MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE TOWN OF ELLICOTT PLANNING BOARD HELD AT THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING, 215 SOUTH WORK STREET, FALCONER, NY 14733 ON AUGUST 8, 2001 at 7:00 P.M.

 

PRESENT:  Chairman Dan Evans, Gary Swanson, Ron Calanni, David Carlberg,

                      and Code Enforcement Officer Randy Woodbury

 

ABSENT:   Becky Goodell, Bob Pickett, Pat McLaughlin and Attorney William Wright.

 

Chairman Evans called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

 

Motion made by Ron Calanni, seconded by Dave Carlberg to accept the minutes of the June 13, 2001 meeting.

 

Carried.         Ayes-4             Noes-0             Absent-3

 

Cathy J. Bardenstein, Esquire, attorney for SBA Properties, Inc. presented a site plan for a 150-foot telecommunications tower on property owned by Ronald L. McKillip at 3108 Eckman Rd., Jamestown, NY. They had received approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals on July 23, 2001 for their special use permit.

 

Discussion followed on:

1)      Stability of the tower – Ms. Bardenstein briefed the Board members on the stability of the tower and that it would withstand 70 mph winds – she said if the tower failed it would bend but not fall down because of the structure of the tower.

2)      Fence and access road – Ms. Bardenstein stated they would have chain link fence with barbered wire and there were no plans for a gate on the access road.

3)      Soil testing – The testing would be done after approval and Mr. Woodbury stated he would be checking that before issuing the building permit.

4)      Difference between the PCS and cellular carriers – Ms. Bardenstein explained that they use different frequencies.

5)      Approval for each co-locator – The ZBA had stipulated that they must notify the code enforcement officer of each additional co-locator and Mr. Woodbury said that the Planning Board could decide if they needed to come for site plan review.

6)      Need for more towers – the new cellular phones are smaller and have less range.

7)      Southern Tier topography – makes the placement of the towers more difficult.

8)      Need for more antennas or cabinets

9)      Lease agreement – copy of lease is provided in the application packet.

10)  Set backs – Town code does not address towers and so has no set back requirements.

11)  Airport position – the airport does not want any towers within 10 miles of the airport.

12)  Pilots position – the pilots would like to have a red light on the towers – not strobe lights.

13)  SBA’s policy toward competition – they want as many co-locators on the tower as possible without interference.

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AUGUST 8, 2001

PAGE TWO

 

14)  Access for code enforcement officer – Ms. Bardenstein stated Mr. Woodbury could contact them at any time for access

15)  Lights – consensus was  there should be one red light and no strobe light on the tower

16)  Insurance policy- Mr. Woodbury asked if the Town should be named as an insured in the insurance policy – the Board members thought that would be an issue for Attorney Wright.

Todd Boardman, 2464 Horton Rd., Jamestown, NY, stated his concerns with this tower. His daughter has severe health problems and they feel this tower might have harmful effects on her. They cannot prove that would be the case but Mr. Boardman stated they also cannot prove it would not be harmful.  Two of his brothers also have cancer and his parents have towers on their property. He said the Town has no policy concerning towers and felt they should have one in place before allowing more towers in a residential area. 

 

Chairman Evans stated that these issues should have been brought before the Zoning Board of Appeals because they have already approved the special use permit and that this Boards’ job was to address the site plan.  

 

Gary Swanson asked how Mr. Boardman thought the tower would specifically affect his daughter and Mr. Boardman stated  he was not a medical expert but nothing has been proven either way.

 

Ms. Bardenstein stated that calculations for the towers at 150 feet show the emissions right under the tower were 1.146% and even less as you move away from the tower.

 

Mr. Woodbury stated that the burden has been taken away from the Town because the FCC legal council says these issues cannot be addressed. Mr. Woodbury and Ms. Bardenstein found in the code a section that stated this.

 

Chairman Evans read into record part IV of U S Code 47 Section 332 that states “ no State or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply with the Commission’s regulations concerning such emissions”. 

