UDC questions aspects of cell tower proposal

By TOM KANE

CALLICOON — The Upper Delaware Council has a raft of questions it wants answered.

The Town of Delaware Planning Board held a public hearing last week on a proposal by SBA Properties, Inc. to erect a 195-foot cell tower off Froelich Road in the town.

Not everyone was crazy about aspects of the plan, especially the UDC.

The proposed site is owned by Joseph and Joan Disert.

In an eight-page letter to Carson Helfrich, secretary of the town planning board, Harold Roeder, chair of UDC’s project review committee, expressed surprise that the plan did not mention that the site falls within the Scenic and Recreational River corridor.

“We are not opposed to cell towers, especially when you consider the need for emergency services along the river valley,” said UDC Executive Director Bill Douglas. “But our primary concern is how these facilities will be sited, and what visual impact it will have on this area which is so dependent on tourism.”

Douglas said there were ways that towers such as these can be erected less conspicuously.

“There are ways to hide them, putting them inside a steeple or making them look like trees,” Douglas said.

All towns in the area, not just in the river valley, are being presented with plans to erect these towers.

Recently, the Town of Tusten had to insist that SBA, the same company, look for other sites than the one they proposed, which is in a R-2 zone that does not permit them. A zoning variance would have to be sought and the town officials don’t want to grant one until the company has explored all possible sites in R-1 zones where they are permitted.

Roeder’s letter asks why the tower should be placed right on the river valley ridge in full sight by anyone on the river. “And does the applicant have any agreements with FCC license holders to use the proposed tower?” he asked.

“By using available camouflage and stealth technologies, we believe that the proposed cell tower can be designed so that it is hardly noticeable to the common passersby from both the Delaware River and Route 97,” Roeder said.

The public hearing was recessed until May 23 at 7:30 p.m. when the company will submit a new height to the tower of 170 feet rather than 195 feet. Helfrich said the company’s new submission would be available for examination at the town hall two weeks before the next public hearing.

The Town of Delaware Town Hall can be reached at 845/ 887-5250.