Public Hearing Regarding Communications Tower Site

Transcription

1 Public Hearing Regarding Communications Tower Site Presenters: Mike Harper L.R. Kimball Project Manager Brian Malinich, PE L.R. Kimball

2 Decision Making Process Municipalities such as Ontario County must go through a process to determine whether the project is exempt from local zoning. 1. The nature and scope of the instrumentality seeking immunity. 2. The kind of function or land use involved. 3. The extent of the public interest to be served thereby. 4. The effect local land use regulation would have upon the enterprise concerned. 5. The impact upon legitimate local interests. 6. The applicant s legislative grant of authority. 7. Alternative locations for the facility in less restrictive zoning areas. 8. Alternative methods of providing the needed improvements. 9. Intergovernmental participation in the project development and an opportunity to be heard.

3 Why a Tower In Yates County? Ontario County dispatches both fire and ambulance service for more than 70% of the Town of Italy. y In the past eighteen months, Ontario County has dispatched fire and ambulance services 81 times to Italy.

4 Why a Tower in Yates County?

5 Why Not Use the Existing Tower Structural Analyses were performed, the tower failed.

6 Exemption from Zoning Analysis

7 Updates since April 14 Hearing Items for Consideration Site selection and evaluation of alternative tower locations Unclear zoning criteria Property value impacts Radio emissions analysis

8 Site Selection Criteria Need Sufficient sites to provide required coverage Site Selection Priority Existing County owned sites Lease sites if useable Willing Landowner, build our own

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11 Coverage without Town of Italy Site

12 Site Selection Criteria Tall enough for line of sight to adjacent sites. Maximum height 250 feet (established in GEIS) Tall enough to maintain line of sight with other towers in the network (at least 140 feet) Low enough to meet FCC and Canadian requirements Must keep emissions inside of defined service area Line of sight needed for microwave connectivity Existing fiber evaluated and rejected Will not provide the required levels of reliability Existing county fiber is all above ground Ice storms, wind storms will take down fiber killing radio communications

13 Monroe County Ontario County Wayne County Seneca County Livingston County Yates County Steuben County

14 Viable Locations - Town of Italy

15 Area outside of protected Viewsheds and 8,000 ft. from other towers 8,000 ft. around existing towers

16 Effect of Local Regulation Current zoning regulation precludes a new tower at Shay Road Site or Parish Hill County could not build a tower at Shay Road site Closer than 8,000 feet to existing SBA Parish Hill Tower In viewshed of Scenic Area E Exceeds tower setback limits County cannot place a new tower at Parish Hill Road site Setback Requirements Existing Tower does not meet zoning setback requirements New tower of sufficient height cannot meet setback requirements In viewshed of Scenic Area E Less than 5% of Town is available for tower without formal site plan review.

17 Effect of Local Regulation Decreased System Coverage Re-design of microwave network Decreased safety for first responders and citizens Limited opportunity ty for new sites

18 Mobile Talk Back, With Shay Road Tower

19 Mobile Talk Back, Without Shay Road Tower

20 Portable Talk Out, With Shay Road Tower

21 Portable Talk Out, Without Shay Road Tower

22 Were Alternate Sites Considered?

23 Alternate Sites Suggested by Town

24 Alternate Sites County evaluated several alternate sites Parish Hill Road Shay Road South Hill Road Hatch Hill area (multiple sites)

25 Alternate Sites Parish Hill Road Site (SBA Middlesex) Can provide coverage, desired antenna mounting heights unavailable. Failed multiple structural analyses Preferred mounting locations unavailable Insufficient ground space for shelter, generator, fuel tank

26 SBA Parish Hill Rd Structural Analyses were performed, the tower failed.

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28 Alternate Sites Shay Road Alternate Does not provide needed coverage Not inside buildable zone because of Scenic Districts South Hill Does not provide needed coverage

29 Alternate Sites Hatch Hill Area Considered 3 sites all provided excellent coverage Hatch Hill 1 Private Property owner Significant costs for extension of access road and utilities (>$200,000) Owner not interested Hatch Hill 2 DEC Property, not viable Hatch Hill 3 Private Property owner Significant costs for extension of access road and utilities (>$400,000) 000) Owner not interested

30 Additional Alternate Sites County has reviewed other sites No single site appears to provide same levels of coverage Combinations of two sites may provide sufficient coverage in the Town and Village of Naples Difficult to fit into looped microwave network

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32 Property Value Impacts

33 Property Value Impact Property Value Impact? Few if any definitive studies, mostly for denser suburban areas. Towers are common, and with expansion of cellular and wireless technologies, they are becoming more common.

34 Registered tower locations

35 Property value impact Property Value Impact? Yates County Office of Real Property Tax Reported no negative impact on property values of surrounding properties in years after tower construction. Based on Yates County yproperty p assessments Town of Italy has second highest property tax rate in Yates County. Source: t t /di National Association of Homebuilders report Property Tax has a negative effect on property p value All documents will be included as part of final report.

36 Radio Emissions Analysis

37 Radio Emissions Analysis Health and Safety Impact? FCC has jurisdiction over emissions FCC has strict standards for emissions from ANY transmission facility (OET 65) All county sites are well below the FCC limits Shay Road site well below limits Performed calculations at 1130 Watts output Planned max output will be on order of 710 Watts

38 Radio Emissions Analysis MPE Percent Level Feet % of Total Status 0 to 20% Low 40, Pass 21% to 50% Medium 0 0 N/A 51% to 100% High 0 0 N/A > 100% Exceeds 0 0 N/A

39 Microwave Analysis Microwave is not included in Radio Emissions calculations Highly directional Focused beam, dish to dish Power drops dramatically behind dish Microwave emissions Motorola Droid Razr Maxx cell phone milliwatts Standing 100 feet behind the dish is exposed to a signal level l of milliwatts. This represents a billion times less energy than use of a cell phone.

40 Summary

41 Summary New System needed to meet federal narrowbanding mandates and interoperability guidelines System must cover areas in Ontario, Livingston, Wayne and Yates Counties Site is needed in Yates County to provide critical communications for first responders Town of Italy zoning precludes towers in large majority of Town Towers in Town of Italy have not impacted property values Site complies with FCC guidelines regarding emissions

42 Comments in Writing Karen DeMay Clerk Ontario County Board of Supervisors 20 Ontario St Canandaigua, NY ontario ny