[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Elma 1-18-1984. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Communication installations, wind energy conservation systems
and towers may be permitted in any zoning district in the Town of
Elma except the floodplain area, subject to use permit approval by
the Elma Town Board.
It is the purpose of this chapter to regulate the installation
of towers within the Town of Elma, New York, to require that such
towers be located and constructed in accordance with approved plans
and to prescribe regulations for said towers in the interest of protecting
the public health and safety.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
The all-encompassing noise associated with a given environment,
being usually a composite of sounds from many sources.
Includes a tower which is rigidly attached to a building
by a rigid member.
Any sound that is not an impulsive sound.
Any sound wave whose instantaneous sound pressure varies
essentially as a simple sinusoidal function.
Includes a tower which is not attached to a building by a
rigid member.
Any tower existing at the time of the adoption of this chapter.
A frequency-weighted sound-pressure level, obtained by the
use of metering characteristics and the weighting A, B or C as specified
in the American National Standards Institute Specification for Sound
Level Meters, SL. 4-1971 or latest revision. The sound-level meter
shall conform to either Type 1 or Type 2. The weighting employed must
always be stated.
In decibels, of a sound is 20 times the logarithm to the base
10 of the ratio of the pressure of this sound to the reference pressure
of 20 micronewtons per square meter.
In formula.
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SPL = 20 log10(P/Po)
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WHERE:
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SPL
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=
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The sound-pressure level.
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P
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=
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The effective (root means square) sound pressure.
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Po
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=
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The reference pressure.
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Includes any tower, edifice, pole or other structure, whether
attached to a building or freestanding and whether guyed or self-supporting,
designed to be used as or for the support of devices to be used for
the transmission and/or reception of radio frequency signals, such
as but not limited to broadcast, shortwave, citizens' band, FM or
television signals or wind-driven devices, such as energy converters
and wind-speed and/or direction indicators.
A.
No person, firm or corporation being the owner or occupant of any
land or premises within the Town of Elma shall use or permit the use
of said land or premises for the construction of a tower without obtaining
a use permit, approved by the Town Board after investigation and recommendation
of the Planning Board. The Building Inspector shall issue the permit.
B.
Specific exemptions from this chapter are:
Preexisting towers are exempt from this chapter, unless they
are required to be or voluntarily are substantially rebuilt (greater
than 50%). "Substantially rebuilt" shall not include lowering of certain
towers for maintenance, painting or adjustment.
A.
The application for a tower use permit under this chapter shall be
in writing and signed by the applicant. It shall state the following:
B.
A site plan shall be made and shall include the submission of a certification
by a registered professional engineer or manufacturer's certification
that the tower was designed to withstand all load requirements for
structures as set forth in the New York State Building Construction
Code, the National Electrical Code and the Electronics Industries
Association Standard RS - 222C Specification.
C.
Where the applicant is not the owner of the premises, the application
shall also be accompanied by the original or a true and complete copy
of the lease of the premises and a written statement signed by all
the owners of record consenting to the construction of the tower on
the premises.
Permits issued may prescribe rules and regulations for the maintenance
and safety of such towers.
Freestanding towers shall be located or placed in rear yards
and limited to not more than one tower per acre. Guy wires and anchors
for towers shall not be located closer to any property line or building
than 10 feet. In addition, towers shall conform to requirements as
listed below:
A.
Towers shall be so placed that the foundation portion of the tower,
if visible from any right-of-way, shall be suitably screened from
view.
B.
Towers which will be used for energy-deriving purposes shall not
produce a level of noise at any lot line greater than the ambient
nighttime level. No person shall operate or permit to be operated
a wind generator or wind-driven device that exceeds the maximum sound
level limitations provided in this chapter. Continuous sound in air
which has crossed a real property boundary shall not exceed any of
the following sound levels:
(1)
The device cannot increase the ambient sound level by more than three
dBA, when measured at three feet from the nearest living area window
opening.
(2)
Sounds that have high concentration of energy in narrow frequency
bands (pitched or tone-like sounds) are usually regarded as more annoying
than wide-band sounds of the same level. Therefore, if the device
does generate a discrete tone, the operating sound-pressure level
cannot exceed the ambient level, when measured at three feet from
the nearest living area window opening.
C.
The base of a freestanding tower may be no closer to any lot line
or public utility line than a distance equal to the height of the
tower plus 10 feet, except that a residential communication tower
for use of a resident occupant only and not exceeding 50 feet is exempt
from this requirement, provided that its height shall not exceed the
linear distance to the nearest non-owner-occupied dwelling or non-owner-occupied
utility service line.
D.
The base of a freestanding tower used for a windmill device or system
shall be surrounded by a fence at least six feet in height or similarly
protected for the purpose of discouraging illegal trespassing or vandalism.
E.
It shall be the responsibility of the owner of the tower to take
whatever corrective measures may be required to correct TV (television)
interference caused by and attributable to a windmill device or system.
The following height limitations shall apply to the construction
of any tower:
A.
Attached towers in residential areas which are attached to the roof
of the structure shall not exceed 30 feet above the grade or 15 feet
in height above the ridge, the total not to exceed 30 feet in height.
B.
Towers as defined heretofore, in all areas, shall not exceed a total
height of 200 feet above the ground.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or of any
other provision of the Elma Code, nonresidential towers and commercial
towers of all types may be located only in a commercial or industrial
zone.
If any clause, sentence, paragraph, section, Article or part
of this chapter shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate
the remainder thereof but shall be confined in its operation to the
clause, sentence, paragraph, section, Article or part thereof directly
involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been
rendered.
