Board to Deny AT&T Proposal
Although East Hampton Town Planning Board opinion was divided, it appeared likely that AT&T will not be able to install antennas on the wind turbine on Iacono Farm on Long Lane. A final environmental impact statement prepared by the town’s Planning Department was discussed at the board’s Oct. 25 meeting, with four members of the seven-member board — the chairman, Job Potter, and Patti Leber, Kathleen Cunningham, and Randy Parsons — against the proposal.
The project calls for three antennas to be mounted 75 feet above ground flush to the latticed wind turbine tower with three more at 85 feet and another three at 95 feet. In a memo to the board, Eric Schantz, a senior planner with the department, summarized reasons for opposing the antennas.
“The proposed action may cause a diminishment of the public enjoyment and appreciation of the designated aesthetic resource, and East Hampton’s farmland vistas contribute greatly to the town’s sense of place and to its tourist economy,” his memo stated. The Iacono family has operated a poultry farm at the site, which has considerable open space, for many years.
His memo pointed out that the town code suggests farmland be avoided as sites for cell towers. Several other sites were suggested, including the former brush dump in Northwest Woods off Old Northwest Road, but other plans are in the works for that site: The East Hampton Village Fire Department plans to build a one-story, 3,800-sqaure-foot substation there, which was the subject of a public hearing that night.
In discussing the AT&T application, Ian Calder-Piedmonte, a member of the board who is a farmer, was among those in favor of the proposal. “I think we are cherry picking” reasons to oppose it, he said, adding that “the antennas would have a “very, very, minimal impact” visually.
Mr. Parsons asked John Huber, an attorney representing AT&T, what would happen if the turbine stopped operating. Mr. Huber said the lease for the antennas was not contingent on the wind turbine being operational. Mr. Huber has indicated at past meetings that, if denied, the next step for AT&T would be in court.
The new Fire Department building would have four bays and house an ambulance as well as firefighting equipment. The proposal is the result of concern about the distance from the Cedar Street firehouse in East Hampton Village to areas of Northwest and the subsequent response time. A house on Hedges Banks Drive was destroyed by fire on New Year’s Day 2015.
Sheldon Kawer of the Landfall Property Owners Association spoke on Oct. 25 in support of the proposal. Residents of the Landfall area have urged that something be done for years. He said firefighting equipment was over five miles away and he read letters of support from the president and treasurer of the association. Charles Ehren, president of the Settlers Landing Association, also spoke in support.
One member of the public, Alicia Barnes, spoke against the proposal. The board will take up the matter again at an upcoming meeting.