Cash-strapped cemetery proposes cell tower be erected,
Voss says hardship must be proven for use variance



NEW SCOTLAND – A proposed cell-phone tower, if approved, would not only increase wireless communication coverage, but could also prevent the New Scotland Cemetery from being turned over to the town.

A 150-foot monopole is proposed for a site owned by the New Scotland Cemetery Association, located in the commercial district off of New Scotland South Road.

Jacqueline Phillips Murray represents Enterprise Consulting Solutions, a company that develops wireless telecommunications structures; she recently presented the application for a use variance and two area variances, and a special-use permit to the town’s zoning and planning boards.

The use variance is required to allow the construction of a tower in the commercial district, and the area variances are for the height and the property-line setback.
Because of the "unique nature" of the proposed facility, the tower is classified as a public utility — which is considered necessary for the safety and well being of the public, Murray told the planning board last week. She also said that local fire departments and public safety agencies have been asked if they’d be interested in collocating their equipment on the tower.

Martha Oden and Arlene Herzog are members of the cemetery association. At last Tuesday’s planning board meeting, the women spoke on behalf of the group.
The association works on a budget that is "rapidly declining," said Oden. "It’s very difficult to make money," she added.

The cemetery’s only source of income is from money it receives for burials. The cemetery, on average, has between two and five burials a year, The Enterprise reported earlier. [For the full story, go on-line to altamontenterprise.com, under archives for Oct. 5, 2006.] The cost for a lot in the cemetery is $400. The burial cost is $690; the gravedigger is paid $550.

In lawn care alone, the association pays about $5,000 per year.

With the money currently in the association’s budget, Herzog said the cemetery could sustain itself for two years, at which point, state law mandates that the cemetery be turned over to the town.
"This is a chance for us to get some monies to help us maintain the cemetery," said Oden.
"If we could receive funds from leasing a tower," Herzog said, "we can get liability insurance and do some repairs every year." She added that the association would be willing to put extra money into community projects.

"Win-win situation"
"It’s kind of a win-win situation," Murray told The Enterprise last week, regarding the tower proposal. The location works from a technological standpoint; it is available for lease; and the cemetery association needs the money to sustain itself, she said.
"A new structure is typically the last resort for a carrier to pursue," Murray explained. The cellular provider, T Mobile, identified a need for service in the area, and proceeded to analyze seven existing structures, none of which were of sufficient height to provide service, she said.

In 2003, New Scotland won a court challenge after turning down a cell-phone company with a willing landowner. The town subsequently adopted a law requiring existing structures be used first and also stipulating collocation.

T Mobile has no coverage in the proposed area, Murray said at the public meetings. The 150-foot tower would allow the carrier to fill the gap in service, she said.
"Technologically, they wouldn’t work," Murray said of the sites that were examined. She explained that the technology is "line-of-sight," meaning that the antennas have to be high enough to see over tree lines and structures.
"Even if T Mobile collocated on every existing structure, it would still have a gap in coverage on New Scotland Road," Murray said.

Historical site

The site, essentially a vacant field, is located to the east of the cemetery itself.
"It’s really not in an area that we use," Herzog told The Enterprise. "It would take years to get that much fill in," Herzog said of what would be required for the area to be usable as additional cemetery space.
"It’s really out of sight back here," Herzog said. "To me, it’s just out of the way and it shouldn’t bother anybody."

The cemetery is located behind the oldest church in town — New Scotland Presbyterian Church. It was organized in 1787, and the first church building was constructed in 1791. The church that stands today was built in 1849.

The church cemetery, adjacent to the New Scotland Cemetery, holds the bodies of 14 Revolutionary War soldiers. Jacob Moak was in the Albany County Militia; his is the oldest known grave in the cemetery. He died in 1795.
Murray said she is awaiting a response from the state’s historical preservation office, to determine what effect the tower might have on the historic property. "We anticipate a response any day now," she told The Enterprise.

The planning board, which passed along a favorable recommendation to the zoning board subject to the findings of the state’s historical preservation office, stipulated that another balloon test be done to determine visual impacts. Balloons are floated at the height of the proposed tower so that the impact is clearly visible.