 

Charles Hodges, 2559 Horton Rd., Jamestown, NY, stated he was at this meeting as a private resident and not representing the airport.  The airport position had already been stated.  He asked if this project was too far along to have the Town put a six-month moratorium on towers until they come up with a policy. 

 

Chairman Evans told Mr. Hodges that his request should have been made before the ZBA had approved the special use permit and that the request would have to be made to the Town Board. The Planning Board was only addressing the site plan. 

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AUGUST 8, 2001

PAGE THREE

 

Chairman Evans said that because the Board members normally have Attorney Wright present at their meetings and since there have been issues brought up that may require legal advise the Board members would like to table this application until the September meeting.

 

Ms. Bardenstein objected to this application being tabled because the issues that were being brought up are specifically for the Zoning Board and they have already obtained their special use permit.  She said if any action were taken now to jeopardize their approval legal action would be taken and asked the Board at the very least to schedule their meeting early in the month. 

 

Chairman Evans stated their regular meeting would be on September 12, 2001. 

 

Mr. Woodbury stated for the record that is has been a constant practice for the Planning Board to have their Attorney at meetings to direct the Board on any possible legal issues.

 

Motion made by Ron Calanni, seconded by Dave Carlberg to table this application for SBA Properties, Inc. until the September 12, 2001 meeting.

 

Carried.                   Ayes-4                  Noes-0                   Absent-3

 

Ms. Bardenstein asked if the Board to go though the site plan checklist to make sure that the applicant would have everything needed for the September meeting. 

 

The Board members agreed that would be helpful for the site plan review. They continued with the site plan checklist and noted:

1)      there will be an access gate to the facility off the road so that a tractor-trailer can enter that was agreed upon by the owner

2)      the driveway will have a 12” sluice pipe

3)      there will be no water or sewer service

4)      the only sign will be a fence sign that is required to show the owner and contact person

5)      no landscaping – they will clear only the 70’ x 70’ area for the tower – existing vegetation and trees are existing

6)      the projected project schedule is 4 to 8 weeks from approval date

7)      project cost is approximately $250,000

8)      they will need approval from the FCC and  FAA - there was a copy of the lease agreement in the application packet

9)      there will be a red light on the tower and no strobe lights

10)  Attorney Wright will be contacted about the insurance issue

11)  applicant will provide the code enforcement officer access to the property

 

This site plan review will be continued on September 12, 2001.

 

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AUGUST 8, 2001

PAGE FOUR

 

Mr. Woodbury requested the Board review some changes for the State Police Barracks on North Main Street Ext., Jamestown, NY.  The State Police want to add an outdoor storage shed (8’ x 12’).  Mr. Woodbury said that he brought it before the Planning Board to see if they thought he could issue a building permit or if they needed to come before the Board for a revision to the site plan.  The Board felt if there was no legal issues he could issue the permit without site plan review.  Mr. Woodbury will check with Attorney Wright.

 

Mr. Woodbury had a similar request from the Kwik Fill station on Fairmount Ave., W.E., Jamestown, NY.  The Board again were in agreement that if there were no legal issues he could issue the building permit.  Mr. Woodbury will contact Attorney Wright.

 

Todd Boardman, representing Bethel Baptist Church, requested a sketch plan conference to review the addition of a playground to the site.  He told the Board members that the Church had contacted a company that will design the playground for them.  They might consider doing the work in three phases because of the cost.  He wanted to check with the Town on the procedure because they are trying to be good neighbors. 

 

Gary Swanson asked if the ditch was being maintained and Mr. Woodbury stated that he had been up there and with all the work the ditch is almost maintenance free.

 

Mr. Woodbury said that with the approval of the Board he would contact Attorney Wright and issue the permit if there are no legal issues.  He told Mr. Boardman he would check into whether they would need a building permit for the playground.

 

Motion made by Gary Swanson, seconded by Dave Carlberg to adjourn the meeting at 8:55 P.M.

 

Carried                 Ayes-4                     Noes-0                     Absent-3

 

 

 

 

_________________________________________________

Valerie Pierce, Secretary