Southampton board continues review after applicant shifts proposed Cook Road cell tower; East Hampton officials read opposing resolution

Southampton — The Southampton Planning Board on July 8 continued the public hearing on Atlantic Communications’ application to build a 160-foot cell tower at 1 Cook Road after the applicant proposed relocating the tower on the same lot and residents and neighboring East Hampton officials urged the board to reject or further study the plan.

Attorney Francis Parisi, representing Atlantic Communications, told the board he and his engineers identified a new site in the southeastern corner of the parcel and said the shift would move the monopole "approximately 750 plus feet from the original location." Parisi said the change is intended to preserve more of the vegetative buffer and reduce direct visibility from many homes, but that moving the site requires redoing some federal and state reviews, including NEPA and updated radio‑frequency (RF) engineering reports.

"We're gonna propose moving it to the South Eastern corner of the lot," Parisi said, adding that the applicant would submit revised site plans and RF studies "within the next two weeks" and arrange another balloon test and updated photo simulations for residents to assess visibility.

Why it matters: East Hampton city councilors and dozens of nearby homeowners said the proposed tower would place a large industrial structure in direct view of residences across the municipal border and would set a precedent if the board waived or altered town height limits. Tamara Smith, an East Hampton councilor, read aloud a unanimous East Hampton City Council resolution opposing the tower at 1 Cook Road and asking Southampton’s board to require the applicant to demonstrate through independent analysis that no less-intrusive alternatives or co-location opportunities exist.

Public concerns centered on four recurring points: visual impact and the closeness of the structure to residential yards; potential property-value effects; wildlife and conservation impacts; and health or long-term exposure questions. "One thing that this is greatly lacking is long term EMF exposures," Lisa Copeland, a nearby resident, told the board, citing worries about future studies and saying her family’s backyard view would be ‘‘quite large and very intrusive.’’

Applicant response and technical defense: Parisi and his team explained that local topography, tree canopy and modern frequency bands make taller monopoles necessary in some locations to provide both coverage and capacity, and that towers are usually designed to accommodate multiple carriers to avoid future duplicate structures. Parisi said Verizon and other carriers have provided expressions of interest (colocation applications) but are not co‑applicants; he asked the board for a waiver on co‑applicant requirements in the bylaw and said the design tries to meet the town’s tower-height setback rules while allowing co-location to prevent additional towers.

Process and next steps: Parisi proposed a new balloon test to be scheduled on a weekend (he suggested July 18 or 19, with backups) and said he would advertise the test in the local paper, post updates to a project website and notify the town clerk. The board and applicant also discussed the federal "shot clock" (the applicant referenced a 150-day presumptive timeline) and the role of the independent peer reviewer the board retained; Parisi said he would provide revised plans and RF data to the peer reviewer and asked the board to allow time for that review.

Board action: After public comment and discussion, the board voted by voice to continue the hearing to August 19 at 7 p.m. The applicant committed to providing revised site plans and RF reports to the peer reviewer and scheduling the balloon test before the continuation.

What remains unresolved: The planning board has not made a substantive determination on the application. Outstanding items the board said it needs before decisional action include the peer-review report on the new site, updated RF engineering supporting minimum height claims, photo simulations based on the revised location and the results of the new balloon test. The board also must determine whether the applicant qualifies for any waivers required by the zoning bylaw.

The planning board meeting record shows the public hearing will resume on August 19 at 7 p.m.; Atlantic Communications said it will provide notice of the balloon test and new materials to the board and to the public ahead of that meeting.