Planning board refers Homeland/Verizon tower zoning question to code enforcement, keeps hearings open

Attorney David Kenny, representing Homeland Towers and Verizon, argued the telecommunications statute should not be read to bar colocations or to trigger a separate-lot requirement. He urged the board to move forward on site-plan review to address a known coverage gap that first responders have experienced. "There was catastrophic injuries, and the service, the 1st responders on scene did have experiences of poor service quality. They couldn't make phone calls," Kenny told the board when explaining the public-safety rationale for the project.

Board counsel John Lyons recommended the board refer the legal interpretation question (whether the zoning law’s "one principal use per lot" provision applies to a telecommunications facility on an existing farm lot) to the town’s code enforcement officer for a formal determination, which can then be appealed to the zoning board if necessary. The board voted to refer the question to the enforcement officer and instructed counsel to deliver the background materials. The board also directed Cityscape to provide a focused written reply to a public comment about minimum antenna/tower height; Cityscape’s March 11 review is on the record and the applicant’s representatives have said consultant reports confirm that a roughly 95-foot centerline is the minimum for Verizon’s needs.