[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Shelter Island 6-28-2002 by L.L. No. 7-2002. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 111.
Zoning — See Ch. 133.
The purpose of this chapter is to establish predictable and balanced regulations for the siting of telecommunication facilities in order to accommodate the growth of such facilities, while protecting the public against any adverse impacts on aesthetic resources and the public safety and welfare. The Town of Shelter Island wants to accommodate the need for telecommunications facilities while regulating their location and number, minimizing adverse visual impacts through proper design, siting and screening, avoiding potential physical damage to adjacent properties, and encouraging joint use of tower structures. This chapter also seeks 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 structures and high points, in order to further minimize adverse visual effects from telecommunications towers. This chapter 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 providers of functionally equivalent services consistent with current federal regulations.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ACCESSORY USE
An accessory use serves the principal use, is subordinate in area, extent or purpose to the principal use, and is located on the same lot as the principal use. Examples of such uses include transmission equipment and storage sheds.
PUBLIC UTILITY FACILITY
A facility other than a telecommunication tower or telecommunication antenna for the provision of public utility services, including facilities constructed, altered or maintained by utility corporations, either publicly or privately owned, or government agencies, necessary for the provision of electricity, gas, steam, heat, communication, water, sewage collection, or other such service to the general public. Such facilities shall include poles, wires, mains, drains, sewers, pipes, conduits, cables, alarms and call boxes and other similar equipment, but shall not include office or administration buildings. For purposes of Chapter 133, Zoning, telecommunication towers or telecommunication antenna, defined separately in Chapter 133, Zoning, shall not be governed by the zoning regulations which apply to the broader definition of public utility facilities, but shall be governed by these regulations.
TELECOMMUNICATION ANTENNA
A system of electrical conductors that transmits or receives radio frequency waves.
TELECOMMUNICATION TOWER
A structure on which one or more antenna will be located, that is intended for transmitting and/or receiving radio, television, telephone, wireless or microwave communications for an FCC-licensed carrier, but excluding those used exclusively for fire, police and other dispatch communications, or exclusively for private radio and television reception and private citizen's bands, amateur radio and other similar private, residential communications. Also known as "cell towers."
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
Any or all of the physical elements of the central cell facility that contain all the receivers, transmitters, and other apparatus needed for cellular/pc's operation [also known as "base transceiver station" (BTS)].
A. 
The Town Board will review and approve, approve with modifications or disapprove special permits for telecommunications facilities pursuant to this chapter. The Town Board shall have the authority to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly related to and incidental to the proposed telecommunication facility, including the use of camouflage of the tower structure and/or antenna to reduce visual impact.
B. 
Except as provided below, no telecommunication 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 chapter.
C. 
Telecommunication structures placed by lease on Town-owned property do not require a special permit, since they will undergo review via the leasing process.
D. 
Telecommunication antenna placed on existing telecommunication towers or on existing structures do not require a special permit, unless it will be modified in such a way as to increase its height, or a new accessory structure would be built.
E. 
The Town 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 telecommunication 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.
F. 
No building permit shall be issued until the applicant provides proof that space on the facility has been leased or will be operated by a provider licensed by the FCC to provide service in the area.
A. 
Priority list. The following is a list of priorities [in order of preference with A(1) being the most preferred] for the placement of wireless telecommunications facilities:
(1) 
Location on publicly owned property, so that the revenues from the facility can reduce the financial burden on taxpayers, and in that way mitigate negative impacts of the wireless telecommunication facility.
(2) 
Location on existing public utility structures, including, but not limited to, telephone poles, electric transmission towers, water towers, etc.
(3) 
Collocation on an existing site.
(4) 
Location on a portion of the site where they are not visible from any residential area, public roadway, public property, site of historical significance or scenic area.
B. 
Every applicant for a special permit must establish to the satisfaction of the Town Board that no site listed higher on the priority list would satisfy the needs of the applicant for either technological, legal, economic or other reasons. Reasons supporting incompatibility could include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) 
Higher priority sites are not of sufficient height to meet the applicant's engineering requirements within the geographic service area described.
(2) 
Higher priority sites do not have sufficient structural strength to support the applicant's antennas and equipment.
(3) 
Higher priority sites would cause electromagnetic interference with the antenna or antennas of the existing wireless telecommunications facilities.
(4) 
The cost or contractual provisions required by the owner of a higher priority site, or to adapt higher priority sites for sharing, would exceed the cost of erecting a new site.
C. 
No special permit relating to a telecommunications facility shall be authorized by the Town Board unless it finds that such facility meets all the following criteria:
(1) 
Is necessary to provide adequate service to locations that the applicant is not able to serve with existing facilities;
(2) 
Conforms to all applicable regulations promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Aviation Administration, and other federal agencies;
(3) 
Will be designed and constructed in a manner which minimizes visual impact to the extent practical;
(4) 
Is the most appropriate site and is highest on the priority list among those available within the technically feasible area for the location of a telecommunications facility.
A. 
Applicants shall provide information as required on the Request for Information Form adopted by resolution of the Town Board. Failure to provide all the information requested will be considered an incomplete application and will not be processed.
