[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Liverpool 9-21-1998 by L.L. No. 4-1998 (Ch. 122 of the 1987
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Zoning — See Ch. 380.
The Village of Liverpool recognizes the increased demand for
wireless communications transmitting facilities and the need for the
services they provide. Often these facilities require the construction
of a communications tower. The intent of this chapter is to protect
the Village's interest in siting towers in a manner consistent
with sound land use planning by minimizing visual effects of towers
through careful design, siting and vegetative screening, avoiding
potential damage to adjacent properties from tower failure or falling
debris through engineering and careful siting of tower structures
and maximizing use of any new or existing tower and encouraging the
use of existing buildings and/or structures to reduce the number of
towers needed, while also allowing wireless service providers to meet
their technological and service objectives for the benefit of the
public.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An accessory facility or structure serving or being used
in conjunction with a telecommunications facility or tower and located
on the same lot as the telecommunications facility or tower. Examples
of such structures include utility or transmission equipment, storage
sheds or cabinets.
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive
radio frequency signals. Such signals shall include but not be limited
to radio, televisions, cellular, paging, PCS and microwave communications.
Telecommunications facilities which utilize existing towers,
buildings or other structures for placement of antenna(s) and which
do not require construction of a new tower.
Towers and/or antennas and accessory structures used in connection
with the provision of cellular telephone service, personal communications
services (PCS), paging services, radio and television broadcast services
and similar broadcast services.
A structure designed to support antennas. It includes, without
limit, freestanding towers, guyed towers, monopoles and similar structures
which employ camouflage technology.
A.
Collocated antennas. Telecommunications facilities comprised of collocated
antennas utilizing existing buildings or structures other than towers
shall be permitted in any district upon the issuance of a building
permit.
B.
New towers. Telecommunications facilities requiring construction
of a new tower also shall be deemed a permitted use in any district,
but shall require the following permits and/or approvals:
(1)
On municipal- or government-owned property at any height, a tower shall be permitted upon the issuance of a building permit in accordance with the standards set forth by Chapter 380, Zoning, and upon site plan approval by the Planning Board.
(2)
In industrial and agricultural districts where the proposed tower is 150 feet or less in height, or in any nonresidential district where the proposed tower location is more than 500 feet from any adjoining residential use and the proposed tower is 150 feet or less in height, site plan approval from the Planning Board shall be required in accordance with the standards set forth in this chapter and in Chapter 380, Zoning.
(3)
In all other districts and locations, telecommunications facilities
requiring construction of a new tower shall require, in addition to
site plan approval, a tower permit from the Planning Board in accordance
with the standards set forth in this chapter.
A.
For each telecommunications facility requiring only a building permit, the applicant shall submit a written application and such other supporting materials as are generally required for such permits under Chapter 380, Zoning.
B.
For each telecommunications facility requiring a tower permit, the
applicant shall submit a written application for such permit to the
Planning Board on a form prescribed by the Planning Board.
C.
Each applicant for a telecommunications facility, other than a telecommunications
facility requiring only the issuance of a building permit, shall submit
an environmental assessment form (long form) with the visual addendum,
and an analysis demonstrating that location of the telecommunications
facility as proposed is necessary to meet the frequency, reuse and
spacing needs of the applicant's telecommunications system and
to provide adequate service and coverage to the intended area. In
addition, each applicant shall submit a site plan prepared to scale
and in sufficient detail and accuracy, showing, at a minimum:
(1)
The exact location of the proposed telecommunications facility and/or
tower, together with any guy wires and guy anchors, if applicable.
(2)
The maximum height of the proposed telecommunications facility and/or
tower.
(3)
A detail of tower type (monopole, guyed, freestanding or other).
(4)
The location, type and intensity of any lighting on the tower.
(5)
Property boundaries and names of adjacent landowners.
(6)
Proof of the landowners' consent if the applicant does not own
the property.
(7)
The location of all other structures on the property and all structures
on any adjacent property within 10 feet of the property lines, together
with the distance of those structures to any proposed tower.
(8)
The location, nature and extent of any proposed fencing, landscaping
and/or screening.
(9)
The location and nature of proposed utility easements and access
road, if applicable.)
A.
The following criteria and additional requirements shall apply to
each application for site plan approval for a telecommunications facility:
(1)
Setbacks.
(a)
All towers shall be set back from all adjacent property lines
a sufficient distance to safeguard the general public and/or adjacent
property. In the absence of any evidence supporting a greater or lesser
setback distance, a setback of the tower from any adjacent residential
property line equal to the tower height and setback of at least 50
feet from any other adjacent property line shall be deemed adequate.
The required setbacks may be decreased in those instances when the
applicant has submitted plans for a tower designed to minimize damage
to adjacent property in the event of a structural failure.
(b)
Accessory structures and guy anchors must comply with minimum
setback requirements of the underlying district.
