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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOC Packet 2022-12-14 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING 215 N. Tioga St 14850 607.273.1747 www.town.ithaca.ny.us 12/7/2022 TO: Codes and Ordinances Committee: William Goodman, Chair Eric Levine Eva Hoffmann Rob Rosen Chris Jung Ariel Casper FROM: Christine Balestra, Planner RE: Next Codes and Ordinances Committee Meeting – December 14, 2022 The next meeting of the Codes and Ordinances Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 5:30pm in the Aurora Conference Room, located in Town Hall at 215 North Tioga Street. A quorum of the Town of Ithaca Town Board may be present at this meeting. However, no official Town Board business will be conducted. The following items are attached: 1. Minutes from the November 2, 2022, COC meeting 2. Draft memo from Nick Goldsmith, Sustainability Planner, related to proposed amendments to the Town Energy Code Supplement (ECS) 3. Draft revised Local Law §270-219 Personal Wireless Service Facilities that incorporates all changes and recommendations to date and includes notes and questions (12-14-22). If you cannot attend this meeting, please notify Abby Homer as soon as possible at (607) 273- 1747, or ahomer@town.ithaca.ny.us. cc: Susan H. Brock, Attorney for the Town Susan Ritter, Director of Planning Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement Abby Homer, Administrative Assistant Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk (email) Town Administrative staff (email) Town Board Members (email) Town Code Enforcement staff (email) Town Planning staff (email) Town Public Works staff (email) Media TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE 215 North Tioga Street Ithaca, New York 14850 (607) 273-1747 PLEASE NOTE: This meeting will be held in person in the Aurora Conference Room of Town Hall, located at 215 North Tioga Street, Ithaca, NY. Members of the public who wish to view the meeting virtually may visit the Town of Ithaca YouTube Channel, where it will be recorded: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCC9vycXkJ6klVIibjhCy7NQ/live Meeting of December 14, 2022– 5:30 P.M. AGENDA 1. Member comments/concerns. 2. Review of minutes from the November 2, 2022, COC meeting. 3. Discussion of proposed revisions to the Town Energy Code Supplement (ECS). 4. Review of revised draft local law §270-219 Personal wireless service facilities (for 12-14-22 meeting). 5. Other business:  Tentative next meeting date: January 11, 2023  Next meeting agenda Town of Ithaca Planning Department December 7, 2022 1 TOWN OF ITHACA CODES AND ORDINANCES COMMITTEE (COC) Meeting of November 2, 2022 – 5:31 pm Town Hall Aurora Conference Room Draft Minutes Members Present: Bill Goodman, Chair, Eva Hoffmann, Eric Levine, Rob Rosen, Chris Jung & Ariel Casper (via Zoom). Staff Present: Chris Balestra, Planner; Susan Brock, Counsel; Marty Moseley, Director of Code Enforcement; Nick Goldsmith, Sustainability Planner. Guests: None. The meeting was broadcasted on YouTube and the Zoom platform was u sed for staff. Bill reviewed the agenda aloud. 1. Member comments/concerns: None. 2. Minutes: Eric moved to approve the 8/31/22 COC minutes; Eva seconded. All members voted in favor of approval. Eva moved to approve the 9/14/2022 COC minutes with minor grammatical changes; Chris J. seconded. All members voted in favor of approval. 3. Town Energy Code Supplement proposed revisions: Nick Goldsmith prepared a memo that outlined six proposed amendments to the Energy Code Supplement (ECS). He explained that the ECS will become more stringent on 1/1/2023 and will need to be refiled with NYS. Nick suggested that now would be the ideal time to revise the code before refiling with the state. He then briefly summarized the scope of each amendment being proposed and noted that he would submit a full redlined version of the current ECS with proposed amendments for the December COC meeting. Nick noted that the same changes were also being proposed in the city code. He ended by saying that there would be a more detailed round of revisions expected in another six to eight months as well. The committee asked a few brief questions but was supportive of the proposed amendments. Marty gave a brief update on how the implementation of the ECS has been going internally. There have been several commercial and residential projects that have come through ; some have been complicated, which has precipitated internal staff discussion for clarification. Marty noted that some homeowners/contractors have chosen to reduce the size of their additions and projects to fall below the requirements in the ECS while others have complied without hesitation. Nick also mentioned that the Town of Ithaca was awarded $200,000 from NYSERDA, primarily to provide technical assistance to staff to help with the ECS review process, and to applicants to assist 2 with compliance with the ECS. The town could hire a third-party consultant who could provide this technical assistance to staff and applicants. The Town of Ithaca has to re-file the amended ECS 30 days after Jan 1st to continue enforcement, so Nick is looking for the committee to complete the review of proposed revisions in December so the ECS can be moved on to the Town Board for adoption at their year-end meeting. 4. Discussion of Draft Local Law - §270-219 Personal wireless service facilities: Susan Brock submitted the latest set of revisions, which incorporated all the changes to date and included new recommendations and questions. Also reviewed was a separate document that contained proposed aesthetic criteria applicable to non-small cell wireless facilities. Chris explained that the proposed language for the aesthetic criteria applicable to non-small cell wireless facilities came from comparing the language from the existing law and the criteria for small wireless facilities that the committee previously approved. The committee began their discussion with a review of the aesthetic criteria document for non-small cell wireless facilities. The committee proposed the following changes: 1. Consider changing the word “practical” to “practicable,” if it is more appropriate. 2. Remove the comma between “covering” and “or.” Also, add a sentence to note that this does not apply to guy wires. 4. Delete #4 entirely. After a bit more discussion, the committee approved the list with the above proposed changes and recommended that it be incorporated into the law accordingly. The COC then moved on to the revised law, focusing only on the sections highlighted in yellow. Definition section changes were as follows: 1. Under the “Personal Wireless Service Facility Permit” definition – the committee agreed to the proposed staff change to have the permit issued by the Director of Code Enforcement, after recommendation by the Director of Planning. 2. Under the “Setback” definition- The committee discussed but did not completely decide to delete the last sentence in the definition. This still needs a final decision. In Section “D. Approvals and permits required for personal wireless service facilities and Section 6409(a) eligible facilities,” the committee agreed to all the highlighted changes (changing to Director of Code Enforcement). In Section “E. Shot Clock Periods and Tolling,” the committee made the following change: E(2). Change “and” to “or” in the sentence that starts with “If the Director of Planning (or) the Director of Code Enforcement…” 3 In Section “G. Applications for personal wireless service facilities,” the COC supported the recommended changes but requested the same change as in “E”: change “and” to “or .” In Section “J. Visual impact analysis,” the committee decided that the analysis should also look at impacts on important/scenic views. In Section “L. Design standards,” Chris mentioned that this is where we would add the separate sheet that contains the aesthetic criteria applicable to non-small cell facilities. A future revised law would have (1) Aesthetic criteria applicable to small wireless facilities, followed by a list of criteria, and (2) Aesthetic criteria applicable to non-small cell wireless facilities, followed by a list. The committee then went into a long discussion about prohibiting PWSF’s in historic districts, ultimately deciding to add “historic districts” to #4 of the aesthetic criteria list applicable to small wireless facilities, specifically the placement guidelines for node facilities and wireless support structures. The committee felt that prohibiting them entirely did not seem necessary with the other considerations in place. The committee left off at the bottom of page 20 (hard copy), which is just before item “j” in th e aesthetic criteria applicable to small wireless facilities. They will pick back up in December with the remainder of pg. 20, through the end of the sections provided along with any additional sections to be provided. 5. Other Business: -Next meeting: December 14th, 2022, at 5:30pm. -Agenda: ECS revisions & continued discussion of Draft Local Law §270-219 Personal wireless service facilities. Date: 12/08/2022 To: Codes and Ordinances Committee From: Nick Goldsmith, Sustainability Planner Regarding: Energy Code Supplement Amendments Overview The Energy Code Supplement (IECS or ECS), adopted in 2021, is scheduled to become more stringent on January 1, 2023. Due to the updated rules, the Town will need to refile the IECS with New York State. In conjunction with the refiling, Town staff would like to adopt amendments to the IECS. There are five amendments under consideration by both the Town and the City: some clarifying and non-substantive, and some more significant. The goal is to have the Town Board consider some of these amendments soon, so that they can be included in the refiled version of the IECS. Some amendments which will likely need more analysis and discussion will be considered later in 2023. Following are the proposed amendments. If you would like to reference the complete ECS, please visit the Code Enforcement page of the Town website at http://www.town.ithaca.ny.us/code-enforcement. Amendment 1: OP1 Development Density. Through an oversight, dormitories are not currently eligible for this point, which was intended to be available to all buildings. Change IECS language as indicated below to allow dormitories to earn this point. C402 Prescriptive Compliance Path/Easy Path C402.5.1.1 Change the definition of DU as follows: DU = the number of all Residential dwelling units and/or sleeping units on the entire parcel occupied by the building. C402.5.1.2 Change the scope of the DU as follows: DU shall include all dwelling units and/or sleeping units on the parcel occupied by the building, including those in existing buildings. R502 Prescriptive Compliance Path/Easy Path R502.5.1.1 Change the definition of DU as described in C402 above R502.5.1.2 Change the scope of the DU as described in C402 above Amendment 2: OP3 Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces. Increase the number of points available for point OP3 from one to two and make each point easier to earn. Essentially, about the same number of EV chargers that would earn 1 point today will earn 2 points in 2023 and about one-half the number of chargers that would earn 1 point today will earn 1 point in 2023. This change is aligned with the existing rule where, effective January 1, 2023, all points awarded from the Efficient Electrification