Cell tower hearing must be redone after notification error

An applicant wishing to install a cell phone tower on Paulinskill Lake Road in Fredon did not properly notify nearby property owners prior to a December hearing in front of the Fredon Land Use Board, meaning the hearing must be done over again.

“All property owners within 200 feet of the property line of the proposed project area must be notified of the hearing ahead of time by certified mail,” said Land Use Board Secretary Alexandra Usinowicz. “The town provided the applicant with two pages of names and addresses, but I believe a mistake happened on their end and notices did not go out to people on the second page.”

Attorney Frank Ferraro represented the applicant – listed as Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless – at the Dec. 15 meeting. He said due to service gaps, his client is seeking a use variance, height variance and bulk variance to install a cell tower at 64 Paulinskill Lake Road and build an access road to the tower. The parcels in question, which total approximately 90 acres in size, are zoned agricultural residential.

Attempts to reach Ferraro were unsuccessful.

The tower would be 173 feet in height which includes a “faux windmill” at the top.

That land is owned by Spring Valley Equestrian Center, which is located in Fredon but has a Newton address.

“There is terrible cell reception in this entire area,” said Spring Valley Equestrian Center’s Christine Land. “It is hard to take pictures, calls get dropped and internet is unreliable. It may be somewhat unsightly, but so are those power lines. It is a sign of the times.”

Land said Verizon would pay them rent for use of the property. She declined to cite a specific number.

Stillwater resident Lewis Seiler is concerned a tower would change the character of Paulinskill Lake and negatively affect property values.

“A 173-foot tower with a fake windmill at the top of it on a ridge top within a designated scenic corridor overlooking this gorgeous lake will change the character and appearance of the area,” said Seiler, who attended the Dec. 15 meeting with other concerned residents. “Had that cell tower been where they are proposing it when my wife and I were looking for homes, we would have walked away.”

It is unknown when the applicant will appear again before the Land Use Board.