Medford cell tower plan is downsized, but some neighbors still aren't pleased

The developers of a proposed cellphone tower at a Medford horse farm have agreed to lower the pole by 20 feet, Brookhaven Town officials say, but some nearby residents still oppose the project.

Deer Park-based Elite Towers and the Yaphank Fire Department told Brookhaven officials in recent weeks they would drop the pole's height from 150 feet to 130 feet in response to community concerns that the commercial cell tower, which also would include a 9-foot-high radio antenna for the fire department, would disrupt views from their homes.

The Brookhaven Town Board, acting as the town planning board, is expected to vote on Nov. 19 on whether to approve a site plan for the tower. 

The tower, which would be built on a 2,500-square-foot section of the Country Farms Equestrian Center on Bellport Avenue, would address cell service deficiencies in the area and improve emergency responses for the fire department, a lawyer for Elite Towers and fire officials have said.

The lawyer, Gregory R. Alvarez, of Garden City, had told officials and residents at a September public hearing that his clients would conduct a search to "see what alternatives might be available." 

Height, not site, addressed

But some opponents of the plan said in recent interviews that they later learned the company had failed to find a new location and instead agreed to reduce the pole's height.

“Quite frankly, I don’t think they looked anywhere else but the farm, and they thought they could satisfy us by taking ... [20] feet off the pole,” Arthur DiGianno, of Medford, told Newsday in a phone interview. He and his wife, Veronica, live in Meadowbrook Pointe, a 55-and-older gated community less than a mile from the horse farm.

Their neighbors, Robert and Cathy Celebre, said Town Supervisor Dan Panico, in a letter to the couple, cited an earlier decision by the town board of zoning appeals approving a variance allowing the pole project to advance.

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained by Newsday, Panico said Yaphank fire officials "agreed to reduce the height of the tower from 150 feet to 130 feet." He added the town board "does not have the authority to overturn the variance previously granted by the BZA."

'Circumstances have not changed'

Alvarez, in a phone interview Tuesday, said his clients had conducted an "extensive review of the surrounding area” for alternative locations before receiving the zoning board variance. No locations were deemed suitable, he said.

“The circumstances have not changed,” Alvarez said, adding some sites had been rejected because they would not have provided adequate coverage for cell service or emergency calls.

Alvarez said Yaphank fire officials were unwilling to build a tower under 130 feet in height. He said he did not know how much the horse farm would be paid to host the tower.

Yaphank fire officials and the horse farm did not return messages seeking comment on Tuesday.

Robert Celebre said he was disappointed an alternative location wasn't found.

“They never met with us, they never discussed it,” he said in a phone interview. “We heard them say there might be other sites, but we never discussed that with them.”

Cathy Celebre added the tower would be an eyesore.

“It’s all behind our homes," she said. "This pole is going to be directly in our view.”

Residents said the fire department appeared to have no problems responding to emergencies in their neighborhood.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.