Tighter scrutiny sought for cell towers

Telecommunications companies that want to erect cell towers on municipal properties in Huntington will face tighter scrutiny if the town's cell tower code is updated.

The placement of towers is just one of the recommended amendments to Huntington's cell tower code being proposed by town board member Glenda Jackson.

"Technology is rapidly growing and it's growing a lot faster than when it first started," Jackson said Tuesday after a public hearing at Town Hall. "We have to maintain a balance between residents and the demands of service."

The amended code would also recommend that cell towers be at least 500 feet from a school, preferably be located in a commercial or industrial area, be enclosed in a structure such as a steeple or cupola and undergo continued safety inspections. The proposed code also says that applicants will have to show a need for a new cell tower, show where other cell towers are located, show proof that radio frequency emissions meet federal standards and meet with zoning board of appeals officials before submitting an application package to the zoning board.

The proposal would also require cellphone companies to appear before the town board for approval to build a cell tower on municipal property. Applicants now have to get permission from the town engineering department.

Jim Matthews, the zoning board attorney who drafted the proposal, said these changes were recommendations based on a combination of federal and state statutes and regulations, and court cases.

"We can't simply prohibit [a company from building a cell tower]," Matthews said "But we have the right to express preferences."

At the public hearing yesterday on extending the 90-day moratorium -- adopted in February -- and discussion about the proposed changes, three speakers addressed the board. They included an attorney representing T-Mobile, which has an application for a cell tower proposed for Cold Spring Harbor pending before the zoning board.

"I applaud your efforts to make the code stronger," said Alissa Sue Taff, president of the Civic Association of Sweet Hollow Inc.

The board voted to extend the moratorium but Jackson said she expected the board to vote on the measure at the May 16 town board meeting.