proposed and the surrounding area.

Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible and no cutting of trees exceeding four inches in diameter shall take place prior to approval of the special use permit. Clear-cutting of all trees in a single contiguous area shall be minimized to the extent possible.

The Planning Board may require 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, waterways, historic or scenic areas, or public roads.

A road and parking will be provided to assure adequate emergency and service access. Maximum use of existing roads, public or private, shall be made. Road construction shall be consistent with standards for private roads and shall at all time minimize ground disturbance and vegetation cutting. Road grades shall closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.

Equipment or vehicles shall not be stored on the facility site.

The applicant will construct a six-foot chain fence around the construction, angled outward by an additional two feet for a total of eight feet to discourage climbing attempts. No barbed wire will be employed. The chain fence will be painted to blend with the surrounding environment. Other anti-climb fence design will be considered.

There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet of the ground.

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.

A locked gate at the junction of the accessway and a public thoroughfare is required to obstruct entry by unauthorized vehicles. Such gate must not protrude into the public thoroughfare.

The applicant at the time of obtaining a building permit must provide a financial security bond for the construction, maintenance and dismantling of the facility, with the Town of Wheatfield as assignee, in an amount to be determined by the Town Engineer and subject to renewal at five-year intervals.

The applicant shall agree to continually renew the bond through the lifetime of the communications tower and/or similar facility. The sufficiency of the tower removal bond shall be confirmed at least every five years by an analysis of the cost of removal and property restoration performed by a New York State licensed professional engineer retained by the facility owner and/or operator(s). The results of such analysis shall be communicated to the Town Building Inspector. If the bond amount in force is insufficient to cover the costs of removal of the tower, etc., it shall be immediately increased to cover such amount. (See § 200-122.)

A New York State licensed professional engineer specializing in electrical engineering with expertise in radio communications facilities or equivalent shall perform annual radio emission inspections. The radio emission inspection shall describe the power density levels of the electromagnetic energy generated from the facility, including cumulative effects of co-located communications towers and/or similar facilities. In the event that the radio emission inspection indicates that the electromagnetic energy generated for the facility is above allowable limits stated within applicable FCC or ANSI standards or other applicable federal or state guidelines in effect at the time of the inspection, the applicant shall have 90 days in which to come into compliance until such time as it proves to the satisfaction of the Town Building Inspector that the power density levels of the electromagnetic energy to be generated at the facility are below the applicable standards.

A New York State licensed professional engineer specializing in structural engineering shall inspect every facility at least every second year for structural integrity at the owner's expense. A copy of the inspection report shall be submitted to the Town Building Department describing the structural integrity of the facility, maintenance issues and repairs needed or made, if any.