section will be doubled. The rationale is the same: the regional electric grid is cleaner than it was when the IECS was adopted, and getting cleaner, meaning that a switch from fossil fuels to electric power is more impactful than it used to be. These changes to the electrification section (already in IECS) and the EV Parking Spaces point (proposed) will help applicant projects attain the 12 points that will be required starting January 1. Town staff has completed revising the OP3 point calculation method. The following changes will be presented before or at the 12/14 COC meeting. Replace Table 144-C402.5.3.1 (1) and Table 144-R502.5.3.1 (1) - Required Number of Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces with tables using numbers from the new point calculation method. Replace Table 144-C402.5.3.1 (2) and Table 144-R502.5.3.1 (2) - Sample Calculation for required number of EV Parking Spaces to demonstrate the use of the new method. In the following six sections: 144-C402.5.1 OP1 Development Density 144-R502.5.1 OP1 Development Density 144-C402.5.2 OP2 Walkability 144-R502.5.2 OP2 Walkability 144-C402.5.3 OP3 Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces 144-R502.5.3 OP3 Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces, Make a change similar to the following: Restrictions: A maximum of two three points total may be earned for pointsusing up to two (maximum) of the following: OP1 Development Density, OP2 Walkability, and OP3 Electric Vehicle Parking Spaces combined. Change 144-C404.5 Changes in 2023 to Summary Table for Prescriptive Compliance Path/Easy Path and 144-R504.5 Changes in 2023 to Summary Table for Prescriptive Compliance Path/Easy Path to show that up to two points may now be earned for OP3 and to restate the restriction noted above. Amendment 3: OP6 Custom Energy Improvement. There has been some confusion from applicants as to the best content and format of information to submit to show compliance with OP6. Town staff has clarified the suggested documentation for this point and will add language to the IECS Reference Manual to address this. The Reference Manual contains non-essential information to help understand and use the IECS, such as background information and commentary. To maintain flexibility, we are NOT amending the IECS. The following language is similar to what will be added to the Reference Manual. To document point OP6, energy use data should be included for the following items. 1) Optional: Baseline, code-compliant building, NOT factoring in any beyond-code energy efficiency measures. 2) Baseline, code-compliant building, factoring in all energy efficiency measures EXCEPT those contributing to points for OP6 Custom Energy Improvement (see note 1). So, if EE1 and Ai5 are being used for compliance, those would be factored in here. 3) Baseline, code-compliant building, factoring in all efficiency measures INCLUDING OP6 Custom Energy Improvement (see notes 2 and 3). This is the proposed building. 4) Energy savings due to efficiency measures being used for OP6 (step 3 result minus step 2 result) Note 1: Code-compliant means including all state and other codes EXCEPT Ithaca Energy Code Supplement. Note 2: Please clarify in words what specific measures are being counted under OP6 (e.g. Energy recovery and better insulation) and the basic details of each measure. You can refer to other parts of your submission for details as applicable. This will help code staff complete plan review and building inspection. Note 3: The point here is to isolate the measure(s) receiving credit under OP6, after all other improvements have been accounted for. (End of new language for Reference Manual) Amendment 4: RE2 Biomass Space Heating Systems. Point RE2 Biomass Space Heating currently states that all biomass equipment must comply with the NYSERDA Renewable Heat NY program guidelines. However, NYSERDA has discontinued this program. Edit language in 144-C402.4.2.3 and 144-R502.4.2.3 to clarify that the same biomass technologies will still be allowed. We may need to include the latest Renewable Heat NY program guidance documents as appendices to the IECS for full clarification. Town staff is currently drafting language to this effect; the language changes will be presented to the COC on or before the 12/14 meeting. Amendment 5: Definitions. For clarification and to avoid potential future issues, in SUBSECTION 144-302 GENERAL DEFINITIONS, change IECS definitions of FLOOR AREA and MAJOR RENOVATION and add definition of HEATING PLANT. The amended floor area definition will clarify that measurement of the floor area should be made from the inside perimeter of the exterior walls. The amended definition of major renovation will be reformatted and will clarify what triggers the clause about heating plants (item A). The new definition of heating plant will serve to the clarification of that term in the definition of major renovation. The new language will be similar to the following: HEATING PLANT – One or more appliances that serve as the main/primary source of space heating for the building, whether located in the building or not. Examples of heating plants include, but are not limited to: one or more boilers, furnaces, electric resistance heaters, and/or heat pumps. [end of amendments] We look forward to discussion on this issue. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments before the meeting. FOR 12/14/22 COC MEETING—ROUGH DRAFT INCORPORATES COC CHANGES TO DATE; ADDS NOTES & QUESTIONS § 270-219 Personal wireless service facilities. A. Purpose and legislative intent. (1) The purpose of this section is to establish uniform standards for the siting, design, permitting, maintenance, and use of personal wireless service facilities in the Town of Ithaca. While the Town recognizes the importance of personal wireless service facilities in providing high- quality communications service to its residents, businesses and institutions, the Town also recognizes that it has an obligation to protect public safety and to minimize the adverse effects of such facilities. (2) By enacting this section, the Town intends to: (a) Provide for the managed development of personal wireless service facilities in a manner that accommodates the needs of Town residents, businesses, and institutions to receive, and wireless carriers to provide, communication signals without interference from other communication providers, in accordance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations; (b) Establish fair and efficient processes for review and approval of applications; (c) Establish procedures for the design, siting, construction, installation, maintenance, and removal of personal wireless service facilities in the Town; (d) Encourage the co-location of personal wireless service facilities on existing structures rather than the construction of new support structures; (e) Protect Town residents, businesses and institutions from potential adverse impacts of personal wireless service facilities, to the maximum extent permitted under law; (f) Avoid and minimize safety hazards and avoid potential damage to adjacent properties through proper locational, engineering, and operational requirements; (g) Protect the physical appearance of the Town and preserve its scenic and natural beauty by avoiding and minimizing adverse visual and aesthetic impacts of personal wireless service facilities to the maximum extent practicable through careful design, siting, landscaping, screening, and innovative camouflaging techniques; (h) Protect the public health, safety, and welfare; (i) Protect property values of the community; (j) Minimize the impact of such facilities on residential properties; and (k) Encourage the siting of personal wireless service facilities on properties and areas which are not used exclusively for residential purposes. 2 B. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated: [Some definitions not already discussed may be reworked.] ACCESSORY EQUIPMENT-Equipment installed, mounted, operated, or maintained in close proximity to a Personal Wireless Service Facility to provide power to the Personal Wireless Service Facility or to receive, transmit or store signals or information received by or sent from a Personal Wireless Service Facility. ADEQUATE COVERAGE-As determined by the Planning Board or Director of Planning, Adequate Coverage means that a specific Wireless Carrier’s Personal Wireless Service coverage is such that the vast majority of its customers can successfully use the carrier’s Personal Wireless Services the vast majority of the time, in the vast majority of the geographic locations within the Town, that the success rate of using their devices for Personal Wireless Services exceeds 97%, and that any geographic gaps in a Wireless Carrier’s Personal Wireless Services are not significant gaps, based upon such factors including, but not limited to, physical size of the gap, number of customers affected by the gap, whether the gap is in a lightly traveled or lightly occupied area, drop call or failure rates, and whether or not the Wireless Carrier’s customers are affected for only limited periods of time. A Wireless Carrier’s Personal Wireless Service coverage shall not be deemed inadequate simply because the frequency or frequencies at which its customers are using its Personal Wireless Services are not the Wireless Carrier’s most- preferred frequency. ANTENNA-An apparatus designed for the purpose of emitting radiofrequency (RF) radiation, to be operated or operating from a fixed location pursuant to Federal Communication Commission authorization, for the provision of Personal Wireless Service and any commingled information services. For purposes of this definition, the term Antenna does not include an unintentional radiator, mobile station, or device authorized under 47 CFR Part 15 (Radio Frequency Devices). ANTENNA EQUIPMENT-Equipment, switches, wiring, cabling, power sources, shelters or cabinets associated with an Antenna, located at the same fixed location as the Antenna, and, when collocated on a Structure, is mounted or installed at the same time as such Antenna. ANTENNA FACILITY-An Antenna and associated Antenna Equipment. CELL TOWER-A free-standing, guy-wired, or otherwise supported pole, Tower, or other structure designed to support or employed to support, equipment and/or antennas used to provide Personal Wireless Services, including, but not limited to, a pole, monopole, monopine, slim stick, lattice Tower or other types of standing structures. [Not sure we need this definition— need to understand why Fishkill law refers to “cell towers and other Personal Wireless Service Facilities” instead of just PWSFs, which encompass cell towers and other types of support structures] COLLOCATION and/or COLLOCATE-The mounting or installation of FCC-licensed or FCC-authorized wireless communication service transmission equipment on an existing structure for the purpose of transmitting and/or receiving radio frequency signals for communications 3 purposes. DEPLOYMENT-The placement, construction, or modification of a Personal Wireless Service Facility. DIRECTOR OF CODE ENFORCEMENT-The Town of Ithaca’s Director of Code Enforcement, or their designee. DIRECTOR OF PLANNING-The Town of Ithaca’s Director of Planning, or their designee. DISTRIBUTED ANTENNA SYSTEM, DAS-A network of spatially separated antenna nodes connected to a common source via a transport medium that provides Personal Wireless Services within