DAS Antennas in Scarsdale: Planning Board Considers New Code

In response to an application by Crown Castle to install antennas in residential areas of Scarsdale, the Planning Board held a work session to discuss some potential changes to the latest draft of a proposed zoning ordinance regulating installation of Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) technology on Wednesday July 17. These regulations would apply to antennas installed on roads and properties governed by Scarsdale Village. Crown Castle has already installed antennas on state-owned roads in the Village, and did so without receiving approval from the Village of Scarsdale.

The purpose of the latest draft of the proposed rules regulating the installation of these facilities (as sited in the proposed Article XII) is as follows: "It is the intent of the Village to protect and promote the health, safety and general welfare of its residents by establishing an orderly process for regulating the siting of wireless telecommunications facilities while balancing the need for adequate service levels. Therefore, the purposes of the article are to establish standards for the safe provision of telecommunication services consistent with applicable state and federal law, to minimize the adverse visual impact of wireless facilities through proper design, site placement, height limitation and vegetative screening and thereby to retain the residential character of the village and maintain property values."

During this meeting, there were a few revisions to the proposed draft, which primarily deals with the zoning regulations and technicalities to which all wireless telecommunications facilities must adhere when installing additional wireless telecommunication facilities (nodes.)

The most important part of Article XII pertains to the granting of Special Use Permits to applicants. All applicants must obtain a Special Use Permit from the Planning Board, and the draft states that "no wireless telecommunications facility shall be constructed or installed until the application is reviewed and approved by the Planning Board and/or building inspector, and a special use permit has been issued." The Planning Board is authorized to review, analyze, evaluate, approve, reissue and revoke special use permits for any wireless telecommunications facility in Scarsdale. This Special Use Permit is valid for five years; after which it may be renewed if it's still in compliance with all criteria required to obtain a Special Use Permit, and it follows all applicable local, state and federal statutory laws. However, the Planning Board may also choose not to renew this permit after five years, or terminate it at any time, if it is necessary to modify the conditions of this Article XII in order to protect the public.

We asked Scarsdale Village Planner if the proposed new code will stipulate a minimum distance between a residence and a DAS antenna, and here is what she explained, "While there is no specific distance requirement between a DAS antenna and a residence, as proposed, the DAS antenna would be located in the right of way. The Village zoning code has front yard setback requirements which run from the property line, at the edge of the right of way, to the residence. The front yard setback requirements range from 30 ft. to 75 ft. depending on the zoning district."

At the meeting the Planning Board discussed the latest draft and then proposed that the Village Attorney incorporate the following provisions into a new draft to be considered at a subsequent meeting. Once the code is passed by the Planning Board it will be sent to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Here are the latest provisions:

The Planning Board is authorized to issue this Special Use Permit to an applicant, provided that the applicant meets the following standards (the permit won't be granted if it fails to meet these criteria):

1) The applicant must seek to attach a wireless telecommunications facility to a structure that is 100 or more feet in height, and not part of the water distribution system.
2) The applicant's facility must be no less than 350 feet from the nearest school, day-care center or place of worship
3) The applicant must seek pre-approval by the Board for all modifications of wireless telecommunication facilities to ensure that they pose no public safety risks.
4) The proposed wireless telecommunications facility must be the least intrusive means of closing a significant gap in wireless services.
5) Every wireless telecommunications facility shall be designed, constructed, maintained and operated in a manner that minimizes noise and traffic to surrounding areas
6) Every wireless telecommunications facility shall be protected against unauthorized access
7) The approving authority (Scarsdale Village) may require that the facility be enclosed by a fence
8) Wireless telecommunications facilities must comply with applicable laws and regulations regarding radiofrequency emissions. Applicants must, at all times, comply with individual and cumulative standards for environmental effects of radiofrequency emissions, and must demonstrate compliance with those standards upon request.
i. If at any time, the radio frequency emissions are not in compliance with applicable standards, the village will be notified and the wireless communication facility will immediately be terminated.
1. Before resuming operation, the operator must explain the cause of the failure to comply with radio frequency emission standards, and demonstrate that all measures have been taken to correct the failure and to ensure the prevention of any future non-compliance.
ii. Applicants must submit a report signed by an expert on calculation of radio frequency emissions containing information about the
1. Transmission and maximum effective radiated power
2. Direction of maximum lobes and associated radiation
9) Applicants are expected to use an existing building or structure for placement of wireless telecommunications facilities, unless they prove that no existing structure provides a suitable location for the facility.
i. If there are no suitable existing structures for the wireless telecommunications facility and a new support structure is indeed necessary, every structure must be a monopole (rather than a self-supporting lattice or guy-wire support tower)
10) The applicant must document additional capacity for future shared use of the support structure. This additional capacity must be left available to future applicants providing wireless services.
11) For any wireless telecommunications facility being placed in the street, its new support structure must be a utility pole. This utility pole must have physical dimensions consistent with existing poles in the area, and it must be made available for use by utilities and cable systems, as well as the wireless communication facilities (the utility pole does not carry the sole purpose of sustaining WTC facilities.)
12) The antenna array (one or more rods, panels, discs or similar devices used for the transmission/reception of radio frequency signals) can't extend more than 120 feet when measured from the base of the attachment structure. In other words, the maximum height of a wireless telecommunications facility with a support structure cannot exceed 120 feet.
13) A wireless telecommunications facility must have minimal adverse visual impact on surrounding areas, parks and roadways
i. An antenna array shall be of colors that are harmonious with the exterior of the attachment structure
ii. A support structure shall be of a neutral color that is harmonious with the surrounding natural features, buildings and structures
iii. When a fence is required to secure a wireless telecommunications facility, the outside of that fence shall be landscaped with trees or shrubs
iv. Applicant must provide a landscape plan outlining the existing trees to be preserved, the location and dimensions of proposed planting areas, the size, type and number of trees/shrubs to be planted, etc.
14) Lights or illumination of wireless telecommunications facility are prohibited unless required by applicable law
15) Signs for wireless telecommunications facility are prohibited unless required by applicable law
16) Any applicant's violations of this article are punishable by a fine of $1000 per day, or imprisonment of a period of 15 days.

The list above does not include all of the provisions outlined in the proposed Article XII, which spells out, in detail, every single aspect of the wireless telecommunication system as it relates to the impact on our town. However, this list does highlight some of the more important rules and regulations that are relevant to Scarsdale residents.

Since Next G, now Crown Castle, proposed the installation of the antennas on residential streets, concerned residents have appeared at several meetings to urge the Village to regulate the placement of these boxes. While the Planning Board is barred by federal law from preventing the installation of the antennas due to health concerns about radio waves, they can make stipulations in regard to how and where they can be placed and the proposed code should give the Village more authority and control over the installation of antennas by private carriers in the Village right-of-way.