Plans to replace a 165-foot lattice broadcast tower with a flagpole monopole have met with resistance from a group of local citizens. As the East Hampton Star reports, the group of Sag Harbor Village, Maine residents has rallied to decry plans to replace the current WLNG-FM tower with a new cell phone tower.
Opposition organizer and Redwood Road resident Emma Hamilton spoke on behalf of the objectors, noting, “We’re not arguing that we don’t need an improvement in cell service. We’re saying the station is not the right spot for the tower. We’re fond of the lattice tower,” she clarified, “It’s transparent and historic.”
If the radio station prevails, the lattice tower would be replaced by a 165-foot flagpole designed to hold fifteen antenna units. One would be used by WLNG, with eight operated by Verizon and another six working for AT&T. The property would also house two gas powered generators. Opponents say that the change in appearance would be an eyesore, a potential threat to property values, and a possible environmental hazard.
A statement posted on the group’s website reads, “Although the plans call for a concealed tower disguised as a giant flagpole, it will not be just a flagpole, it will be a massive commercial telecommunications compound.”
Sag Harbor Village is currently served by a COW placed on Redwood Road. The temporary cell on wheels was approved over a year ago when the Board approved a request from Verizon to install it. At a meeting last month, the Board had been prepared to vote on extending the use of the COW, but instead decided to table the matter, notes the source. Concerns were expressed that an indefinitely parked mobile structure could set a bad precedent, the Star reported.
The future of a new cell tower in the Village remains up in the air, as does the unobjectionable, but inadequate, lattice tower.
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