Use variance requested
Some favor cell tower for safety, others oppose it for ugliness



NEW SCOTLAND – Residents are divided over having a new cell tower built on property owned by the New Scotland Cemetery Association on Route 85 behind the oldest church in town.

They filled the public hearing room last Tuesday at Town Hall, spilling out into the hallway.

Some supported the application, referencing personal reliance on cell phones for the safety of their families, and citing the financial needs of the cemetery association. Others were opposed, primarily due to visual and historic impacts. The hearing, nearly two hours long, will be continued at the Oct. 23 meeting.

The applicants — Enterprise Consulting Services, a company that develops wireless telecommunications structures; T-Mobile; and the New Scotland Cemetery Association — are requesting a use variance to allow for a tower in a commercial district, and two area variances, one for the height, and one to allow a reduced lay-down area.

The proposal is for a 150-foot monopole structure which, if approved, would be constructed in a vacant field to the east of the cemetery itself.

The area is not currently used by the cemetery and, the amount of fill needed to transform the area into usable cemetery space would take years to haul in, said Arlene Herzog, a member of the cemetery association.
The cemetery association works on a budget that is "rapidly declining," said member Martha Oden at last month’s planning board meeting. "It’s very difficult to make money," she said.
"If we could receive funds from leasing a tower," Herzog told the planning board, "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.

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 background stories on the cemetery and the cell-tower proposal, go on-line to altamontenterprise.com, under archives for Oct. 5, 2006, and Sept. 6, 2007.] The cost for a lot in the cemetery is $400. The burial cost is $690; the gravedigger is paid $550.

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.
At last week’s meeting, resident Edie Abrams provided Murray and the board with a copy of a letter she wrote. In her letter, Abrams suggests the town postpone making a decision on the application "in order to give the community a chance to solve this problem." Abrams also includes information regarding several grant programs for which the cemetery association might be eligible.

Abrams also suggested that the board consider camouflage techniques, if the proposal is passed.

Chuck Voss, a member of the planning board and a Republican candidate for town board, was out of town for the Sept. 4 planning board meeting, in which the board passed along a favorable recommendation to the zoning board on the application.
Prior to the meeting, Voss sent e-mail correspondence to all members of the planning board and the chair of the zoning board, William Hennessey, expressing his concerns, and requesting that his comments be read into the public record at the meeting. They were not.
In the e-mail, dated Aug. 31, Voss says that the applicant has not sufficiently proved undue hardship, other than those self-created, and cites "severe visual impacts."

Voss later told The Enterprise that he has reached out to the cemetery association "and offered to voluntarily seek potential grant funding sources for them to help alleviate their financial plight."

Historical site

The New Scotland Presbyterian Church is the oldest church in town — 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.

In accordance with the Federal Communications Commission, the applicant is required to file a form with the State Historical Preservation Office.

The office must respond to the applicant within 30 days. Jacqueline Phillips-Murray, who represents Enterprise Consulting Solutions, filed the form on Aug. 1, and had not received a response from SHPO when she came before the planning board.
On Tuesday, she announced that SHPO had issued a letter indicating there would be "no effect" to historic or cultural resources.
Daniel Mackay is a resident of New Scotland South Road who works as the director of public policy with the Preservation League of New York State; last week, he expressed some "significant concerns" with the proposal.
"The applicant has not adequately documented historic resources within a half-mile radius," Mackay said. The applicant showed a "stunning lack of diligence," he said.
"These sites have been determined to be historic by you" but not through the state preservation office," said Louis Neri, the attorney for the zoning and planning boards.
"The FCC programmatic agreement does not require that applicants determine if property is eligible," Murray said. "We’ve confirmed with SHPO that we have met all of our obligations," she said.
"I’m concerned that all parties here don’t understand the process," said Mackay. "We’d like you to re-open this process."
"One of the reasons we drafted the telecommunications law is to expedite the process and not prolong the agony," Neri said of the town’s law that regulates the placement of cell towers. He pressed Mackay to speak of specific concerns on how the proposed tower would impact the historic character of the area.
"I think there is an adverse visual impact," Mackay concluded. "I’m not opposed to the project; I’m opposed to the visual impact," he said. "I think we need to see photo simulations of other tower heights."

A balloon test — where a balloon is floated at the height of the proposed tower to determine visual impacts — was held last weekend, on Saturday, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., and on Sunday, from 8 a.m. until noon.
Photo simulations provided as part of the application show no full view from any location in the viewshed, said Murray. "Visibility is very limited," she told The Enterprise.
Christine Cameron lives in Albany and is a member of the New Scotland Presbyterian Church. She attends the church, she said, because she enjoys the drive to the "country church." Members of the church do not want the tower, she said.

Margaret Ewart is also a member of the church. She drew a sketch of the tower in relation to the church, which she said was drawn to scale, and presented it at the meeting.
"There is a visual impact," she said. "I think it’s disrespectful to the memory of those buried there."

Public response
Murray informed the board that she had received letters of interest from the New Salem Fire Department and the Onesquethaw Volunteer Fire Company. The letters indicated that, by co-locating on the tower, "their ability to serve the community would be enhanced," Murray told The Enterprise.

The board, in addition to continuing the public hearing, requested that the applicant provide a more detailed radio-frequency analysis that illustrates the need for the height.

Crosby told the board that, ideally, to provide optimal connectivity for T-Mobile customers, the tower would need to be 180 to 195 feet high.
"We just barely have enough of the area covered" At 150 feet, we’re compromising to make the project feasible," Crosby said.
"The signal is degraded by air," he said, adding that, generally, there is a 1.5-mile coverage radius from tower sites.

Board member Adam Greenberg asked Murray to also provide any documented complaints from customers that address the need for service in this area.

Currently, T-Mobile is co-located on a tower on the escarpment, at the State Troopers’ barracks and on a rooftop on Krumkill Road, Murray told The Enterprise.
The town is required to investigate sites within a five-mile radius, said Keith Menia, an engineer with the town’s engineering firm, Stantec. "Some sites were not investigated," said Menia, adding that the applicant needs to provide a report indicating why all of the sites within that radius would not be appropriate or feasible.
Coverage in New Scotland is "spotty to very poor," said resident William Kerr at last week’s public hearing. "I’m in support of the proposal," he said.
"The proposal to build the tower appears to be a win-win for the cemetery association" EMS [Emergency Medical Services] have been offered free space — that’s vital to us all," Kerr said.
"It’s preposterous," said New Scotland South Road resident Kenneth Carlson. "We’re talking about a cell tower in a residential neighborhood" The zoning may be commercial, but it’s a residential hamlet," he said.
"I don’t want to live in a world with a cell tower every 1.5 miles," Carlson added.

Nancy Burke is a wife and mother, she said. Her husband is disabled, and, if the power goes out, he relies on his cell phone to be able to call for help if he needs it, she said.
"I can appreciate the aesthetic part of this and the historic part," she said, reiterating that good cell-phone service is critical to the safety of her family.
Martha Oden agreed. "A lot of times we need to improve our coverage because it’s a health necessity," she said. "All the towers look ugly, but we’ve gotten used to it," Oden added.

Some residents asked if it was possible that the town consider several shorter towers.
The proposed tower, said resident Patrick Ravida, "adversely affects not only the quality of life, but the property value of the property I own adjacent."
He asked that the board "understand" the concerns of residents. "We haven’t been given enough time to comment on this," he added.
"This zoning board of appeals has its full power to fully analyze everything said at this meeting to make a reasoned decision," said Sal Abrams, a resident of Route 85A.