Planning board Chairman Robert Stapf also required that a long-form environmental review be done, and the board appointed attorney Peter Barber to oversee the state environmental quality review.

Planning-board member Charles Voss, who was not present at the Sept. 4 meeting, conveyed, through e-mail correspondence with the board, that he is not in favor of the proposal.

Voss, who is running for one of two open town board seats, told The Enterprise this week that, in terms of the use variance, the applicant must prove an unnecessary hardship, and, in this case, he said, "The hardship is self-created." He also indicated that the applicant did not explore collocation, and did no technical analysis.
The requested variance will change the essential character of the neighborhood, which is rural and near a historic church, Voss said. "We certainly support the cemetery association," he said. "That’s a completely separate issue," he added, saying that other funding sources might be more suitable for the association.
In his experience as a professional planner, Voss said that the revenue generated from towers such as this proposal is "fairly lucrative." In general, he said, it ranges from $2,000 to $5,000 per month in other towns.

Murray explained that a sign has been posted on the property since the end of May indicating that it is a proposed site of a new cell tower, urging residents to submit questions and comments.
"We received a handful of comments in support of the project" some neutral comments, and one negative comment," Murray told the board.
Based on the topography of the site, there are very few areas within a half-mile radius where the tower would be seen, she said. "Those are partial views. The facility will largely be screened by topography and vegetation," said Murray.
The project’s civil engineer, Michael Ries, informed the zoning board that galvanized steel is an "ideal" construction material for the tower. "It does not shine or glare, it is not obtrusive, and it blends in with the environment in all seasons," Ries said.

If the plans are approved, Enterprise Consulting Solutions will improve the gravel roadway that provides access to the cemetery from New Scotland South Road. It would also install a stockade fence and plants around the tower itself, Murray said.

Not a tremendous burden

To find out what maintenance of the cemetery might cost New Scotland, The Enterprise checked with a neighboring town.

Dennis Moore is the director of parks and recreation for the town of Guilderland, which had to take over the cemetery in Guilderland Center, after the cemetery association could no longer afford to maintain it.
"We basically just mow it," Moore told The Enterprise. "I don’t believe it’s a huge burden," he said, adding that, because it is on the town’s mowing schedule, he is unsure of the annual cost to maintain the cemetery. "We’re handling it the best we can," said Moore.
"It doesn’t put a tremendous burden on the town because we use our parks staff to maintain it," said Guilderland Supervisor Kenneth Runion. The burden the cemetery faced prior to the town takeover was with salaries and benefits for cemetery employees, and for insurance, Runion said.
"Our insurance covers all town-owned facilities," he added.

The Guilderland Parks Department has been maintaining the cemetery for about five years, and has never needed to ask for extra money in its budget to maintain it, said Runion, adding that the situation in the smaller municipality of New Scotland could turn out differently.

The tower proposal, Herzog said, received unanimous support from the cemetery board.
"Nobody was really confident that the town would take care of it, and then all the taxpayers are hit with it, and that’s not fair," she told The Enterprise.
"It’s a great thing for everybody, instead of having a wasted piece of property," Herzog concluded.

Other business

In other business at recent zoning- and planning-board meetings:

– The zoning board granted an area variance to Joseph Vogel III, allowing him to build a detached garage on a lot he owns on Cliff View Lane, a private road in the residential-agriculture district. Vogel’s property is landlocked, and does not meet the 15-feet of road frontage requirement; and

– The zoning board heard from Daniel Hershberg, on behalf of Amedore Homes, on an application for an area variance for a proposed development at the Colonie Country Club. The variance is for 545 feet of relief to allow for a cul-de-sac roadway to be installed at a length of 1,545 feet. If the developer were to limit the roadway to 1,000 feet, as town regulations require, Hershberg said, it would have to run through an old mine on the property. The proposal is for 35 lots as a cluster subdivision with two duplex units and 31 single-family homes. The zoning board scheduled a public hearing for its Sept. 25 meeting.