Plan for small cell towers open for comments

WOODSTOCK, N.Y. >> Town Board members are being urged to submit comments on a state Department of Environmental Conservation proposal to expand the number of locations where small cell towers and repeaters would be allowed.

The comment period ends at 4:45 p.m. Friday. Comments can be sent to environmental analyst James Elred at seqra617@ dec.ny.gov.

“Last summer the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) set in motion the deployment of the 5G cell standard,” town resident Weston Blelock said. “This spring the New York State DEC submitted a draft of express terms for the (environmental review) process to speed the roll out of 5G. This document takes away the right of towns to rule on siting of mini-cell towers.”

Under the state proposal cellular antennas or repeaters could be placed on an “existing structure that is not listed on the national or state register of historic places” or located within a district with a designation from the state Register of Historic Places.

“The mini cell towers will be installed every 300 to 400 feet on utility poles, in people’s yards, and in their homes,” Blelock said.

Blelock, in a letter to board members, noted that the town has embraced its historic qualities without making a declaration of environmental significance that would give it federal or state protection.

“From the early 1900s to the present, Woodstock has been home to one of the oldest continuously operating artists’ colonies in the country,” he wrote. “However, the town of Woodstock is not listed in the national or state registers of historic places nor located within a district listed in the national or state registers of historic places. Given this, the proposed amendments to the state Environmental Quality Review Act ... will hamper the town’s ability to plan for the least impactful way to site the coming 5G infrastructure.”

The proposed amendments would accompany existing state language that welcomes the use of small towers and repeaters.

“Co-location of antennas and repeaters on existing facilities may even limit adverse impacts on the landscape by reducing the need for additional cell towers,” state officials wrote. “Co-location minimizes most new visual impacts and new ground disturbances by utilizing previously disturbed areas containing existing structures. The presence of existing access roads to sites intended for antennas and repeaters further reduces the likelihood of adverse impacts from occurring as no new ground disturbance is needed for roads.”