Residents object to cell tower permit process

By Karen Keefe
Grand Island Dispatch, November 19, 2004

Councilman Daniel Robillard took heat Monday night from several residents over Town Board approval for a cellular tower to be built on his property on 423 Ransom Road.

Foes of the tower site spoke out in the public comment section near the close of the regular Town Board meeting. The residents said the town rushed the tower approval through and didn’t follow proper procedure, providing inadequate public notice and public comment before its action. They also suggested that Robillard may have received preferential treatment that would not be afforded the average homeowner.

Robillard countered, “They knocked on my door.” He said Upstate Cellular approached him, not the other way around, and that in the name of ethics, he recused himself from voting on the Town Board and left the room whenever the issue came before the Planning Board, to which he is town liaison. He said the wireless company also approached two other landowners: Sheridan-Transit Gun Club, which never got back to Upstate Cellular, and Leo Hopkins of 555 Ransom Road, who has a man-made pond that the company couldn’t build a bridge across.

Those who spoke questioned the legitimacy of the approval whereby Upstate Cellular Network of Rochester, doing business as Verizon Wireless, will lease 1.32 acres from Robillard to build a 120-foot tower. The standard fee paid for such a lease agreement is $800 per month. Robillard’s property is now used for his residence and also was formerly used for a landscaping business. Verizon’s objective is to provide reliable service and a strong signal to the eastern part of Grand Island, as well as to sites in Wheatfield and Tonawanda.

Frank Burkhart of 1406 Ransom Road said that before a new tower can be OK’d, the town’s Zoning Code first requires a detailed study to see if new antennas can be placed on existing towers – a practice known as “co-location.” Burkhart said the nearest one to Robillard’s house is the Nextel Tower, directly across the river at the North Tonawanda Sewer Plant.

“Why was the Nextel Tower excluded from the study when the code states that all existing towers must be considered?” Burkhart asked. He said the code also states that least preferred place for a tower is a residential property such as Robillard’s, presumably because some people consider such towers an eyesore in their neighborhood. Burkhart said the residential site may set a bad precedent, and cautioned that Verizon intends to build more towers on Grand Island.

He also cited what he called “a number of irregularities” in the approval process through the Planning Board and Town Board, including the fact that the original motion by the Town Board on Sept. 20 called for a “special use permit” to be issued, rather than a “tower permit.” The minutes of that meeting have since been amended and the words crossed out to read “tower permit.” Supervisor Peter McMahon told the board he misspoke when he referred to the type of permit needed.

Town Attorney Peter Godfrey later said the difference in wording was not relevant to the legitimacy of the tower approval. “You could use a cocktail napkin and write the tower permit and it would be perfectly acceptable.” He said the permit issue was on the Town Board agenda on several occasions, affording opportunities for public comment. Godfrey said the time has passed for that input, and “the permit was issued in a manner that was consistent with the law”

Burkhart challenged Robillard: “As an elected official who stands to gain financially from the project, Councilman Robillard should be willing to show his integrity by voluntarily withdrawing all permit applications until such time as all outstanding questions are resolved.” Robillard later pointed out to the Dispatch that his wife and he are the landowners, and as such, did not file any permit applications. “I signed a lease,” he explained. Upstate Cellular “dealt with the BuildingDepartment, zoning, planning and engineering.”

Robillard told the residents, “I voted against the Zoning Code because of ambiguities like this,” regarding tower permits. He said corrections will be made to the code at the end of the year.

During an exchange that drew numerous strikes of the gavel from Deputy Supervisor Richard Crawford, Robillard said to Burkhart, “You’re looking for a smoking gun that’s not there.”

Kim Tetreault of Blue Jay Lane and Kristine Lavango of Love Road also spoke against the tower permit approval process, saying proper procedure was not followed. Tetreault said, “If the code right now does not allow for public notification of the neighbors, I would ask that it be amended without delay.” Robillard told the Dispatch that the new code does include such provisions and that they were followed.

Tetreault said the permit application process took only 13 days from application to approval. Robillard told the Dispatch that under the new Zoning Code, that is the way the procedure goes with all projects. The approval process routinely begins with the Planning Board, then goes to the Town Board.

Town records show that the Planning Board on Sept. 13 recommended approval of the permit. The Town Board approved the permit at its Sept. 20 meeting. Robillard abstained from voting on the measure at the Town Board.