the Village of Wesley Hills, Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York

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At the April 28th Planning Board meeting, a special use permit was issued to T-Mobile for the installation of a flagpole type cell tower at the Village Hall property. Construction is currently in progress.

The Verizon application for a cell tower at the Antrim Playhouse property has been adjourned until further notice.

See the following link for a recent FCC ruling on processing cell tower applications:
Petition Pending for Reconsideration of New FCC Rules Setting Timeframes for Governments to Act on Wireless Tower Siting Applications Under TCA

See the following link on the American Cancer Society website for their comments about health affects of cell towers: http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/CancerCauses/OtherCarcinogens/AtHome/cellular-phone-towers

See the following link for a case where a municipality recently lost a case denying a phone company a permit to install an antenna:
NY Federal District Court Finds City’s Denial of Permit for Wireless Antenna Not Based on Substantial Evidence and that City’s Discriminated Against Carrier

I would strongly suggest that anyone concerned about the cell tower attend the meetings that the Planning Board holds on these issues.

    Please understand that, due to federal law, the Village has much less discretion in dealing with proposed cell towers than it has when reviewing other types of applications. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits municipalities from taking actions that prevent a provider of wireless communications service from closing a gap in its service area. Under the authority of that Act, the Federal Communications Commission has issued rulings that impose further limitations on municipalities.

    Therefore the Village's first line of inquiry is whether the applicant has proved that it really has a coverage gap. We do this by having our expert telecommunications consultant independently review the application. If our consultant reports to the Planning Board that he is satisfied that a gap does exist, our next level of inquiry (which is required in our Zoning Law) is whether the applicant can close the gap by co-locating on an existing cell tower. Only if our own expert reports that he has concluded that co-location will not solve the problem will the application reach the stage of a public hearing on a proposed new location.

    At that stage, and if there is no new credible evidence produced at the hearing to deny the existence of the coverage gap, the Planning Board is prohibited by federal law from just saying no. If the Planning Board can identify a feasible alternate location for the proposed cell tower that would be better for the community and would be as effective in closing the gap, it can require the applicant to consider that site instead. If there is no such alternative, the Planning Board must approve the proposed site, although it does retain the authority to impose restrictions related to screening, safety, and the specific placement of the tower on that site.

    The Village is neither in favor or against cell towers or any application, especially before the application is completely reviewed by the Planning Board and its consultants, and the public has an opportunity to comment.

    I urge you to attend the meetings or contact the Village with questions, and not just rely on rumors or hearsay from others.

                                                            Thank you,
                                                            David Goldsmith
                                                            Mayor