Planning Board scarred by previous legal battle approves 124 foot cell phone tower

The November 6 Planning Board Meeting (with 4 of the 7 members in attendance) began with re-opening of the public hearing for Obercreek Farm Brewery & Tasting Room proposed for New Hamburg Road. Additional details on the site plan have been provided, and the archeological review was done and the report is in progress. The traffic volumes at peak hours are estimated to be less than 100 (keeping in mind that the Open Hours are Thursdays and Fridays - 4:00 to 7:00 pm, Saturday 11:00 - 7:00 and Sunday 12:00 - 7:00). It was confirmed that Obercreek's lot line project is completely separate from this project and outside the purview of this application. Neighbors expressed concern about on-going traffic/noise from concerts. The board explained that by moving to the New Hamburg road location this will move traffic and any noise from Marlorville. The Brewery operations on Marlorville road will be closed down when the move is complete. The Board closed the public hearing and directed the planner to write an approval which will be reviewed/voted on at the next board meeting.

The Public Hearing regarding the installation by Verizon of 124 foot height monopole at Diddell Road was reopened. This is of major concern to the neighbors who are not interested in seeing a monopole from their property/house -- and because of its proximity to the County Airport may need to have lights mounted on the monopole. Alternate locations were reviewed by Verizon's engineers - and they have concerns about the coverage of the signals. An alternative site, named "E" is near a site that Central Hudson currently has towers/poles. The RFI Consultant hired by the town (who has never attended the planning board meetings, so his reports are always subject to interpretation by the board, the professionals supporting the board ... and these interpretations can get very confusing. Apparently there was a suggestion that if the height of the pole at site E was raised by 20 -30 feet the signals would work - the Verizon lawyer didn't follow-up with this ... and the Planning Board/Town Attorney tried to explain that no matter what, federal regulations compel them to approve this application and they know this because of a law suit involving the cell tower in Chelsea. There was no interest expressed by the board to follow-up on this suggestion. Again, with the RFI consultant not being present, residents questions and concerns are not adequately addressed. (The comparison with the cell tower application in Chelsea seems a very broad generalization, with the only seemingly common components being that it is a cell tower that is being considered. Any differences/unique nature of this application were not discussed). The Public Hearing was closed and direction was provided to the planner to prepare a draft resolution approving the application, with the caveat that the FAA has to approve the plan and any risk mitigation (like lights etc).

The difficulty the Planning Board has is the real demand by cell phone carriers to provide good service to their customers... and residents wanting good cell phone coverage vs. the individual property owners whose property, view sheds and property values are affected. Guidance from a Town Board with updated zoning codes, balancing these concerns is very much needed.

The Public Hearing for the 50 foot wooden utility pole at the corner of Nancy Aleen Drive and Spook Hill Road for Verizon was reopened. The Verizon lawyer explained that the site agreed upon at the last planning board meeting had to be slightly adjusted to account for the overhead wires in the area. The Planning Board agreed with 1 of the two choices the Verizon Engineers Recommended, staying away from putting the pole in front of a house on Spook Hill Road. The hearing was closed and direction provided to the planner to draft a resolution approving this request to be reviewed and voted on at the next Planning Board meeting.

A public hearing on the building of a single family home at 39-41 Middlebush Road was opened. The Board of Health has given a preliminary ok, waiting for town board approval. The project is still waiting an analysis from Tri-Muni Sewer to indicate if the additional sewer connection can be accomdated. The plan is to bore a main under Middlebush Road (not opening the road - which was a concern by one of the neighbors speaking at the public hearing) to connect to the existing sewer line. Additional details on the plan drawings were requested and the Planner was authorized to draft a resolution approving the project, but the public hearing was kept open until additional details/decisions are available.

The Board voted on the 2024 Planning Board Meeting Dates (see the town website) deciding that 1 meeting will be held in July and 1 meeting will be held in August (the board members should commit to attending that meeting so that decisions can be made.