a geographic area. EFFECTIVE PROHIBITION [rework this definition and move part of it out of the definitions and to a substantive provision later in the law]-A finding by the Planning Board or Director of Planning that, based upon an Applicant’s submission of sufficient probative, relevant, and sufficiently reliable evidence, and the appropriate weight which the Board deems appropriate to afford same, an Applicant has established that an identified Wireless Carrier does not have Adequate Coverage, but suffers from a significant gap in the provision of its Personal Wireless Services within the Town and that a proposed installation by that Applicant would be the least intrusive means of remedying that gap, such that a denial of the Application to install such installation would effectively prohibit the carrier from providing Personal Wireless Services within the Town. Any determination of whether an Applicant has established, or failed to establish, both the existence of a significant gap and whether its proposed installation, at the site chosen, the specific location on that proposed site, and the proposed minimum height for the new facility, shall be based upon Substantial Evidence, as is hereinafter defined. ELEVENTH HOUR SUBMISSIONS-An Applicant’s submission of new and/or additional materials in support of an Application within 48 hours of the expiration of an applicable Shot Clock Period, or at an otherwise unreasonably short period of time before the expiration of the Shot Clock Period, making it impracticable for the Planning Board, Director of Planning or Director of Code Enforcement to adequately review and consider such submissions due to their complexity, volume, or other factors, before the expiration of the Shot Clock Period. ELIGIBLE FACILITIES REQUEST-A request that meets the requirements in 47 CFR § 1.6100 for modification of an existing tower or base station that does not substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower or base station and involving: (a) Collocation of new transmission equipment; (b) Removal of transmission equipment; or (c) Replacement of transmission equipment, EPA-The United States Environmental Protection Agency. FAA-The Federal Aviation Administration. 4 FACILITY-An Antenna Facility or a Structure that is used for the provision of Personal Wireless Service, whether such Service is provided on a stand-alone basis or commingled with other wireless communications services. FCC-The Federal Communications Commission. GENERAL POPULATION/UNCONTROLLED EXPOSURE LIMITS-The applicable radiofrequency radiation exposure limits set forth within 47 CFR §1.1310(e)(1), Table 1 Section (ii), made applicable pursuant to 47 CFR §1.1310(e)(3). HEIGHT-When referring to a Tower, Personal Wireless Service Facility, or Personal Wireless Service Facility structure, the Height shall mean the distance measured from the pre-existing grade level to the highest point on the Tower, Facility, or structure, including, any accessory, extension, addition, add-on, antenna, whip antenna, lightning rod or other types of lightning- protection devices attached to the top of the structure. ILLEGALLY EXCESSIVE RF RADIATION or ILLEGALLY EXCESSIVE RADIATION-RF radiation emissions at levels that exceed the legally permissible limits set forth within 47 CFR §1.1310(e)(1), Table 1 Sections (i) and (ii), as made applicable pursuant to 47 CFR §1.1310(e)(3). MAINTENANCE or ROUTINE MAINTENANCE- Plumbing, electrical, or mechanical work that may require a building permit but that does not constitute a modification to the Personal Wireless Service Facility. It is work necessary to assure that a wireless Facility and/or telecommunications structure exists and operates reliably and in a safe manner, presents no threat to persons or property, and remains compliant with the provisions of this chapter and FCC requirements. NEPA-The National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq. NHPA-The National Historic Preservation Act, 54 U.S.C. §§ 300101 et seq., and its regulations at 36 CFR Part 800 et seq. NODE, DAS NODE-A fixed antenna and related equipment installation that operates as part of a system of spatially separated antennas, all of which are connected through a medium through which they work collectively to provide Personal Wireless Services. OCCUPATIONAL/CONTROLLED EXPOSURE LIMITS-The applicable radiofrequency radiation exposure limits set forth within 47 CFR §1.1310(e)(1), Table 1 Section (i), made applicable pursuant to 47 CFR §1.1310(e)(2). PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE, PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICES-Commercial mobile services, unlicensed wireless services, and common carrier wireless exchange access services, within the meaning of 47 U.S.C. §332(c)(7)(c)(i), and as defined therein. PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITY or PWSF-A Facility or facilities used for 5 the provision of Personal Wireless Services, within the meaning of 47 U.S.C. §332(c)(7)(c)(ii). This term includes structures, antennas, poles, towers, cables, cabinets, equipment enclosures, equipment, and Accessory Equipment and related improvements used to provide Personal Wireless Services. PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITY PERMIT-The permit granted by the Director of Planning Code Enforcement pursuant to which an Applicant is allowed to construct and use a Personal Wireless Service Facility. [UPDATE FOR 11/02/22 VERSION: Marty Moseley and Sue Ritter recommend the permit be issued by the Director of Code Enforcement, after recommendation by Director of Planning (same process as that used for the sign law). COC to decide.] [UPDATE FOR 12/14/22 VERSION: COC decided at its 11/02/22 meeting to accept the above staff recommendation. Should the Planning Director review and make a recommendation only where the Planning Board does not do site plan review, or in all instances?] PWSF-Personal Wireless Service Facility. REPAIRS-The replacement or repair of any components of a wireless Facility where the replacement is substantially identical to the component or components being replaced, or for any matters that involve the normal repair and Maintenance of a wireless Facility without the addition, removal, or change of any of the physical or visually discernible components or aspects of a wireless Facility that will impose new visible intrusions of the Facility as originally permitted. RF-Radiofrequency. RF RADIATION-Radiofrequency radiation, that being electromagnetic radiation which is a combination of electric and magnetic fields that move through space as waves, and which can include both Non-Ionizing radiation and Ionizing radiation. SETBACK-The distance between any portion of a Personal Wireless Facility, including any and all accessory facilities and/or structures, and the lot line of the parcel on which the proposed Facility will be placed. In the event that an Applicant leases only a portion of the lot, the Setback shall be measured from the Facility to the line of that portion of the real property which is leased by the Applicant. [These are staff-recommended changes. Staff also recommends deleting the last sentence. Keep or delete it?] [UPDATE FOR 12/14/22 VERSION: COC discussed the last sentence but still needs to decide whether to keep or delete it.] SEQRA-The New York State Environmental Quality Review Act, 6 NYCRR Part 617 et seq. SHOT CLOCK PERIOD- The sum of the number of days specified by federal regulation as the presumptively reasonable time for the Town to act on the relevant Personal Wireless Services 6 Facility application type, plus the number of days of any applicable tolling period, per 47 CFR § 16003. SHPO-The New York State Historic Preservation Office. SMALL WIRELESS FACILITY-A Personal Wireless Service Facility that meets all the following criteria: (a) The Facility (i) is mounted on a Structure 50 feet or less in height, including its antennas; or (ii) is mounted on a Structure no more than 10 percent taller than other adjacent structures; or (iii) does not extend the existing structure on which it is located to a height of more than 50 feet or by more than 10 percent, whichever is greater; (b) Each antenna associated with the Deployment, excluding associated antenna equipment, is no more than three (3) cubic feet in volume; (c)All other wireless equipment associated with the Structure, including the wireless equipment associated with the Antenna and any pre-existing associated equipment on the Structure, is no more than 28 cubic feet in volume; (d) The Facility does not require antenna structure registration under 47 CFR Part 17 (Construction, Marking, and Lighting of Antenna Structures); (e) The Facility is not located on tribal lands, as defined under 36 CFR §800.16(x); and (f) The Facility will not result in human exposure to radiofrequency radiation in excess of the applicable FCC safety standards set forth within Table 1 of 47 CFR §1.1310(E)(1). STEALTH or STEALTH TECHNOLOGY-A design or treatment that minimizes adverse aesthetic and visual impacts on the land, property, buildings, and other facilities adjacent to, surrounding, and generally in the same area as the requested location of such Personal Wireless Service Facilities. This shall mean building the least visually and physically intrusive Facility under the facts and circumstances. STRUCTURE-A pole, Tower, base station, building, water tank, or other physical support of any form, whether or not it has an existing Antenna Facility, that is used or to be used for the provision of Personal Wireless Service (whether on its own or commingled with other types of services). SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE-Substantial Evidence means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. It means less than a preponderance but more than a scintilla of evidence. TCA-The Telecommunications Act of 1996, 47 U.S.C. §332(c). TOLLING or TOLLED-The pausing of the running of the time period under the applicable Shot Clock Period. 7 TOWER, TELECOMMUNICATIONS TOWER-Any Structure designed primarily to support one or more antennas and/or equipment used or designed for receiving and/or transmitting a wireless signal. TOWN-The Town of Ithaca. WIRELESS CARRIERS or CARRIER-Companies that provide Personal Wireless Services to end-use consumers. C. General approval and permit requirements for personal wireless service facilities. