The shared use of existing personal wireless service facilities or other structures shall be preferred to the construction of new facilities. Any special use permit application, renewal or modification thereof shall include proof that reasonable efforts have been made to collocate within an existing personal wireless service facility or upon an existing structure within a reasonable distance, regardless of municipal boundaries, of the site. The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed personal wireless service facility cannot be accommodated on existing personal wireless service facilities due to one or more of the following reasons:,

A. The planned equipment would exceed the structural capacity of existing and approved personal wireless service facilities or other structures, considering existing and planned use for those facilities;

B. The planned equipment would cause radio frequency interference with other existing or planned equipment, which cannot be reasonably prevented;

C. Existing or approved personal wireless service facilities or other structures do not have 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; and

E. The property owner or owner of the existing personal wireless service facility or other structure refuses to allow such collocation or requests an unreasonably high fee for such collocation compared to current industry rates.

F. Existing or approved personal wireless service facilities cannot provide necessary coverage for a designated geographic area.

Personal wireless service facilities shall comply with all existing setbacks for accessory structures within the affected zoning district. Setbacks shall apply to all tower parts, including guy wire anchors, and to any accessory structures.

Towers shall not be artificially lighted except to assure human safety and/or compliance as required by the FAA.

A. The maximum height for towers permitted under this article, including any antennas or other devices extending above the tower, measured from the ground surface, shall be 150 feet.

B. Towers shall be galvanized finish and painted gray, green, blue or similar colors designed to blend into the natural surroundings below the surrounding tree line unless other standards are required by the FAA. Accessory uses shall maximize use of building materials, colors and textures designed to blend with the natural surroundings.

C. The project shall be designed to blend with the natural and/or man-made surrounding to the maximum extent practicable.

D. Structures offering slender silhouettes (i. e. , monopole, flagpole, light pole or stealth-style installation) shall be preferable to freestanding lattice structures. The Zoning Board of Appeals may require stealth-style installation such as light pole, flagpole or similar type structure.

E. The applicant must examine the feasibility of designing a proposed tower to accommodate future demand for additional facilities.

A. Existing on-site vegetation shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible, and no cutting of trees exceeding three inches in diameter shall take place prior to approval of the special use permit. Clear cutting of all trees in a single contiguous area shall be minimized to the extent possible.

B. The Zoning Board of Appeals may require appropriate vegetative buffering around the fences of the tower base area, accessory structures and the anchor points of guyed towers to buffer their view from neighboring residences, recreation areas, waterways, historic or scenic areas, or public roads.

A. A road and parking area will be provided to assure adequate emergency and service access. Maximum use of existing roads, public or private, shall be made. Road construction shall be consistent with standards for private roads and shall at all times minimize ground disturbance and vegetation cutting. Road grades shall closely follow natural contours to assure minimal visual disturbance and reduce soil erosion potential.

B. Equipment, other than that necessary for the operation of the personal wireless service facility, and/or vehicles shall not be stored on the facility site.

Except as required by the FAA, FCC or OSHA, signage is prohibited on personal wireless service facilities, towers and antennas. Required signs shall not exceed minimum requirements as set forth by the FCC, FAA and/or OSHA. The Zoning Board of Appeals may require the installation of signage with safety information.

A. Towers, anchor points around guyed towers, and accessory structures shall each be surrounded by fencing not less than six feet in height.

B. There shall be no permanent climbing pegs within 15 feet of the ground.

C. Motion-activated or staff-activated security lighting around the base of a tower or accessory structure entrance may be required. Such lighting shall not project off the facility site.

D. A locked gate at the junction of the accessway and a public thoroughfare shall be required to obstruct entry by unauthorized vehicles and/or persons. Such gate must not protrude into the public thoroughfare.

A. All personal wireless service facilities shall be built, operated and maintained to acceptable industry standards. Each application must contain a site plan for the proposed facility containing the signature of an engineer licensed by the State of New York.

B. Every facility shall be inspected at least every year for structural integrity by a New York State licensed engineer. A copy of the inspection report shall be submitted to the Town of Babylon Planning Department every year.

At the time of submission of the application for a personal wireless service facility, the applicant shall submit an agreement to remove all antennas, driveways, structures, buildings, equipment sheds, lighting, utilities, fencing, gates, accessory equipment or structures, as well as any tower used as a personal wireless service facility if such facility becomes technologically obsolete or ceases to perform its originally intended function for more than six consecutive months. Upon removal, the land shall be restored to its previous condition, including, but not limited to, seeding of exposed soils.

This article shall take effect immediately when it is filed in the Office of the New York State Secretary of State in accordance with § 27 of the Municipal Home Rule Law.

**Webmasters Note: The previous Article has been added as per Local Law No. 24-2002.