Mt. Pleasant Identifies Town-Owned Land in Pocantico Hills for Cell Tower
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Mount Pleasant officials appear likely to move forward with plans for a cell tower on a small town-owned parcel to solve deficient phone coverage in Pocantico Hills, a problem that has vexed municipal officials and residents for years.
The Town Board listened to Homeland Towers founder Manny Vicente at its work session last Tuesday evening. He recommended the town pursue plans to place a 100-foot monopole on an unused property less than an acre in size after more than a decade of exploration and failed attempts to site a tower in that area. The site is across Bedford Road from the Pocantico Hills Fire Department.
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi and other board members said they were worried about the absence of cell service outside the Pocantico Hills Central School, which presents safety issues. Cell phones work inside the school building, but once outside, a connection is virtually impossible, Fulgenzi said.
The town has a school resource officer (SRO) at the school, and if an incident were to take place where the building would have to be evacuated, there could be no contact with staff or the SRO, according to the supervisor.
“From Day One, the focus in this area has been for public safety,” Fulgenzi said. “It wasn’t so kids could get on the internet or anything like that, it was for public safety from Day One. The school is a very important point…we have SROs in there now. They could go outside the building, there’s no communication. Inside the building they have a micro cell for communication. That’s it. But anything outside of school, there’s no communication.”
Vicente said that his company has studied the area searching for the best locations, including at Stone Barns, property controlled by Historic Hudson Valley, the water tank at Rockefeller State Park Preserve, the Rockefeller Archive Center and the pump station near the school. However, the sites were inadequate or the town did not receive permission from the entities that controlled those properties.
Vicente said the Historic Hudson Valley property was likely the best alternative followed by the Archive Center until it was recently discovered that the town owned an undeveloped piece of land on Bedford Road.
“We think at this point, after looking at everything, there’s no other location,” he said.
If the tower were to be installed, then Pocantico Hills would have complete cell service coverage, including a portion of the nearby Pocantico Park, Vicente added.
“We think this is good enough because it covers where everybody lives, it covers the school and it covers the park, and it hands off to what we have now from the mulch yard site,” he said.
There is also the possibility the town would receive pushback from community members opposed to having another cell tower. About six years ago, it received intense opposition to a 156-foot tower that was approved for the town’s composting facility. There had been concerns about safety for people who live near the site and it being an eyesore, which could depress property values.
A required public hearing would need to be scheduled before the board could vote on any proposal.
Councilwoman Laurie Rogers Smalley said she understood there could be opposition, but the town needed to step up and make the case for public safety.
“In my opinion it’s time for this board to be sure and move forward and start the process and have the public hearings,” Smalley said.
If the town does move ahead with the proposal, Homeland Towers would lease the land from the town, then sublease it to up to three carriers, Vicente said. The company would share half of the gross revenues with the town, he said.
The monopole, which would be made to look like a pine tree, would only be 100 feet high in hopes of limiting visual impacts in the area. Vicente said the three carriers would be located at the 76-, 86- and 96-foot marks since there needs to be 10 feet of space between each carrier’s equipment.
“We want to move forward,” Vicente told the board last week. “The timing of that is up to you guys, but we’re ready to do it next month, we’re ready to do it next year, whatever you want us to do.”
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