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, personal wireless service facilities (“PWSFs”) are allowed in every zoning district in the Town. [COC still needs to decide if PWSFs are prohibited in historic districts] [UPDATE FOR 12/14/22 VERSION: COC decided at its 11/02/22 meeting not to prohibit PWSFs in historic districts] (2) Except as otherwise provided by this section, no person shall be permitted to Deploy, operate, or prepare any site for the Deployment of PWSFs without having first obtained the approvals and permits required by this section. (3) Repairs to and/or Maintenance of a legally existing PWSF shall not require site plan approval or a PWSF permit. (4) In addition to the requirements set forth in this section for the issuance of a PWSF permit and, where applicable, site plan approval, any telecommunications provider seeking to place a PWSF in the public right-of-way shall also comply with the procedures and requirements set forth in Chapter 230 (Streets and Sidewalks) of the Town Code relating to conducting construction activities within the public right-of-way. To the extent any provisions in Chapter 230 are inconsistent with the provisions set forth in this section, the provisions in this section shall control. (5) Notwithstanding the provisions set forth in this section, in the event an application seeks to place a PWSF on property owned or controlled by the Town, other than within a Town- owned public right-of-way, such application shall be exempt from the requirements of this section. The Town Board has sole and absolute discretion to determine whether to allow an applicant to place a PWSF on such Town property, and the Town Board may impose such conditions on any such placement and use as it deems appropriate. Nothing herein shall be deemed to create any right or entitlement to use Town property for such PWSF. D. Approvals and permits required for personal wireless service facilities and Section 6409(a) eligible facilities. (1) All PWSFs shall require a building permit issued by a Code Enforcement Officer, where the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code or the Ithaca Town Code requires a building permit. 8 (2) A Small Wireless Facility proposed to be collocated on an existing Small Wireless Facility that will remain a Small Wireless facility after the collocation, and its related ground- mounted or underground facilities and equipment, shall require a PWSF permit issued by the Director of Code Enforcement. (3) A Small Wireless Facility proposed to be collocated on an existing Small Wireless Facility that will no longer be a Small Wireless facility after the collocation, and its related ground- mounted or underground facilities and equipment, shall require both a PWSF permit issued by the Director of Code Enforcement and site plan approval by the Planning Board. (4) A PWSF proposed to be collocated on an existing PWSF that is not a Small Wireless Facility, and its proposed related ground-mounted or underground facilities and equipment, shall require a PWSF permit issued by the Director of Code Enforcement. In addition, site plan approval by the Planning Board is required if the proposed PWSF collocation will: (a) Increase the approved Height of the support Structure by more than 15%; (b) Increase the number of antennas by more than 50% over the previously approved number of antennas; (c) Increase the square footage of accessory buildings by more than 200 square feet over the previously approved square footage of accessory buildings; (d) Add one or more microwave antenna dishes; or (e) Expand the footprint of the support Structure. (5) Where more than one PWSF is proposed and at least one PWSF will not be collocated on an existing structure, all of the proposed PWSFs (including collocated PWSFs) shall require both a PWSF permit issued by the Director of Code Enforcement and site plan approval. (6) All PWSFs that do not fall under subsection 2-5 above shall require a PWSF issued by the Director of Code Enforcement and site plan approval by the Planning Board pursuant to the requirements of this section and (for site plans) in accordance with Chapter 270 (Zoning), Article XXIII (Site Plan Review and Approval Procedures). (7) Notwithstanding subsections 2-6 above, any application that asserts Spectrum Act § 6409(a) applies and that meets the requirements in 47 CFR § 1.6100 for an eligible facilities request shall not require site plan approval. If such application is for personal wireless services, a PWSF permit issued by the Director of Code Enforcement is required, and a building permit issued by a Code Enforcement Officer is also required if the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code or the Ithaca Town Code requires a building permit. If such application is for FCC-authorized wireless communication services other than personal wireless services, all that shall be required is a building permit issued by a Code Enforcement Officer, if the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code or the Ithaca Town Code requires a building permit. [Will wordsmith provisions to make sure other 9 Codes-related permits, such as electrical permits and development permits under Town Code Chapter 157 (Flood Damage Prevention), are also covered.] E. Shot Clock Periods and Tolling. (1) To comply with the requirements of 47 U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(ii) of the TCA, and unless Tolled, extended by agreement, or subject to reasonable delays due to circumstances beyond the Town’s control, as described in subsections (O), (P), (Q), and (R) below, the Planning Board and Town officials shall issue, grant or deny PWSF site plans, PWSF permits and building permits within the following number of days from Town receipt of an Application for same: [still to rework wording above] (a) For Collocated facilities: (i) Sixty (60) days for PWSFs that meet the requirements in 47 CFR § 1.6100 for an eligible facilities request. (ii) Sixty (60) days for Collocation of a new Small Wireless Facility upon an existing Small Wireless Facility Structure, where the completed Facility would still constitute a Small Wireless Facility after the collocation. (iii) Ninety (90) days for all other Collocations of PWSFs on an existing structure. (b) For non-collocated facilities: (i) Ninety (90) days for new Small Wireless Facilities. (ii) One hundred fifty (150) days for all other PWSFs. (c) For batched applications: (i) If a single application seeks authorization for multiple Deployments, all of which fall within subsection (a)(2) above, or all of which fall within subsection (b)(i) above, then the presumptively reasonable period of time for the application as a whole is equal to that for a single Deployment within the category applicable for the Deployments. (ii) If a single application seeks authorization for multiple Deployments, the components of which are a mix of Deployments that fall within subsections (a)(2) and (b)(i) above, then the presumptively reasonable period of time for the application as a whole is 90 days. (2) Upon receipt of an Application, the Director of Planning and Director of Code Enforcement shall review the Application for Completeness. If the Director of Planning or Director of Code Enforcement determines the Application is: (a) incomplete, (b) is the wrong type of Application, or (c) is otherwise defective, then the Director of Planning shall send the Applicant a Notice of Incompleteness by the Town’s digital software program, email, or first-class mail to the email or mailing address provided by the Applicant. (3) For Small Wireless Facilities, the Notice of Incompleteness shall be sent within ten (10) days of the Town’s receipt of the Application. For all other PWSFs, the Notice of Incompleteness 10 shall be sent within thirty (30) days of the Town’s receipt of the Application. (4) The Notice of Incompleteness shall describe why the Application is incomplete, the wrong type, or defective. (5) For proposed Small Wireless facilities, the Director of Planning’s sending of a Notice of Incomplete Application for a Small Wireless Facility shall reset and Toll the relevant Shot Clock Period. The reset Shot Clock Period shall begin running upon the Town’s receipt of any responsive materials from the Applicant. (6) For proposed PWSFs other than Small Wireless Facilities, the Director of Planning’s sending of a Notice of Incomplete Application for a Small Wireless Facility shall Toll (but not reset) the relevant Shot Clock Period. The Shot Clock Period shall begin running again upon the Town’s receipt of any responsive materials from the Applicant. (7) If upon receipt of any responsive materials from the Applicant, the Director of Planning or the Director of Code Enforcement determines that the Application is still incomplete or defective, then the Director of Planning shall, within ten (10) days of receipt of such responsive materials, send the Applicant another Notice of Incompleteness by the Town’s digital software program, email, or first-class mail to the email or mailing address provided by the Applicant. Regardless of the type of PWSF, the Director of Planning’s sending of this second Notice of Incomplete Application shall again Toll (but shall not reset) the relevant Shot Clock Period, which shall resume running upon the Town’s receipt of any responsive materials from the Applicant. The same procedure may continue to be repeated with subsequent Applicant submissions and Notices of Incompleteness. F. Extensions & reasonable delay periods. (1) Shot Clock Period Extension by Mutual Agreement The Planning Board (if applicable) or Director of Planning may extend any applicable Shot Clock Period by mutual agreement with an Applicant. The agreement may either be in writing or stated on the record at any public meeting. (2) Reasonable Delay Extensions of Shot Clock Periods The Town recognizes that there may be situations wherein, due to circumstances beyond the control of the Planning Board, the Planning Board’s review and issuance of a final decision upon an application for site plan approval and a PWSF permit cannot reasonably be completed within the Shot Clock Periods delineated within subsection E above. In such situations, the Planning Board shall be permitted to continue and complete its review, and issue its determination at a date beyond the expiration of the applicable period, if the delay of such final decision is due to circumstances including, but not limited to, those set forth within Sections §150(O), (P), (Q), and (R) herein below. [Still need to check FCC Orders for the wording and reasonable delay rationales] G. Applications for personal wireless service facilities. Applications shall be made via the Town’s digital software program to the Director of Planning for site plan approvals and to the Director of Code Enforcement for PWSF permits, building 11 permits and all other Town permits and Town approvals required by local, state, or federal law or regulation. Each application for a PWSF permit, site plan approval, and /or building permit shall include the following materials. An application for any Town permit or approval is incomplete if it is missing any item listed below, it does not contain everything required by law or regulation, or the Director of Planning or Director of Code Enforcement determines that the application contains inconsistent, contradictory, or unclear information. (1) Applications for Section 6409(a) eligible facilities must include: (a) Identification of all applicants, site developers and FCC-licensed carriers on whose behalf the application is being submitted, as well as the property owner of the proposed site. (b) All applicable application and other fees then being charged by the Town for such applications. (c) An email address and a US mail address to which the Town may email or mail notices to comply with any notice requirement under this section, as well as under any local, state and/or federal law or requirement. (d) Copies of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license, if applicable, and of all documents submitted to the FCC or any other governmental agency having jurisdiction over the proposed eligible facilities; (e) Written documentation sufficient to show that the proposed deployment is an eligible facilities request. This documentation shall include a drawn-to-scale depiction containing complete calculations for all of the proposed eligible facilities to show whether they, when installed, will meet the physical size limitations and other requirements to qualify them as Section 6409(a) eligible facilities. (f) Written documentation sufficient to show that the proposed deployment complies with all applicable building, structural, electrical and safety codes and with all other laws codifying objective standards reasonably related to health and safety. This documentation shall include a certification by an engineer licensed to practice in the State of New York that the eligible facilities have been designed in accordance with generally accepted good engineering practices and in accordance with generally accepted industry standards (including but not limited to the most recent, applicable standards of the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)), and if constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with the plans the eligible facilities, Structure, and other PWSFs and FCC-authorized wireless communication service facilities on the site will be safe, will be in accordance with all applicable governmental building codes, laws and regulations and in accordance with generally accepted good engineering practices and industry standards, including without limitation, acceptable standards as to stability, wind and ice loads, and bird protection. [Will ask Town’s engineers to wordsmith.] (g) An FCC compliance report, as described below. 