Tristan Geary for The New Pine Plains Herald
The Ancram Planning Board did not make a decision March 12 on a proposed Homeland Towers cell tower, instead scheduling another public hearing for May 7.
The proposal, first introduced in November 2024 as a 150-foot tower, was revised in August to 100 feet to comply with Ancram zoning law. The tower would fill a coverage gap along Route 22, but some residents said they remain concerned about its visual impact because the site is within Ancram’s Scenic Corridor Overlay Zone.
Attorney Clifford Davis, who said he was representing homeowners Anthony and Elise Tomas of 6575 Route 22, across from the proposed tower site at 6534 Route 22 on Willow Brook Farm, argued against the project on both aesthetic and safety grounds.
“Once that tower is up, it defeats the whole purpose of the [Scenic Corridor] Overlay Zone,” Davis said.
In a letter to the Planning Board, Davis also raised concerns about the tower’s proximity to Route 22.
“Homeland Towers needs to demonstrate to this board that no flying debris or ice will ever leave its property,” wrote Davis in a letter to the Ancram Planning Board.
Davis also argued that because the proposed site is on a working farm, the project may conflict with Ancram zoning law, which states that parcels may have only one principal use.
Willow Brook Farm owner Ken Beneke, who joined the meeting virtually, pushed back on the aesthetic objections and pointed to the tower’s value in an emergency.
“if it saves one life in the valley, that should be [enough] for the aesthetics to be [put] aside.”
Attorney David Kenny, representing applicants Homeland Towers and Verizon Wireless, said tree removal could be delayed until after construction begins. He said that would make the project harder to bid, but that the applicants were willing to absorb the added cost. Seven trees would need to be removed.
The town’s consultant, CityScape, completed a second supplemental report dated March 11. According to the report, the revised 100-foot tower complies with Ancram zoning law, which states that “all radio, television and other communications towers and other accessory structures shall be restricted to a maximum height of 100 feet from the base of the entire structure.”
The report also considered ways to mask the tower, including faux-silo and flagpole designs.
Still, some residents said the structure would be out of character with the town’s rural landscape.
“My family has planned on retiring in the area,” resident Mike Thayer said via Zoom. “If there’s a 100-foot tower nearby, we will not be retiring in the area.”
In other business, Sky High Farm co-directors Josh Bardfield and Sarah Workneh appeared before the board seeking to create two half-acre parcels, each smaller than 1 acre, so they could gift the land to current tenants who live there in mobile homes.
Planning Board Chair Joe Crocco raised concerns about the small size of the lots, the shared well and septic system, and the fact that the homes are mobile and could be removed.
The board unanimously approved a lot line adjustment for Nicholas Pandolfi and Matthew Zuckerman, who purchased 4 acres from the neighboring Valden farm.
The next Ancram Planning Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 2.