[Added 9-2-1997; amended 12-27-2000]
The Planning Board is hereby authorized to review and approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove site plans consistent with Article V of the Town of Bolton Zoning Chapter concerning the placement and operation of telecommunications towers.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
A system of electrical conductors that transmit or receive
radio frequency waves. Such waves shall include but not be limited
to radio navigation, radio, television, and microwave communications.
The frequency of these waves generally ranges from 10 hertz to 300,000
megahertz.
A structure on which transmitting and/or receiving antenna(e)
are located.
An accessory facility serves the principle use, is subordinate
in area, extent and purpose to the principle use, and is located on
the same lot as the principle use. Examples of such facilities include
transmission equipment and storage sheds.
The purpose of these supplemental regulations
is to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents
of the Town, to provide standards for the safe provision of telecommunications
consistent with applicable federal and state regulations, and to protect
the natural features and aesthetic character of the Town of Bolton.
A.
No telecommunication transmission tower shall hereafter
be used, erected, moved, reconstructed, changed or altered except
after site plan review and in conformity with these regulations. No
existing structure shall be modified to serve as a transmission tower
unless in conformity with these regulations.
B.
These regulations shall apply to all property within
the following zones: Town-wide.
D.
Where these regulations conflict with other laws and
regulations of the Town of Bolton, the more restrictive shall apply,
except for tower height restrictions which are governed by these standards.
A.
Site plan. In accordance with Article V of the Zoning Chapter, an applicant shall be required to submit an application for site plan review and, in addition to all other requirements set forth in Article V, the application shall include the following.
(1)
All site plan review applications shall show all existing
and proposed structures and improvements, including roads, and shall
include grading plans for new facilities and roads. The site plan
shall also include documentation on the proposed intent and capacity
of use as well as a justification for the height of any tower or antennae
and justification for any land or vegetation clearing required. The
area(s) where signals would be received shall be documented on a map
by the applicant.
(2)
Additionally, the Planning Board shall require that
the site plan application include a completed full Environmental Assessment
Form (EAF) and a landscaping plan addressing other standards listed
within this section with particular attention to visibility from key
viewpoints within and outside of the Town as identified in the EAF.
B.
Shared use.
(1)
At all times, shared use of existing towers shall
be preferred to the construction of new towers. Additionally, where
such shared use is unavailable, location of antenna on preexisting
structures shall be considered. An applicant shall be required to
present an adequate report inventorying existing towers within reasonable
distance of the proposed site and outlining opportunities for shared
use of existing facilities and use of other preexisting structures
as an alternative to a new construction.
(2)
An applicant intending to share use of an existing
tower shall be required to document intent from an existing tower
owner to share use. The applicant shall pay all reasonable fees and
costs of adapting an existing tower or structure to a new shared use.
Those costs include but are not limited to structural reinforcement,
preventing transmission or receiver interference, additional site
screening, and other changes, including real property acquisition
or lease required to accommodate shared use.
(3)
In the case of new towers, the applicant shall be
required to submit a report demonstrating good faith efforts to secure
shared use from existing towers as well as documenting capacity for
future shared use of the proposed tower. Written requests and responses
for shared use shall be provided.
C.
Setbacks. Towers and antennae shall comply with all
existing setbacks within the affected zone. Additional setbacks may
be required by the Planning Board to contain on-site substantially
all ice-fall or debris from tower failure and/or to preserve privacy
of adjoining residential and public property. Setbacks shall apply
to all tower parts, including guy wire anchors, and to any accessory
facilities.
D.
Visibility.
(1)
All towers and accessory facilities shall be sited
to have no undue adverse impact upon the natural environment and visual
character and resources of the surrounding neighborhood or environs
and the Town of Bolton.
(2)
Towers shall not be artificially lighted except to
assure human safety as required by the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA). Towers shall be lower than the surrounding tree canopy unless
it can it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Planning
Board that the technical requirements for the telecommunications system
prevents the practical use of towers at that height. In such cases
where towers are required to be extended above the surrounding tree
canopy, they shall be required to resemble natural vegetation. Where
towers are at or below the surrounding tree canopy, they shall be
required to resemble natural vegetation unless they are screened from
public view. The intent is to minimize the impacts upon the natural
environment and visual character of the nearby area and the Town.