12 (h) Written documentation sufficient to show compliance with any relevant federal requirement, including any applicable FCC, FAA, NEPA, or NHPA requirements. (i) Completed Part 1 of the relevant New York State environmental assessment form. (j) All of the information required by Town Code § 125-4 (Building permits), if applicable. (k) Where an applicant is not the owner of the real property upon which the applicant seeks to collocate Section 6409(a) eligible facilities, proof of the property owner's consent to the deployment of the eligible facilities on the real property and agreement to abide by this Section 270-219. If the applicant is leasing all or a portion of real property upon which it intends to install its new eligible facilities, the applicant shall provide a written copy of its lease with the owner of such property. The applicant may redact any financial terms contained within the lease, but it shall not redact any portion of the lease which details the amount of area leased nor the specific portion of the real property to which the applicant has obtained the right to occupy, access, or preclude others from entering. (l) Where an applicant is not the owner of the existing wireless tower or base station upon which the applicant seeks to collocate Section 6409(a) eligible facilities, proof of the wireless tower or base station owner’s consent to the collocation of the eligible facilities onto the existing wireless tower or base station and agreement to comply with this chapter. (2) Applications for all other PWSFs must include: (a) A completed project application form in such detail and containing such information as the Director of Planning may require, including identification of all applicants, site developers and wireless carriers on whose behalf the application is being submitted, as well as the property owner of the proposed site. (b) All applicable application and other fees then being charged by the Town for such applications, including any right-of-way fees that the Town Board may set from time to time by resolution, and any deposits required by the Town for application to the costs of any consultants retained by the Town as provided below. [Also: will add later in the law (not in the application section) some version of existing §270-219.K(5) (with an increased minimum escrow amount?) That provision currently reads: “To assure sufficient funds are available to the Town to pay for the consultants referred to in the preceding subsection, any applicant shall be required to deposit review fees in escrow, in accordance with the terms of any Town of Ithaca law, ordinance or resolution, as the same may be amended from time to time. Notwithstanding the provisions of any such law, ordinance or resolution, the minimum initial escrow deposit for any telecommunication facility application which anticipates construction of any type of tower shall be $5,000 or the minimum prescribed by such law, ordinance or resolution as in effect at the date of the application, whichever is greater.”] (c) An email address and a US mail address to which the Town may email or mail notices to comply with any notice requirement under this section, as well as under any local, state and/or federal law or requirement. 13 (d) Copies of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license, if applicable, and of all documents submitted to the FCC or any other governmental agency having jurisdiction over the Facility. (e) If the applicant claims that its proposed installation qualifies as a Small Wireless Facility within this section, the drawn-to-scale depiction shall include complete calculations for all of the antennas and equipment of which the Facility will be comprised, depicting that, when completed, the installation and equipment will meet the physical size limitations which enable the Facility to qualify as a Small Wireless Facility. (f) Written documentation sufficient to show that the proposed Facilities comply with all applicable building, structural, electrical and safety codes and with all other laws reasonably related to health and safety. This documentation shall include a certification by an engineer licensed to practice in the State of New York that the Facilities (including any proposed collocations) have been designed in accordance with generally accepted good engineering practices and in accordance with generally accepted industry standards (including but not limited to the most recent, applicable standards of the Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)), and if constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with the plans the Facilities will be safe, will be in accordance with all applicable governmental building codes, laws and regulations and in accordance with generally accepted good engineering practices and industry standards, including without limitation, acceptable standards as to stability, wind and ice loads, and bird protection. [Will ask Town’s engineers to wordsmith.] (g) An FCC compliance report, as described below. (h) Written documentation sufficient to show compliance with any relevant federal requirement, including any applicable FCC, FAA, NEPA, or NHPA requirements. (i) Completed Part 1 of the relevant New York State environmental assessment form. (j) A visual impact analysis, as described in subsection I below. (k) All of the information required by Town Code § 125-4 (Building permits), if applicable. (l) Where site plan review is required, a site plan and other documentation that complies with Town Code §270-186 (Site plan requirements), and also contains the following: (i) The exact location including geographic coordinates of the proposed Facility including any towers, guy wires and anchors, if applicable; (ii) The maximum height of the proposed Facility, including all appurtenances; (iii)A detail of Facility type, if any, including engineering drawings from the Facility manufacturer (monopole, guyed, freestanding, or other); 14 (iv) The location, type, and intensity of any lighting on the Facility or its accessory structures; (v) Property boundaries and names of all adjacent landowners; (vi) The location of all other structures on the parcel and all structures on any adjacent parcels within 100 feet of the property lines, together with the distance of these structures from any proposed tower; (vii) The location, nature and extent of any proposed fencing, landscaping, and screening; (viii) The location and nature of any proposed utility easements and access roads or drives. (m) Where an applicant is not the owner of the real property upon which the applicant seeks to deploy Facilities, proof of the property owner'’s consent to the deployment of the Facilities on the real property and agreement to comply with this chapter. If the applicant is leasing all or a portion of real property upon which it intends to install its new Facilities, the applicant shall provide a written copy of its lease with the owner of such property. The applicant may redact any financial terms contained within the lease, but it shall not redact any portion of the lease which details the amount of area leased nor the specific portion of the real property to which the applicant has obtained the right to occupy, access, or preclude others from entering. (n) Where an applicant seeks to collocate Facilities and is not the owner of the structure upon which the applicant seeks to collocate the Facilities, proof of the structure owner’s consent to the collocation of the proposed Facilities onto the existing structure. (o) An agreement to remove all antennas, driveways, structures, buildings, equipment sheds, lighting, utilities, fencing, gates, accessory equipment, or structures, as well as any tower(s) dedicated solely for use within 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 of said facility, the land shall be restored to its previous condition, including but not limited to the seeding of exposed soils. [Wordsmith—this is from existing §270-219.L(1).] (p) Agreement that the applicant will negotiate in good faith with any subsequent applicant seeking to co-locate a telecommunications facility on the initial applicant's structures. This agreement shall commit the initial applicant and landowner and their respective successors in interest to: (i) Respond in a timely, comprehensive manner to a request for information from a potential shared-use applicant. (ii) Negotiate in good faith for shared use by third parties. 