(2)
Future shared use of new towers. In the interest of minimizing the
number of new towers, the Planning Board may require, as a condition
of either site plan or tower permit approval, that the applicant indicate,
in writing, its commitment to collocation of telecommunications facilities
and that the applicant will design the tower to have a minimum height
and carrying capacity needed to provide future shared usage. The condition
for collocation may not be required if the applicant demonstrates
that provisions of future shared usage are not feasible or impose
an unnecessary burden based upon the number of Federal Communications
Commissions (FCC) licenses foreseeably available for the area; the
kind of tower site and structure proposed; the number of existing
and potential licensees without tower spaces; available spaces on
other existing and approved towers; and potential adverse visual impacts
by a tower designed for shared usage.
(3)
Aesthetics. Telecommunications facilities shall be located and buffered
to the maximum extent which is practical and technologically feasible
to help ensure compatibility with surrounding land uses. In order
to minimize adverse aesthetic effects on neighboring residences to
the extent possible, the Planning Board may impose reasonable conditions
on the applicant, including the following:
(a)
The Planning Board may require reasonable landscaping consisting
of trees or shrubs to screen the base of the tower and accessory structures
to the extent possible from adjacent residential property. Existing
on-site trees and vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent
possible.
(b)
The Planning Board may require that the tower be designed and
sited so as to avoid, if possible, application of Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) lighting and painting requirements, it being
generally understood that towers should not be artificially lighted,
except as required by the FAA.
(c)
The tower shall be of a galvanized finish or painted matte grey
unless otherwise required by the FAA, and accessory facilities should
maximize use of building materials, colors and textures designed to
blend with the natural surroundings.
(d)
No tower shall contain any signs of advertising devices.
(4)
Traffic access and safety.
(a)
A road turnaround and two parking spaces shall be provided to
assure adequate emergency and service access. Maximum use of existing
roads, public or private, shall be made. Road construction shall,
at all times, minimize ground disturbance and vegetation cutting,
and road grades shall closely follow natural contours to assure minimal
visual disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.
(b)
All towers and guy anchors, if applicable, shall be enclosed
by a fence not less than six feet in height or otherwise sufficiently
secured to protect them from trespassing or vandalism.
(c)
The applicant must comply with all applicable state and federal
regulations, including, but not limited to, FAA and FCC regulations.
(d)
The applicant shall provide a certification from a qualified,
licensed engineer, certifying that the tower or telecommunications
facility meets applicable structural safety standards and upon operation
does not interfere with local radio and/or television frequencies.
(5)
Removal of obsolete/unused facilities. The applicant shall agree,
in writing, to remove the tower or antennas if the telecommunications
facility becomes obsolete or ceases to be used for its intended purpose
for 12 consecutive months. Removal of such obsolete and/or unused
towers or antennas shall take place within six months of cessation
of use. Such agreement shall also include a commitment by the applicant
to impose a similar obligation to remove any unused and/or obsolete
tower or antennas upon any person subsequently securing rights to
collocate on the tower or telecommunications facility.
(6)
Public involvement. The Planning Board shall notify adjacent property
owners within 500 feet of any application for any telecommunications
facility permit and shall allow input from such property owners upon
its site plan review.
B.
The following criteria and additional requirements shall apply to
each application for a tower permit:
(1)
Height. The building height regulations otherwise applicable in the
underlying district shall not apply to towers, provided that the applicant
submits sufficient information to justify the proposed height as the
minimum necessary to achieve its coverage objectives. In no event,
however, shall any tower exceed a height of 250 feet without first
obtaining a height variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.
(2)
Shared use of existing towers and/or structures. At all times, shared
use of existing towers and/or structures, e.g., municipal water tank,
buildings, towers, etc., shall be preferred to the construction of
new towers. An applicant for a tower permit shall present a report
inventorying existing towers and/or structures within a reasonable
distance of the proposed site and outlining opportunities for shared
use of existing facilities as an alternative to a proposed new tower.
The applicant shall submit documentation demonstrating good faith
efforts to secure shared use on existing towers or structures, as
well as documentation of the technical, physical and/or financial
reasons why shared usage is not proposed. Written request for shared
use shall be provided where applicable. The applicant shall also demonstrate
efforts to locate a new tower on the same site as an existing tower
or structure, if it is not collocating on the existing tower or structure.
A.
The following types of telecommunications facilities are not subject
to the provisions of this chapter:
(1)
Antennas used solely for residential household television and radio
reception.
(2)
Satellite antennas measuring two meters or less in diameter and located
in commercial districts and satellite antennas one meter or less in
diameter, regardless of location (NOTE: FCC Rule Regarding Preemption
of Local Zoning Regulations for Satellite Antennas, 47 CFR Part 25.)
B.
In addition, telecommunications facilities may be repaired and maintained
without restrictions.