In all cases, guyed towers shall be preferable to freestanding structures
except where such freestanding structures offer capacity for future
shared use. Towers should be designed and sited so as to avoid, whenever
possible, application of FAA lighting and painting requirements.
(3)
Accessory facilities shall maximize use of building
materials, colors and textures designed to blend with the natural
surroundings.
(4)
Provision shall be made for securing access to the
site at all times, and the Planning Board, in its discretion, may
require that the tower, guys and accessory facilities be fenced.
E.
Existing vegetation. Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible, and no cutting of trees exceeding four inches in diameter (measured at a height of four feet off the ground) shall take place prior to approval of the special permit use. Clear-cutting of trees shall be in conformity with § 200-51 of the Zoning Chapter.
F.
Screening. Deciduous or evergreen tree plantings may
be required to screen portions of the tower from nearby residential
property as well as from public sites known to include important views
or vistas. Where the site abuts residential or public property, including
streets, the following vegetative screening shall be required. For
all towers, at least one row of native evergreen shrubs or trees capable
of forming a continuous hedge at least 10 feet in height within two
years of planting shall be provided to effectively screen the tower
base and accessory facilities. In the case of poor soil conditions,
planting may be required on soil berms to assure plant survival. Plant
height in these cases shall include the height of any berm.
G.
Access and parking. 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 to within the toe
of fill, the tap of cuts, or no more than 10 feet beyond the edge
of any pavement. Road grades shall closely follow natural contours
to assure minimal visual disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.
Public road standards may be waived in meeting the objectives of this
subsection.
H.
Removal upon abandonment. The applicant shall submit to the Board a letter of intent committing the tower owner, and his/her successors in interest, to notify the Zoning Administrator within 30 days of the discontinuance of use of the tower. This letter shall be filed with the Zoning Administrator prior to issuance of a building permit (assuming the telecommunication tower is approved according to this section). Obsolete or unused towers and accessory structures, including guys, shall be removed from any site within four months of such notification. Failure to notify and/or to remove the obsolete or unused tower in accordance with these regulations shall be a violation of this chapter and shall be punishable according to Article XIII of the Zoning Chapter.
I.
Intermunicipal notification for new towers. In order
to keep neighboring municipalities informed, and to facilitate the
possibility of directing that an existing tall structure or existing
telecommunications tower in a neighboring municipality be considered
for shared use, and to assist in the continued development of County
911 Services, the Board shall require that:
(1)
An applicant who proposes a new telecommunication
tower shall notify in writing the legislative body of each municipality
that borders the Town of Bolton and the Director of Warren County
Emergency Services. 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 at the time of application.
(3)
An applicant who proposes a new telecommunication
tower within the Adirondack Park shall be required to notify in writing
the Adirondack Park Agency. Such notice shall include a copy of the
application and all documents and papers in support thereof. Such
notification shall be made simultaneously with the filing of the application
with the Planning Board. 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, its capacity for future
shared use and any information regarding the networking of towers
being planned or extended and the ultimate area of coverage.
J.
Maintenance and/or escrow account. The Planning Board,
at its sole discretion, may require the applicant and/or the owner
to establish, prior to approval of any application, a maintenance
and/or escrow account in an amount sufficient to cover the reasonable
cost of technical review, maintenance, or removal of said tower, guys
and accessory structures. The amount required shall be determined
at the sole discretion of the Board, based upon the characteristics
of the tower and site, and the Board shall have the authority and
discretion to use all or any portion of the escrow account for maintenance
or removal of the tower(s), guys, and/or accessory structures. The
applicant and/or owner shall cooperate with the Board in supplying
all necessary construction and maintenance data to the Board prior
to approval of any application. The Planning Board, in its sole discretion,
may require annual inspections of the site to ensure its structural
soundness and safety and compliance with any conditions of approval.
The reasonable cost of such inspections shall be borne by the applicant.
The Planning Board shall have the authority
to impose such reasonable conditions and restrictions as are directly
related to or incidental to the proposed telecommunication tower site
plan. Such authority may include aspects related to aesthetics, such
as construction materials, landscaping, siting and other features.
In addition to all other fees required under
the Zoning Chapter, the Planning Board shall require an applicant
to pay the costs incurred by the Planning Board for legal and/or technical
review of an application. The fees charged to an applicant shall reflect
the actual costs of reasonable and necessary legal and/or technical
assistance and review incurred by the Board.
