Cell towers signal rising concerns

By DAVID JACKMAN

NARROWSBURG — Short towers and tall towers and everything in between was discussed at a preliminary informational meeting hosted by the Upper Delaware Council (UDC). Representatives from eight New York towns, four Pennsylvania municipalities and three counties met on Thursday, August 23 to discuss the feasibility and guidelines for cell tower construction in the Upper Delaware River Valley. Concerned residents and National Park Service (NPS) specialists filled out the group.

“We are learning about this [cell towers] every day as we go along… and need to find out what resources we need from other counties, and create a master plan for townships to follow if we decide to go forward,” UDC Executive Director Bill Douglass said.

Douglass distributed a copy of the master plan for the St. Croix River Valley, a region that spans the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. The document states the “goals and policies for local government to consider and adopt for the deployment of wireless telecommunications services in a way that doesn’t negatively impact the scenic beauty, ecology or public health of our area.”

With the plan on the table, townships discussed the issue that since the license holders make the proposals, as opposed to the actual construction companies of cell towers, it is up to the individual municipalities to have zoning ordinances that comply with residential concerns.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996, enacted by Congress to allow the private sector to extend wireless communications service throughout the United States, specifically states that municipalities cannot, through local zoning, prohibit wireless providers, however, local governments do have the authority to regulate the location and design of tower facilities.

Bruce Selneck from Shohola said, “You can’t build a two story garage, but a 200 foot cell tower can be constructed. It doesn’t balance out.”

The proliferation of smaller towers raised questions to some of the planning board members present. Joe Freda from the Town of Delaware said, “Planwireless.com, based in California, studied the evolution of wireless communications and said that by 2004, 70 percent of telephone companies will go wireless.” This will start with high coverage, but when the capacity is reached smaller towers will appear. Some towers are attached to light and electric poles that are already in place, getting rid of the “monolithic approach,” he said.

The UDC agreed that standards for a minimum area for a cell tower to serve, utilizing existing sites including farm silos and water towers, be set. Douglass reported that Jim Greier, supervisor of the Town of Fremont, who was not present at the meeting, said Fremont is interested in utilizing an existing structure like the water tower that was built last year.

Gale Sheradin of Walton, NY who works for Network Development Consulting in Mahwah, NJ explained existing structures reduce a direct line of sight. Leaves reduce signal strength in the spring and higher towers are necessary due to the area’s topography. Towers over the 200 feet height would be subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lighting requirements.

Placement and heights of towers was not just a conceptual discussion. NPS Geographical Information Service coordinator Craig Thompson demonstrated the 3-D Terrain Modeling and Visualization Rendering Process technology. With this tool, a clear display of specific topography can be illustrated from a number of vantage points after the terrain of a region has been programmed. The model displays, through a series of overlaying effects, the location of cell towers depicting highly visible areas with realistic vantage points as opposed to satellite images.

The group agreed to set a meeting date at the next UDC meeting on September 27. Douglass urged individual municipalities to agree on a plan with an interest in moving forward. “We are the towns, and the towns are us,” he said.

To reach Douglass or participate in the next meeting, call 845/252-3022.