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 Subsection
F below, the Planning Board and Town officials shall issue, grant or deny PWSF site plans, special permits, PWSF permits, building permits and other required Town permits within the following number of days from Town receipt of an application for same:
(a) For individual co-located facilities:
[1] Sixty days for PWSFs that meet the requirements in 47 CFR 1.6100 for an eligible facilities request.
[2] Sixty days for co-location 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 co-location.
[3] Ninety days for all other co-locations of a PWSF on an existing structure.
(b) For individual non-co-located facilities:
[1] Ninety days for a new small wireless facility.
[2] One hundred fifty days for all other PWSFs.
(c) For batched applications:
[1] If a single application seeks authorization for multiple deployments, all of which fall within Subsection (1)(a)[2] above or all of which fall within Subsection(1)(b)[1] 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 to the deployments.
[2] If a single application seeks authorization for multiple deployments, the components of which are a mix of deployments that fall within Subsection (1)(a)[2] and (b)[1] 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) the wrong type of application, or c) 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 10 days of the Town's receipt of the application. For all other PWSFs, the notice of incompleteness shall be sent within 30 days of the Town's receipt of the application.
(4) The notice of incompleteness shall describe why the application is incomplete, is the wrong type, or is otherwise defective and shall specifically identify any missing documents or information and the specific rule or regulation creating the obligation to submit such documents or information.
(5) For proposed small wireless facilities, the Director of Planning's sending of a notice of incompleteness shall reset and toll the relevant shot clock period. The reset shot clock period shall begin running at zero on the day the Town receives all the documents and information identified by the Town to render the application complete.
(6) For proposed PWSFs other than small wireless facilities, the Director of Planning's sending of a notice of incompleteness shall toll (but not reset) the relevant shot clock period. The shot clock period shall be tolled beginning the day after the date when the Town sends the applicant the notice of incompleteness that specifically identifies any missing documents or information and the specific rule or regulation creating the obligation to submit such documents or information. The last day of tolling shall be the date when the applicant submits all the documents and information identified by the Town to render the application complete.
(7) If upon receipt of responsive materials and information from the applicant, the Director of Planning or the Director of Code Enforcement determines that the application is still incomplete or otherwise defective, then the Director of Planning shall, within 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 incompleteness shall again toll (but shall not reset) the relevant shot clock period. The shot clock period shall be tolled beginning the day after the date when the Town sends the applicant the second notice of incompleteness. The last day of tolling shall be the date when the applicant submits all the documents and information identified by the Town to render the application complete. The same procedure may continue to be repeated with subsequent applicant submissions and Notices of Incompleteness.
(8) Shot clock date. The shot clock date for an application is determined by counting forward, beginning on the day after the date when the application was submitted, by the number of calendar days of the relevant shot clock period. If the date calculated in this manner is a "holiday" as defined in 47 CFR 1.4(e)(1), or is a legal holiday in New York State, Tompkins County or the Town, the shot clock date is the next business day after such date. The term "business day" means any day as defined in 47 CFR 1.4(e)(2) and any day that is not a legal holiday as defined by New York State, Tompkins County or the Town.
Extensions and reasonable delay periods.
(1) Shot clock period extension by mutual agreement. The Planning Board (if applicable) or Director of Code Enforcement 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. Any applicable shot clock period shall be extended to the extent extension is required due to circumstances beyond the control of the Planning Board (if applicable) or Director of Code Enforcement, as follows:
(a) If the Planning Board and/or Director of Code Enforcement acts with reasonable diligence to complete its SEQRA review and to ascertain the applicant's compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and these actions require a period of effort that extends beyond the expiration of the applicable shot clock period, the delays beyond such shot clock period attributable to such actions shall be deemed reasonable.
(b) If the Planning Board and/or Director of Code Enforcement acts with reasonable diligence to ascertain the applicant's compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act, and these actions require a period of effort that extends beyond the expiration of the applicable shot clock period, the delays beyond such shot clock period attributable to such actions shall be deemed reasonable.
(c) If an applicant tenders last-minute submissions to the Town in the form of: a) expert reports; b) expert materials; or c) materials which require a significant period for review due either to their complexity or their sheer volume, the Planning Board and/or Director of Code Enforcement shall be afforded a reasonable time to review such late-submitted materials. If the Planning Board and/or Director of Code Enforcement acts with reasonable diligence to complete such review, and the review requires a period of effort that extends beyond the expiration of the applicable shot clock period, the delays beyond such shot clock period attributable to such review shall be deemed reasonable.
(d) Force majeure. In the event and to the extent that the rendering of a final decision upon a site plan or special permit application or a PWSF permit application is delayed due to events and/or forces which are not within the reasonable control of the Town (including reasonable control of the Planning Board or Town officers and employees), including, without limitation, acts of God, flood, fire, earthquake, explosion, governmental actions, war, invasion or hostilities (whether war is declared or not), terrorist threats or acts, riot, or other civil unrest, national emergency, revolution, insurrection, epidemic, pandemic, lockouts, strikes or other labor disputes (whether or not relating to the Town's workforce), or power outage, such delays shall constitute reasonable delays and shall be recognized as acceptable grounds for extending the period for review and the rendering of final determinations and permit issuance beyond the period allotted under the applicable shot clock.
