Ankrum planning board continues hearing on proposed Route 22 Verizon tower after expert dispute and public concern

The Ankrum Planning Board on Sept. 4 continued a contested public hearing on a Homeland Towers/Verizon proposal for a wireless tower near Route 22 after weeks of technical testimony and repeated public concerns about visual impact and evidence of a coverage gap.

Attorney David Penny, representing the applicant, told the board the proposal had been revised downward from 150 feet to 100 feet and that updated photo simulations and a visual resources report were added to reflect that change. "We were able to confirm that with the new radio head units ... you can actually reduce the height significantly down to a 100 feet," Penny said during the presentation. Saratoga Associates principal Matthew Allen showed photo simulations and a viewshed analysis intended to depict how visible the 100-foot structure would be from a number of vantage points, including the Hudson Valley Rail Trail.

Residents and local advisory bodies pressed the board for more independent analysis. Tom Ciano of the Conservation Advisory Council summarized his group's written submission and said the application had four principal deficiencies, including a missing minimum-height needs assessment and inadequate alternate-site analysis. "The applicant must demonstrate the need for a new tower and show that the proposed tower is the minimum height required to address the need," Ciano said.

An attorney with three decades of national telecom practice told the board that desktop propagation maps are not probative without drive-test data. He told the board it should require objective measurements showing where and how many Verizon customers currently lack service before concluding the facility is necessary. "If you want actual evidence, you need drive test data," the attorney said.

City-hired reviewer Cityscape said it independently reviewed the applicant's materials and found no viable colocation alternatives within the applicant's search ring and no existing tower within about five miles that could meet the coverage objective. Anthony Lepore of Cityscape told the board the firm's engineers had reviewed the materials and would provide further technical explanation at a later meeting.

Faced with sharply differing technical views, the board approved a motion to seek funding from the town board to hire an independent visual consultant to verify the photo simulations and view-shed work. The board then voted to continue the public hearing to Oct. 9 to allow more analysis; the motion to continue passed unanimously. "We will continue the hearing and have more technical review available for you on Oct. 9," the Chair said after the vote.

The hearing will return on Oct. 9; the board asked the applicant to provide any additional drive-test or minimum-height analyses and requested Cityscape and the applicant return with more detailed responses to the CAC's concerns.