15 (iii) Allow shared use if an applicant agrees in writing to pay reasonable charges for same. (iv) Make no more than a reasonable charge for shared use, based upon generally accepted accounting principles. The charge may include but is not limited to a pro rata share of the cost of site selection, planning, project administration, land costs, site design, construction and maintenance, financing, return on equity, and depreciation, and all of the costs of adapting the tower or equipment to accommodate a shared user without causing electromagnetic interference or causing uses on the site to emit electromagnetic radiation in excess of levels permitted by the FCC. (q) Information required by, and proof of compliance with, subsection H (Co- location) below. H. Co-location. (1) The shared use of existing telecommunications facilities or other structures shall be preferred to the construction of new facilities. Any PWSF permit or site plan 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. (2) The application shall include an adequate inventory report specifying existing telecommunications facility sites and any structures (except 1-2 family dwellings and multiple residences) within a one mile radius of the proposed Facility. . The inventory report shall contain an evaluation of opportunities for shared use as an alternative to the proposed location, along with a map showing the location of each site inventoried, and the height of the structure and/or tower and accessory buildings on the site of the inventoried location(s). (3) The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed telecommunications facility cannot be accommodated on existing telecommunications facility sites in the inventory due to one or more of the following reasons: (a) The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing and approved telecommunications facilities or other structures, considering existing and reasonably anticipated future use for those facilities; (b) The planned equipment would cause radio frequency interference with other existing or planned equipment, which cannot be reasonably prevented; [add exceedance of FCC RF emissions levels] (c) Existing or approved telecommunications facilities or other structures do not have space and cannot be modified to provide space on which proposed equipment can be placed so it can function effectively and reasonably; (d) Other technical reasons make it impracticable to place the equipment proposed by the applicant on existing facilities or structures; 16 (e) The property owner or owner of the existing telecommunications facility or other structure fails to reach agreement after negotiating in good faith to allow such co- location. I. FCC compliance report. [From Fishkill’s law. Will wordsmith. Among other things, state the analysis must comply with any applicable FCC Bulletins or other FCC requirements.] The FCC compliance report required by this section shall be prepared by a licensed engineer, and certified under penalties of perjury, that the content thereof is true and accurate, wherein the licensed engineer shall certify that the proposed Facility will be FCC compliant as of the time of its installation, meaning that the Facility will not expose members of the general public to radiation levels that exceed the most current permissible radiation limits which the FCC has set. If it is anticipated that more than one carrier and/or user is to install transmitters into the Facility that the FCC Compliance Report shall take into account anticipated exposure from all users on the Facility and shall indicate whether or not the combined exposure levels will, or will not exceed the permissible General Population Exposure Limits, or alternatively, the occupational Exposure Limits, where applicable. Such FCC Compliance Report shall provide the calculation or calculations with which the engineer determined the levels of RF radiation and/or emissions to which the Facility will expose members of the general public. On the cover page of the report, the report shall explicitly specify: (a) Whether the Applicant and their engineer are claiming that the applicable FCC limits based upon which they are claiming FCC compliance are the General Population Exposure Limits or the Occupational Exposure Limits. If the Applicant and/or their engineer are asserting that the Occupational Exposure Limits apply to the proposed installation, they shall detail a factual basis as to why they claim that the higher set of limits is applicable, (b) The exact minimum distance factor, measured in feet, which the Applicant calculate the level of radiation emissions to which the proposed Facility will expose members of the general public. The minimum distance factor is the closest distance (i.e., the minimum distance) to which a member of the general public shall be able to gain access to the transmitting antennas mounted upon, or which shall be a part of, the proposed Facility. J. Visual impact analysis. Each application shall include a visual impact analysis that contains an assessment of the proposed Facility’s visual impact on abutting properties and streets, taking into consideration any supporting structure that is to be constructed, as well as its base, guy wires, accessory structures, buildings, and overhead utility lines. The visual impact analysis shall, at a minimum, include the following: (a) Small Wireless Facilities: (i) line-of-sight drawings (ii) detailed elevation maps (iii) visual simulations, including photographic images, depicting the height at which the proposed Facility shall stand when completed (including all portions and attachments to 17 the Facility), taken from the perspectives of the properties situated in closest proximity to the location being proposed for the Facility siting, as well as those properties which would reasonably be expected to sustain the most significant adverse aesthetic impacts due to such factors as their close proximity to the site, their elevation relative to the site, or the Facility location and their location. [garbled—fix] (iv) before and after renderings (v) alternate Facility designs and color schemes (vi) possible impacts to any important/scenic views listed in the Tompkins County or Town of Ithaca Scenic Resources Inventories (b) Personal Wireless Service Facilities which do not meet the definition of a Small Wireless Facility: (i) A “Visibility Map” to determine locations from where the Facility will be seen. (ii) line-of-sight drawings (iii) detailed elevation maps (iv) visual simulations, including photographic images, depicting the height at which the proposed facility shall stand when completed (including all portions and attachments to the Facility), taken from the perspectives of the properties situated in closest proximity to the location being proposed for the siting of the Facility, as well as those properties which would reasonably be expected to sustain the most significant adverse aesthetic impacts due to such factors as their close proximity to the site, their elevation relative to the site, the existence or Tower location and their location. [garbled—fix] (v) before and after renderings (vi) alternate Facility designs and color schemes (vii) possible impacts to any important/scenic views listed in the Tompkins County or Town of Ithaca Scenic Resources Inventories K. Priority of siting locations. In determining whether a site is appropriate, and if it is determined a need exists for the telecommunications facility, the preferential order of location, to the extent the same may be, or may be made, technically feasible, is as follows: (1) Co-located on existing telecommunications towers; (2) Co-located on any other existing radio or other tower that would not require any increase in height nor significant noticeable structural additions to accommodate the telecommunications facility; (3) Within any industrial zones or existing planned development zones that permit industrial activities; (4) Within any light industrial zones or existing planned development zones that permit light industrial activities; (5) Within any existing community commercial zones or existing planned development zones which permits all of the activities permitted in a community commercial zone; (6) On any other property in the Town. 18 L. Design standards. All PWSFs shall be sited, designed, and constructed in a manner which minimizes to the maximum extent practicable i) visual impact, and ii) adverse impacts upon migratory and other birds and other wildlife. (1) Aesthetic criteria applicable to Small Wireless Facilities: [Staff to revise headings] For Collocations that are considered “substantial” under §6409 (FCC Order 2014): (a) There shall be no exposed wires. All cables and wires associated with the facility leading to and away from the facility must be fully concealed and the cable covering or conduit shall match the color of the structure on which the facility is located. There shall be no external cables and wires related to the facility hanging off or otherwise exposed. (b) Each antenna shall be located within a stealth enclosure that matches the materials, color, and design of the tower on which the antenna is located. (c) All equipment enclosures shall be as small as possible and undergrounded when possible. Building-mounted enclosures shall be located within a stealth enclosure that matches the materials, color, and design of the structure on which the enclosure is located. Ground- mounted enclosures shall have appropriate vegetative buffering to buffer the view from neighboring residences, recreation areas and public roads. The Planning Board may require screening adjacent to waterways, landmarks, refuges, community facilities, or conservation or historic areas within common view of the public. Collocations along New York State-designated Scenic Byways or located within an area listed in the Tompkins County or Town of Ithaca Scenic Resources Inventory must be as visually inconspicuous as possible. The views of, and vistas from, such structures, districts, and corridors shall not be impaired or diminished by the placement of wireless facilities. (d) There shall be no illumination, except in accord with state or federal regulations. (e) No portion of the wireless support structure or its accessory structures shall be used for signs or promotional or advertising purposes, including, but not limited to, company name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons. (f) Access to the facility shall be achieved by using existing public or private roads; no new accessway, driveway or parking area shall be constructed. Equipment or vehicles not used in direct support, renovations, additions, or repair of any wireless facility shall not be stored or parked on the facility site. For Small Wireless Facility Nodes: (a) If the node is located within a public ROW, then the preferable placement locations are the same as in the existing law for towers (e.g., most preferred= collocation on existing towers, utility poles or other structures; least preferred= installing all new poles) (b) If collocation is not possible, then all new poles and equipment must be the same height, color, and finish as surrounding poles. (c) There shall be no exposed wires. All cables and wires associated with the facility leading to and away from the facility shall be installed underground. If undergrounding is not possible, then all cables, wires and connectors must be fully concealed on the wireless support structure and the cable covering or conduit shall match the color of the wireless support structure. There shall be no external cables and wires related to the facility hanging off or otherwise exposed on the wireless support structure. 19 (d) Each antenna shall be located entirely within a shroud or canister type enclosure or a stealth facility. The diameter of an antenna enclosure at its widest point should not be wider than two times the diameter of the top of the wireless support structure. (e) All antenna enclosures shall either be mounted to the top of the wireless support structure pole and aligned with the centerline of the support structure or mounted to the side of the structure such that the vertical centerline of the antenna enclosure will be parallel with the wireless support structure. Stealth enclosures shall match the architecture, materials, color, and design of the structure on which they are located (e.g., streetlight pole, building rooftop chimney, cupolas, etc.) Photo examples of stealth applications include the following (source: stealthconcealment.com): (f) All equipment enclosures shall be as small as possible and undergrounded when possible. Ground-mounted equipment shall incorporate concealment elements into the proposed design, matching the color and materials of the wireless support structure. Concealment may include, but shall not be limited to, landscaping, strategic placement in less obtrusive locations and placement within existing or replacement street furniture (see photo example of stealth pole above). (g) Tree “topping”, or the improper pruning of trees is prohibited. Any proposed pruning or removal of trees, shrubs or other landscaping already existing in the right-of-way must be noted in the site plan application and must be approved by the Planning Board. (h) There shall be no illumination, except in accord with state or federal regulations, or unless the illumination is integral to the camouflaging strategy (e.g., design intended to look like a streetlight pole). (i) Guidelines on placement: node facilities and wireless support structures shall be located: 1. No closer than 1,500 feet away, radially, from another small wireless facility and support structure, unless the telecommunications provider can prove that the facilities need to be closer together to meet a specified legal standard. 