Cheektowaga planning board tables AT&T monopine proposal at Saint Mary's Church pending DEC wetland review
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
The planning board voted to table an AT&T application to build a monopine on church property at 940 Lawson after the applicant said engineers are preparing a wetland delineation and will seek concurrence from the New York State DEC; the EAC had previously reviewed and tabled the item.
The Town of Cheektowaga planning board on Monday tabled an AT&T proposal to construct a monopine (a cell‑tower disguised as a pine tree) on property owned by Saint Mary's Church at 940 Lawson.
Brenda Blaske Lewis, an acquisition consultant with Centerline Communications representing AT&T, told the board that engineers are preparing a wetland delineation and that the team will seek concurrence from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regional office and coordinate with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as needed. “We’re working on a wetland delineation,” she said, and added the applicants are not disputing that wetlands are present but want an agreement with the state on wetland boundaries.
Dan, a planning staff member, advised the board that a balloon test — used to demonstrate the tower profile to the public — must be held 14 days before a public hearing. Members said the Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC) had already tabled the matter; after discussion a member moved to table the application until the DEC and EAC issues are resolved and the motion carried on a voice vote.
Why it matters: the proposal sits adjacent to wetlands that federal and state agencies regulate, and the board declined to advance the application until a formal wetland delineation and state concurrence are completed. The applicant said next steps include completing engineering work and submitting materials to the DEC regional office.
What’s next: the applicant will return to the planning board after obtaining the DEC concurrence and following further EAC review; the board did not set a new hearing date at the meeting.
Authorities referenced in the hearing included the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the EAC had previously reviewed the item.