B. 
An application fee in an amount to be set from time to time by resolution of the Town Board shall be submitted with the application.
C. 
In addition, simultaneously with the filing of an application, the applicant shall deposit with the Town Supervisor an amount to be set by resolution of the Town Board, which sum shall be used to pay the costs incurred by the Town for engineering and legal services as described below.
(1) 
Upon receipt of this sum, the Town Supervisor shall cause such monies to be placed in a separate non-interest-bearing account in the name of the Town and shall keep a separate record of all such monies so deposited and the name of the applicant or developer and project for which such sums were deposited.
(2) 
Upon receipt and approval by the Town Board of itemized vouchers from an engineer and/or attorney for services rendered on behalf of the Town pertaining to the development, the Town Supervisor shall cause such vouchers to be paid out of the monies so deposited, and shall furnish copies of such vouchers to the applicant or developer at the same time such vouchers are submitted to the Town.
(3) 
The Town Board shall review and audit all such vouchers and shall approve payment of only such engineering and legal fees as are reasonable in an amount and necessarily incurred by the Town in connection with the review, consideration and approval of the wireless communications facility application. For purposes of the foregoing, a fee or part thereof is reasonable in amount if it bears a reasonable relationship to the average charge by engineers or attorneys to the Town for services performed in connection with the approval or construction of similar facilities.
A. 
The shared use of existing telecommunications towers or other structures shall be preferred to the construction of new facilities. Any special permit application, renewal or modification thereof shall include proof that reasonable efforts have been made to collocate within an existing telecommunication facility or upon an existing elevation 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:
(1) 
The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing and approved telecommunications facilities or other structures, considering existing and planned use for those facilities;
(2) 
The planned equipment would cause radio frequency interference with other existing or planned equipment, which cannot be reasonably prevented;
(3) 
Existing or approved telecommunications facilities or other structures do not have space on which proposed equipment can be placed so it can function effectively and reasonably;
(4) 
Other technical reasons make it impracticable to place the equipment proposed by the applicant on existing facilities or structures; and
(5) 
The property owner or owner of the existing telecommunications facility or other structure refuses to allow such collocation or requests an unreasonably high fee for such collocation compared to current industry rates.
Telecommunications facilities shall be constructed so as to minimize the potential safety hazards and located in such a manner that if the facility should fall, it will remain within the property boundaries and avoid habitable structures, public streets, utility lines and other telecommunications facilities.
Telecommunications facilities shall comply with all existing setbacks within the affected zone. Setbacks shall apply to all tower parts including guy wire anchors, and to any accessory facilities. Additional setbacks may be required by the Town Board to contain on-site substantially all icefall or debris from tower failure and/or to preserve privacy of adjoining residential and public property.
Towers shall not be artificially lighted except to assure human safety as required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Notwithstanding, an applicant may be compelled to add FAA-style lighting and marking, if in the judgment of the Town Board, such a requirement would be of direct benefit to public safety. The Board may choose the most appropriate lighting and marking plan from the options acceptable by the FAA at that location. The applicant must provide both standard and alternative lighting and marking plans for the Board's review.
A. 
The maximum height for telecommunication towers permitted under this chapter, including any antennas or other devices extending above the tower, measured from the ground surface shall be 150 feet.
B. 
Towers shall be a 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 other standards are required by the FAA. Towers should be designed and sited so as to avoid, whenever 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.
C. 
The project shall be designed to blend with the natural and/or man-made surroundings to the maximum extent practicable.
D. 
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 Town Board may consider the type of structure being proposed and the surrounding area.
E. 
The applicant must examine the feasibility of designing a proposed telecommunication tower to accommodate future demand for additional facilities.
A. 
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.
B. 
The Town 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. 
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 times minimize ground disturbance and vegetation cutting. Road grades shall closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.
B. 
Equipment or vehicles shall not be stored on the facility site.
The use of any portion of a telecommunications facility for signs for promotional or advertising purposes, including but not limited to company name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons, is prohibited. The Town Board may require the installation of signage with safety information.
A. 
Towers, anchor points around guyed towers, and accessory structures shall each be surrounded by fencing not less than six feet in height.
B. 
There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet of the ground.
C. 
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.
D. 
A locked gate at the junction of the access way and a public thoroughfare may be required to obstruct entry by unauthorized vehicles. Such gate must not protrude into the public thoroughfare.
A. 
All telecommunications facilities shall be built, operated and maintained to acceptable industry standards. Each application must contain a site plan for the facility containing the signature of an engineer licensed by the State of New York.
B. 
Every facility shall be inspected at least every second year for structural integrity by a New York State licensed engineer. A copy of the inspection report shall be submitted to the Town.
At the time of submission of the application for a telecommunications facility, the applicant shall submit an agreement to remove all antennas, driveways, structures, buildings, equipment sheds, lighting, utilities, fencing, gates, accessory equipment or structures, as well as any tower used as a telecommunications facility if such facility becomes technologically obsolete or ceases to perform its originally intended function for more than 12 consecutive months. Upon removal, the land shall be restored to its previous condition, including but not limited to the seeding of exposed soils.