2. In alignment with existing trees, utility poles, and streetlights. 3. Equal distance between trees, when possible, with a minimum of 15 feet separation such that no proposed disturbance shall occur within the critical root zone of any tree. 4. So as to be not located along the frontage of any building that: is listed on the National or State Register of Historic Places,; is located in an historic district listed on the National or State Register of Historic Places; or that has been determined by the Commissioner of the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to be eligible for listing on the State Register of Historic Places. [Clarify meaning of “frontage”—does the term mean the entire front property line?] [COC STOPPED HERE ON 11/02/22] 5. At least 250 feet [all setbacks TBD] away from a structure that contains a dwelling unit. 20 6. Facilities along New York State-designated Scenic Byways or located within an area listed in the Tompkins County or Town of Ithaca Scenic Resources Inventory must be as visually inconspicuous as possible. The views of, and vistas from, such structures, districts, and corridors shall not be impaired or diminished by the placement of such facilities. 7. If a streetlight is present, a combination wireless support structure and streetlight pole should only be located where an existing pole can be removed and replaced, or at a location where it has been identified that a streetlight is necessary. (j) Internal administrative staff review by Planning staff is permitted only if a node system is located at least 500 feet from a public right-of-way and from the lot line of any adjoining owner. [In light of COC decisions that are reflected in D(2)-(6) above, does COC still want this? If so, j will be moved to D.] (k) No portion of the wireless support structure or its accessory structures shall be used for signs or promotional or advertising purposes, including, but not limited to, company name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons. For Individual Small Wireless Facility Sites: (a) There shall be no exposed wires. All cables and wires associated with the facility leading to and away from the facility shall be installed underground. If undergrounding is not possible, then all cables, wires and connectors must be fully concealed and the cable covering or conduit shall match the color of the structure on which the Small Wireless Facility is located. There shall be no external cables and wires related to the small wireless facility hanging off or otherwise exposed. (b) Each small wireless antenna shall be located within a stealth enclosure that matches the architecture, materials, color and design of the structure on which the antenna is located (e.g., streetlight pole, building rooftop chimney, cupola, etc.). Examples of stealth applications include the following. Photo examples of stealth applications include the following (source: stealthconcealment.com): (c) All equipment enclosures shall be as small as possible and undergrounded when possible. Building-mounted enclosures shall be located within a stealth enclosure that matches the architecture, materials, color and design of the structure on which the enclosure is located (see photo examples above). Ground-mounted enclosures shall have appropriate vegetative buffering to buffer the view from neighboring residences, recreation areas and public roads. Planning staff may require screening adjacent to waterways, landmarks, refuges, community facilities, or conservation or historic areas within common view of the public. Collocations along New York State-designated Scenic Byways or located within an area listed in the Tompkins County or Town of Ithaca Scenic Resources Inventory must be as visually inconspicuous as possible. The views of, and vistas from, such structures, districts, and corridors shall not be impaired or diminished by the placement of such facilities. 21 (d) There shall be no illumination, except in accord with state or federal regulations, or unless the illumination is integral to the camouflaging strategy (e.g., design intended to look like a streetlight pole). (e) No Small Wireless Facility shall be located in a historic district that has been listed in the State or National Registers of Historic Places. (f) No portion of the wireless support structure or its accessory structures shall be used for signs or promotional or advertising purposes, including, but not limited to, company name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons. (g) Access to the Small Wireless Facility shall be achieved by using existing public or private roads; no new accessway, driveway or parking area shall be constructed. Equipment or vehicles not used in direct support, renovations, additions, or repair of any wireless facility shall not be stored or parked on the facility site. [Inserted below are the aesthetic criteria for non-small cell wireless facilities that COC reviewed (in a separate document) at its 11/02/22 meeting. Red-lining shows the changes COC made. Will fix numbering/lettering later.] (2) Aesthetic criteria applicable to Non-Small Cell Wireless Facilities: (a) The facility shall have the least practical visual effect on the environment, as determined by the Planning Board. (b) There shall be no exposed wires except for any guy wires. All cables and wires associated with the facility leading to and away from the facility must be fully concealed and the cable covering or conduit shall match the color of the structure on which the facility is located. There shall be no external cables and wires related to the facility hanging off or otherwise exposed. (c) There shall be no illumination, except in accord with state or federal regulations. Towers shall not be artificially lighted and marked beyond the requirements of the FAA. Motion- activated or staff-activated security lighting around the base of a facility or accessory structure entrance may be provided if such lighting complies with Town Code Chapter 173 (Lighting, Outdoor). Such lighting should only occur when the area around the tower has been entered. (d) Any tower that is not subject to FAA marking as set forth above shall otherwise have a galvanized finish or shall be painted gray above the surrounding tree line and gray or green below the tree line, as deemed appropriate by the Planning Board, or be disguised or camouflaged to blend in with the surroundings, to the extent that such alteration does not impair the ability of the facility to perform its designed function. (e) Accessory structures shall maximize the use of building materials, colors, and textures designed to blend in with the natural surroundings. Ground-mounted enclosures and fences shall have appropriate vegetative buffering to buffer the view from neighboring residences, recreation areas and public roads. The Planning Board may require screening adjacent to waterways, landmarks, parkland, community facilities, or conservation or historic areas within common view of the public. 22 (f) No portion of the wireless support structure or its accessory structures shall be used for signs or promotional or advertising purposes, including, but not limited to, company name, phone numbers, banners, streamers, and balloons. (g) Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible. Tree “topping,” or the improper pruning of trees is prohibited. There shall be no cutting of trees exceeding four inches in diameter (measured at a height of four feet off the ground) in connection with the proposed facility prior to the granting of site plan approval. Any proposed pruning or removal of trees, shrubs or other existing landscaping must be noted in the site plan application and must be approved by the Planning Board. (h) Equipment or vehicles not used in direct support, renovations, additions, or repair of any wireless facility shall not be stored or parked on the facility site. (i) Where permitted, accessways shall make maximum use of existing public or private roads to the extent practicable. New accessways constructed solely for telecommunication facilities must be at least twelve, but no more than twenty-four feet wide, and closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential. (j) Where permitted, parking areas shall be sufficient to accommodate the usual number of service vehicles expected on the premises at any one time. Driveways or parking areas shall provide adequate interior turnaround, such that service vehicles will not have to back out onto a public thoroughfare. KM. Dimensional standards. (1) A fall zone around any tower constructed as part of a telecommunications non-Small Wireless fFacility must have a radius at least equal to the height of the tower and any attached antennae. The entire fall zone may not include public roads and must be located on property either owned or leased by the applicant or for which the applicant has obtained an easement, and may not, except as set forth below, contain any structure other than those associated with the telecommunications facility. If the fFacility is attached to an existing structure, relief may be granted by specific permission of the Planning Board on a case-by- case basis if it is determined by such Board after submission of competent evidence, that the waiver of this requirement will not endanger the life, health, welfare or property of any person. In granting any such waiver, the Board may impose any conditions reasonably necessary to protect the public or other property from potential injury. [This was written for large towers. Require fall zones only for non-small cell support structures such as poles and towers (not for buildings, water towers, and the like)?] [COC decided at its 8-31-22 meeting to apply fall zone criteria to facilities over 50 feet tall.] (2) All telecommunication non-Small Wireless fFacilities shall be located on a single parcel. [Again, this was written for large towers. Do not apply this to nodes?] [COC decided at its 8-31-22 meeting to apply the single parcel requirement to facilities over 50 feet tall.] (3) All telecommunication Personal Wireless Service fFacilities shall comply with the setback, frontage, minimum lot size, and yard standards of the underlying zoning district and the fall zone requirements of this section. To the extent there is a conflict, the more restrictive provision shall govern. The size of the leased or owned lot, together with any land over 23 which the applicant has obtained an easement, shall be, at a minimum, sufficiently large to include the entire fall zone. All lots leased or owned for the purpose of construction of a tower as part of a telecommunications Personal Wireless Service fFacility shall conform, at a minimum, to the lot size requirements of the underlying zoning district or the size of lot necessary to encompass the