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ANTENNA LOCATED BEHIND FIBERGLASS
<br />REINFORCED PLASTIC STEALTH SILO
<br />PROPOSED 10' FIBERGLASS .
<br />STEALTH EXTENSION
<br />WITH DOME \ CENTERLINE OF PROPOSED
<br />PANEL ANTENNAS @ 8S' AGL
<br />Policy Report: What's in that Silo? continued from page 3
<br />In Vermont, where topography poses challenges to cell phone technology,
<br />the state's land use law, Act 250, restricts ridgeline development. As a result,
<br />cell phone companies have targeted farms as locations for their antennas.
<br />Agricultural resources are also protected under the law,
<br />"It can be a challenge to regulate towers in a way that [allows wireless service
<br />to expand] but ensures that the values under Act 250 are protected," says
<br />Michael Zahner, executive director of the Vermont Environmental Board.
<br />Objections to telecommunications facilities are largely aesthetic, but issues
<br />related to roadway access, wetlands and deer yards have also arisen, he says.
<br />Recently, the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) received a number of requests to site
<br />telecommunications equipment on protected farms. The land trust's policies
<br />and easement language prohibit stand -alone towers on its protected farms.
<br />"The mission of the Vermont Land Trust is to support the rural character of
<br />Vermont, and stand -alone towers do not support any aesthetic element of
<br />rural character," says Kathleen O'Dell, VLT's communications director.
<br />However, following a lengthy policy review process, VLT and its easement
<br />co- holders decided to allow telecommunications equipment to be mounted
<br />in or on silos and other farm structures, providing that the antennas do not
<br />affect the farm operation or adversely affect the aesthetic int f th f
<br />egnty o e arm.
<br />For more information:
<br />"It's taken us a while to figure out all the policy aspects with co- holders and the technology
<br />TOP OF EXISTING
<br />issues with carriers: We worked with everybody to try to find a way to say yes and still protect
<br />the integrity of the easement and help'farmers with extra income," says Leslie Ratley- Beach,
<br />SILO @ 80' AGL
<br />director of stewardship for VLT. "It's a' standard [cell phone companies] haven't had to meet
<br />Albemarle County
<br />in other states," she says. In response, Verizon has developed a fiberglass cap that holds the
<br />'of
<br />Telecommunications Ordinance
<br />CABLES FOR ANTENNA
<br />PROPOSED.'
<br />ACCESS
<br />www.Albemarle.org /planning/
<br />LOCATED IN REAR OF SILO
<br />Ratley -Beach says rental fees on these facilities will be between $15,000 and $38,000 a year,
<br />DOOR IN
<br />depending on the particulars of the contract.: ?his is a revenue stream we really would like
<br />Telecommunications Policy
<br />the farmers to have." However, because these properties were protected using easements paid
<br />http: //humber.northnet.org/
<br />. STEALTH
<br />adirondackparkagency /towers_
<br />may have to share the revenue with VLT. The 'noriprofit is .seeking a ruling from the IRS on the
<br />pollcy.htm
<br />matter and will argue that the public benefits that accrue from having the antennas on farms
<br />EXTENSION
<br />far outweigh the private benefits that will flow to the farmers.
<br />Vermont Land Trust:
<br />EXISTING BARN:
<br />www.vit.org
<br />by keeping towers off ridgelines and fields, keeping agricultural land in active agricultural use,"
<br />Visit LandWorks at
<br />Ratley -Beach says, noting that farmers intend to use the income stream to make improvements
<br />www.farmiand.org /htm
<br />on their farms, and in one case, expand. B.H.
<br />to access links to
<br />Vermont's Act 250.
<br />WHEN IS A HORSE FARM REALLY A FARM? `-
<br />80'
<br />85':
<br />rising land values and low commodity prices are squeezing traditional agricultural enterprises,
<br />horse operations are emerging as a significant part of the working landscape.
<br />But are horses agriculture? Furthermore, should horse operations be treated like farms with
<br />respect to agricultural tax assessments, exemptions from regulation and land conservation?
<br />The answers depend on how you define agriculture and whether you're looking at breeding
<br />- :.30''- 4"
<br />GROUND. ELEV Q 0' AGL'
<br />At one end of the spectrum are horse breeding operations where sales of horses (and semen)
<br />'PROPOSED 7'X 24' EQUIPMENT':*.
<br />mean those facilities typically fall within the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
<br />SHELTER.FINISH TO MATCH BARN '
<br />Policy Report: What's in that Silo? continued from page 3
<br />In Vermont, where topography poses challenges to cell phone technology,
<br />the state's land use law, Act 250, restricts ridgeline development. As a result,
<br />cell phone companies have targeted farms as locations for their antennas.
