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What You Need to Know

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Village Trustees have been discussing the possibility of one, possibly two tall cell towers of at least 120 feet to be installed 1.5 miles apart from each other, at either end of Wolver Hollow Road. This conversation has been happening for some time.  The priority tower location is at the new Village Hall site at the corner of WHR and 25A.
 
We have been told these towers will improve gaps in cell phone service in the Village, but there is no data to prove if this is true or to what extent.  We don’t know if these towers are in our best interest as residents, or primarily those of the telecom industry.  We also don’t know if there are better, less invasive ways to meet our cell phone needs.  
 
We expect an application for a cell tower to be submitted to the Village in the near future.  When this happens, a shot clock period of 90-180 days will occur during which the application will be evaluated by the Village. 
 
You need to know that a code change made by Village Trustees on 10/6/20 has fixed the vote so that the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) must ALWAYS vote in favor of an application slated for Village-owned property.  This is true regardless of resident opinion or evidence that may show the cell tower is not in our best interest.

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At present, your feedback at a Zoning Board Hearing for an application on Village owned property will have no bearing on how the ZBA might vote.  We are contesting this code change in court so UB residents will have a strong say in how wireless installations are rolled out in our Village.  Learn more about the Declaratory Judgment Action (DJA) suit. 

The Back Story

If you’re new to the cell tower issue and would like to know more about what has gone before, this mini-history will fill you in on where Upper Brookville residents have been regarding the process with the Village in 2022.

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From the paragraph above, you already know that a cell tower located at the new Village Hall site at the corner of WHR and 25A has been on the table for discussion.  Here’s what led up to the current situation.

  • The Board of Trustee (BOT) minutes going back 4 years document ongoing conversations between Village and Telecom companies, consultants, etc.

  • In March 2022, we found that the majority of Village residents were unaware this discussion had gone on. A change to the Village zoning code related to cell tower installations was picked by a few interested residents in April.

  • On April 5th, a letter went out to the neighborhood explaining the impact of the change.  

    • On October 6, 2020, the Board of Trustees made a one-word code change mandating that the ZBA must now vote in favor of any cell tower application slated for Village-owned property. 

    • This is serious, especially for residents abutting the land adjacent to a cell tower site because resident input at a ZBA hearing will have no bearing on how the ZBA might vote on a cell tower application. The ZBA’s decision is in effect always sewn up as a YES.

  • Three concerned UB residents filed a lawsuit against the Village on 4/20/22, and were later joined by two more. The Declaratory Judgment Action Suit (DJA) seeks to restore full power to the ZBA so it may vote Yes or No on a cell tower application on Village-owned property, based on resident input and the evidence harvested by Village code.

  • Andrew Campanelli, Esq., a specialist in writing telecom code, was hired to draft a more modern telecom code for the Village. He offered a comprehensive draft code to the Village Trustees for their consideration at the May 23rd BOT meeting.

    • The Mayor and BOT declined this version for unclear reasons, stating that it is suited more for a Town than a Village.  No evidence was offered to support this statement.

    •  At the June 20th BOT meeting, the Mayor stated the Board had hired a consultant recommended by the New York conference of Mayors to draft a new code.

    • The Mayor is on the record saying this new code will be in place before a cell tower application is submitted to the Village.  No timetable was offered.

  • Five BOT meetings were held between March and August of this year. Residents sought more information from the Mayor and BOT.  Robust exchanges took place as residents expressed their opinions. Approximately 50 people total over the course of these meetings registered concerns.

  • The Mayor and BOT have repeatedly stated, “There is no cell tower application under consideration at this time.”  They are continuing to study the situation.  They say no decisions have been made.

    • We surmise from the record of previous BOT Minutes, and public comments made by the Mayor, that there is serious intent to install a cell tower at the new Village Hall site at the corner of WHR and 25A.  A cell tower application is likely headed our way in the coming months.

    • We believe the Mayor will be initiating the application, so he can time it preferentially. 

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