entire fall zone (to the extent easements for any part of the fall zone that extends outside the minimum lot size permitted in the zoning district have not been obtained), whichever requirement results in a larger lot. [At its 8/31/22 meeting, COC decided to allow an adjacent lot without any Facilities to provide part of a fall zone. But COC then decided all Facilities must be on a separate lot, so it is not clear whether it still wants to allow an adjacent lot to provide part of a fall zone. Please clarify.] (4) Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary of any other article of this chapter, the front, side, and rear yard requirements of the underlying zoning district in which a telecommunications facility is erected shall apply not only to a tower, but also to all tower parts, including guy wires and anchors, and to any accessory buildings and cabinets. LN. Accessways and parking. [Staff will identify whether this section may be deleted, as most of the provisions are now in the Design standards.] MO. Security. (1) Towers, anchor points of guyed towers, and accessory structures shall each be surrounded by fencing at least eight feet in height, the top foot of which may, at the discretion of the Planning Board (where site plan is required) or Director of Planning in deference to the character of the neighborhood, be comprised of three- strands of barbed wire to discourage unauthorized access to the site. The Planning Board (where site plan is required) or Director of Planning may waive the requirement of fencing if, in its /their discretion, it/they determines that other forms of security are adequate, or that, by reason of location or occupancy, security will not be significantly compromised by the omission, or reduction in size, of the otherwise required fencing. [Recommendations from staff: Delete any discretion, either by PB or staff. Just allow the fence provision and that’s it. Perhaps consider repeating buffering language from other areas of the law where landscaping/buffering is required around equipment shelters, etc.] (2) 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 and otherwise complies with Town Code Chapter 173 (Lighting, Outdoor). Such lighting should only occur when the area within the fenced perimeters has been entered. (3) There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet of the ground of any tower. (4) The Planning Board (where site plan is required) or Director of Planning may require a locked gate at the junction of the accessway and a public thoroughfare may be required to obstruct entry by unauthorized vehicles. Such gate must not protrude into the public right-of- way. [At its 8/31/22 meeting, COC decided to require a locked gate if the accessway is greater than x feet (with staff to recommend the distance). Marty M now recommends deleting subsection (4), as it contradicts NYS Fire Code language and is a typical part of a 24 company's safety feature. COC to discuss this.] NP. Removal. [Chris B is doing more research on this section and may have further recommendations for COC, so no changes made yet to this section.] 1. Bond Requirement: At, or prior to the filing of an Application for a Special Use Permit for the installation of a new Personal Wireless Service Facility, each respective Applicant shall provide a written estimate for the cost of the decommissioning and removal of the Facility, including all equipment that comprises any portion or part of the Facility, compound and/or Complex, as well as any Accessory Facility or Structure, including the cost of the full restoration and reclamation of the site, to the extent practicable, to its condition before development in accord with the decommissioning and reclamation plan required herein. The Planning Board’s engineer shall review this estimate. Upon receiving a special use permit approval from the Planning Board, and a building permit, prior to the commencement of installation and/ or construction of such Facility or any part thereof, the Applicant shall file with the Town a bond for a length of no less than three years in an amount equal to or exceeding the estimate of the cost of removal of the Facility and all associated Structures, fencing, power supply, and other appurtenances connected with the Facility. The bond must be provided within thirty (30) days of the approval date and before any installation or construction begins. Replacement bonds must be provided ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of any previous bond. At any time the Town has good cause to question the sufficiency of the bond at the end of any three-year period, the owner and/ or operator of the Facility, upon request by the Town, shall provide an updated estimate and bond in the appropriate amount. Failure to keep the bonds in effect is cause for removal of the Facility at the owner's expense. A separate bond will be required for each Facility, regardless of the number of owners or the location. 2. Removal of Abandoned FacilitiesAny Personal Wireless Service Facility that is not operated or used for a continuous period of twelve (12) consecutive months shall be considered abandoned. At the owner's expense, the owner of said Facility shall be required to remove the Facility and all associated equipment buildings, power supply, fence, and other items associated with such Facility, compound and/ or Complex, and permitted with, the Facility. If the Facility is not removed within ninety (90) days, the bond secured by the Tower owner shall be used to remove the Facility and any Accessory Equipment and Structures. [More provisions to come] [Below are new RF emission certification provisions to review at the 12/14/22 meeting. They will be integrated into the law at the appropriate place.] 25 Certification of Compliance with RF Emission Limits Within forty-five (45) days of initial operation or modification of a PWSF, the owner and/or operator of each telecommunications Antenna shall submit to the Director of Code Enforcement a written certification by a licensed professional engineer, sworn to under penalties of perjury, that the PWSF’s radio frequency emissions comply with the applicable FCC Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) limits for General Population/Uncontrolled Exposure codified in 47 CFR § 1.1310(e)(l), Table 1 or any successor regulation. The licensed professional engineer shall measure the emissions of the approved PWSF as well as (where required by FCC regulation, bulletin, order or guidance) the cumulative emissions from other nearby PWSFs, and determine if such emissions are within the FCC’s MPE limits referenced above. The PWSF owner and/or operator shall submit to the Director of Code Enforcement a report of these measurements and the engineer's findings with respect to compliance with the FCC's MPE limits. If the report shows that the PWSF does not comply with applicable limits, then the owner and operator shall immediately cease operation of the PWSF until the PWSF is brought into compliance with such limits. Proof of compliance shall be a written certification by a licensed professional engineer, sworn to under penalties of perjury, that the PWSF’s radio frequency emissions comply with the applicable FCC MPE limits. The Town may require, at the applicant's expense, independent verification of the results of this analysis. After submission of the proof of compliance with the FCC’s MPE limits described above, the PWSF owner and/or operator shall thereafter provide proofs of compliance with the applicable FCC MPE limits no less frequently than twelve (12) months after the date of submission of the last proof of compliance. All of the provisions applicable to the initial submission shall apply to subsequent submissions. The Town shall have the right to employ a licensed professional engineer to conduct random and unannounced tests of PWSFs located within the Town to certify their compliance with the FCC’s MPE limits. The Town may cause such random testing to be conducted as often as the Town may deem appropriate. However, the Town may not require the owner and/or operator to pay for more than one Town test per PWSF per calendar year, unless such testing reveals that one or more of the owner and/or operator's PWSFs are exceeding the FCC’s MPE limits. In such a case, the owner and operator shall immediately cease operation of all PWSFs that do not comply with the MPE limits until the owner or operator submits proof of compliance as described above. Within forty-five (45) days of the Town’s receipt of such proof of compliance, the Town may 26 conduct a follow-up test at the owner and/or operator’s expense to verify compliance. [COC to discuss with Marty whether specific enforcement provisions need to be added such as the following from the Fishkill law, or whether existing Town Code provisions cover enforcement. Fishkill’s enforcement provisions]: If the Town at any time finds that there is good cause to believe that a Personal Wireless Service Facility and/or one or more of its antennas are emitting RF radiation at levels in excess of the legal limits permitted under 47 CFR §1.13 l0(e)(l) et seq., then a hearing shall be scheduled before the Planning Board at which the owner and/or operator of such Facility shall be required to show cause why any and all permits and/or approvals issued by the Town for such Facility and/or Facilities should not be revoked, and a fine should not be assessed against such owner and/or operator. Such hearing shall be duly noticed to both the public and the owner and/or operator of the respective Facility or Facilities at issue. The owner and/or operator shall be afforded not less than two (2) weeks written notice by first-class mail to its Notice Address. At such hearing, the burden shall be on the Town to show that, by a preponderance of the evidence, the Facilities emissions exceeded the permissible limits under 47 CFR §1.1310(e)(1) et seq. In the event that the Town establishes same, the owner and/or operator shall then be required to establish, by clear and convincing evidence, that a malfunction of equipment caused their failure to comply with the applicable limits through no fault on the part of the owner/operator. If the owner and/or operator fails to establish same, the Planning Board shall have the power to, and shall revoke any special use permit, variance, building permit, and/or any other form of zoning-related approval(s) which the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Zoning Administrator and/or any other representative of the Town may have then issued to the owner and/or operator, for the respective Facility. In addition, the Planning Board shall impose a fine of not less than $1,000, nor more than $5,000 for such violation of subparagraph 1. hereinabove, or, in the case of a second offense within less than five (5) years, a minimum fine of $5,000, nor more than $25,000. In the event that an owner or operator of one or more personal wireless Facilities is found to violate subparagraph 1. hereinabove, three or more times within any five (5) year period, then in addition to revoking any zoning approvals for the Facilities which were violating the limits codified in 47 CFR §1.13 l0(e)(l) et seq., the Planning Board shall render a determination within which it shall deem the owner/operator prohibited from filing any Applications for any new 27 wireless personal services Facilities within the Town for a period of five (5) years. [More provisions to come]