<br />Agricultural resources are also protected under the law,
<br />"It can be a challenge to regulate towers in a way that [allows wireless service
<br />to expand] but ensures that the values under Act 250 are protected," says
<br />Michael Zahner, executive director of the Vermont Environmental Board.
<br />Objections to telecommunications facilities are largely aesthetic, but issues
<br />related to roadway access, wetlands and deer yards have also arisen, he says.
<br />Recently, the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) received a number of requests to site
<br />telecommunications equipment on protected farms. The land trust's policies
<br />and easement language prohibit stand -alone towers on its protected farms.
<br />"The mission of the Vermont Land Trust is to support the rural character of
<br />Vermont, and stand -alone towers do not support any aesthetic element of
<br />rural character," says Kathleen O'Dell, VLT's communications director.
<br />However, following a lengthy policy review process, VLT and its easement
<br />co- holders decided to allow telecommunications equipment to be mounted
<br />in or on silos and other farm structures, providing that the antennas do not
<br />affect the farm operation or adversely affect the aesthetic int f th f
<br />egnty o e arm.
<br />For more information:
<br />"It's taken us a while to figure out all the policy aspects with co- holders and the technology
<br />Scenic America
<br />issues with carriers: We worked with everybody to try to find a way to say yes and still protect
<br />the integrity of the easement and help'farmers with extra income," says Leslie Ratley- Beach,
<br />www.scenic.org
<br />director of stewardship for VLT. "It's a' standard [cell phone companies] haven't had to meet
<br />Albemarle County
<br />in other states," she says. In response, Verizon has developed a fiberglass cap that holds the
<br />'of
<br />Telecommunications Ordinance
<br />antenna and looks like two sections Harvestore Silos. Another company will use panels that
<br />are installed flush to the side of a silo and painted to conceal them.
<br />www.Albemarle.org /planning/
<br />Ratley -Beach says rental fees on these facilities will be between $15,000 and $38,000 a year,
<br />Adirondack Park Agency
<br />depending on the particulars of the contract.: ?his is a revenue stream we really would like
<br />Telecommunications Policy
<br />the farmers to have." However, because these properties were protected using easements paid
<br />http: //humber.northnet.org/
<br />through tax dollars, under the legal tax'doctrine.of "private benefit" it appears that the farmers
<br />adirondackparkagency /towers_
<br />may have to share the revenue with VLT. The 'noriprofit is .seeking a ruling from the IRS on the
<br />pollcy.htm
<br />matter and will argue that the public benefits that accrue from having the antennas on farms
<br />far outweigh the private benefits that will flow to the farmers.
<br />Vermont Land Trust:
<br />In addition to allowing cell phone service to Vermont residents; . "the public good is served
<br />www.vit.org
<br />by keeping towers off ridgelines and fields, keeping agricultural land in active agricultural use,"
<br />Visit LandWorks at
<br />Ratley -Beach says, noting that farmers intend to use the income stream to make improvements
<br />www.farmiand.org /htm
<br />on their farms, and in one case, expand. B.H.
<br />to access links to
<br />Vermont's Act 250.
<br />WHEN IS A HORSE FARM REALLY A FARM? `-
<br />To many people, equine operations look, smell and feel like farms. In urbanizing.areas where
<br />rising land values and low commodity prices are squeezing traditional agricultural enterprises,
<br />horse operations are emerging as a significant part of the working landscape.
<br />But are horses agriculture? Furthermore, should horse operations be treated like farms with
<br />respect to agricultural tax assessments, exemptions from regulation and land conservation?
<br />The answers depend on how you define agriculture and whether you're looking at breeding
<br />operations or recreational facilities.
<br />At one end of the spectrum are horse breeding operations where sales of horses (and semen)
<br />mean those facilities typically fall within the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA)
<br />definition of a farm —a place producing farm commodities having a market value of $1,000 or
<br />more annually. At the other end of the spectrum are small stables that board horses and offer
<br />riding Iessons..Most agricultural officials consider these operations "recreational," and some have
<br />vigorously opposed efforts to extend agricultural status to them or allow them on easement -.
<br />protected land.
<br />The way federal agricultural statistics are compiled reflects traditional agriculture's ambivalent rela-
<br />tionship with the equine industry, says Nelson Bills, professor of Agricultural Economics at Cornell
<br />University. "There is a real disconnect between what we see in the working landscape and what's
<br />T.
<br />in [the Census of Agriculture] statistics," Bills says. "In many locales, equine operations are a key
<br />
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