fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Woodstock’s anti-5G advocates cheer new restrictions on cellular services

by Nick Henderson
November 30, 2022
in Politics & Government
0

Anti-5G advocates lauded new Woodstock rules for regulating the placement of cellular provider equipment as a way to protect against the proliferation of next-generation wireless services. The new regs add restrictions to the placement of so-called small-cell sites, which are used for the millimeter wave variety of 5G wireless service, and introduce setback rules for placements. 

“It’s been a long time coming,” said advocate Steve Romine, who introduced the town to telecommunications-industry litigator Andrew Campanelli, who authored much of the new regulations. “By now we should know Andrew Campanelli is very capable and well respected around the country. And he says that this zoning law will be the best in the country and all other municipalities should model it,” Romine said at a November 22 public hearing on the regulations.

Last year, the town agreed to contribute $1500 toward Campanelli’s fees and Romine raised $11,000.

Advocates of the new statutes will have to wait until December 13 for a formal vote, but McKenna and the four council members voiced their intention to vote in favor.

“This is a big deal for us. We’ve put a lot of work into it and I want to thank anyone else who’s been involved on the board who has pushed this forward,” activist Nicole Nevin said. “I want to especially thank Laura Ricci who’s put her heart and soul into it. I’ve seen what she’s done…and it’s been impressive and she’s stuck with it. And she reads everything. It’s been pretty amazing to watch her in action.”

Anti-5G activist Rex Funk agreed. “I think we have a historic opportunity here to join the list of towns that are adopting legislation like this,” he said. “Without this, they might be able to just put it wherever they want, and we should have a say in that.”

Ricci thanked the advocates for their perseverance and cooperation in pushing for the new regulations.

“You saw it before the town board did and you were persistent. You came and then you came, and then you came. And then we got it.  And then you brought in Andrew Campanelli, who I would say was fabulous,” Ricci said.

The 50 pages of zoning amendments were fine-tuned through the Zoning Revision Committee before being brought before the Town Board for final approval. The so-called small-cell sites, which are used for the millimeter wave variety of 5G wireless service, offer very high bandwidth but minimal range. In more urban settings, small-cell sites are placed on street lights, buildings and utility poles.

The Woodstock zoning amendments will require setbacks of 300 feet from any residential structure unless the small cell is co-located on an existing facility. Small cells cannot be within 300 feet of the Byrdcliffe Historic District or the Hamlet Preservation District.

The new regulations will require providers to certify the combined level of radio-frequency exposure from all carriers on a tower or location will not exceed levels permissible by the FCC. This applies to all cellular services, not just 5G. It became an issue when the Planning Board approved equipment changes on the town-owned tower on California Quarry Road and the applicants could not provide information about transmission levels from other tenants.

Opponents to 5G technology have said the radio-frequency radiation from the new equipment causes ill health effects.

Federal law prohibits local governments from including health factors in the consideration of wireless facility applications, but visual impact and conformance to local zoning can be used in the decision-making process.

Councilmember Bennet Ratcliff, though, says the town should pay all Campanelli’s fees. “I feel that it is not wise for the town board to only pay a small portion of the freight of somebody who we are relying on to advise us,” Ratcliff said. “I would prefer that that the town pay for the full amount of the legal services that Mr. Campanelli has offered, but I was not a part of the board when that happened and when that decision was made. I certainly don’t believe that the Town Board should be sharing in this kind of legal cost with interested parties,” he said. “I believe that if the Town Board is as committed as we all have seen tonight, to being in the forefront, we should be paying for the full cost of the legal services of Mr. Campanelli.”

Ratcliff said he will approve the zoning changes, but is “completely dismayed that the town will not take its financial obligations seriously.”

Supervisor Bill McKenna said there is a history of cost-sharing arrangements.

“There has been precedent in in the past where the town and various entities got together and did share costs, more commonly defending lawsuits,” he said.

Tags: members
Join the family! Grab a free month of HV1 from the folks who have brought you substantive local news since 1972. We made it 50 years thanks to support from readers like you. Help us keep real journalism alive.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Woodstock mourns local legend Jogger John (Updated version)

Next Post

Hinchey bill dangles yearly $10K grant to entice farmers of the future

Nick Henderson

Nick Henderson was raised in Woodstock starting at the age of three and attended Onteora schools, then SUNY New Paltz after spending a year at SUNY Potsdam under the misguided belief he would become a music teacher. He became the news director at college radio station WFNP, where he caught the journalism bug and the rest is history. He spent four years as City Hall reporter for Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover, NH, then moved back to Woodstock in 2003 and worked on the Daily Freeman copy desk until 2013. He has covered Woodstock for Ulster Publishing since early 2014.

Related Posts

Calls for transparency on county’s redevelopment of former TechCity building
Business

County and town governments seek state funding to help iPark 87 pay for building repairs  

January 25, 2023
Town of Hurley declares highway department garage unsafe
Politics & Government

Town of Hurley declares highway department garage unsafe

January 24, 2023
Saugerties celebrates Independence Day with parade and fireworks
Politics & Government

Saugerties Town Board adopts property tax reduction for firefighters

January 24, 2023
Sowing seeds of community: The New Paltz Rescue Squad
Politics & Government

New Paltz Rescue Squad asks for more financial support as employees leave for better-paying jobs

January 23, 2023
Ulster County Legislator and New Paltz alumnus Abe Uchitelle appointed to the College Council
Politics & Government

Ulster County Legislator and New Paltz alumnus Abe Uchitelle appointed to the College Council

January 20, 2023
Saugerties contractor works towards correcting previous building violations
Politics & Government

Most everyone agrees, Gardiner’s current Zoning Code lacks clarity

January 20, 2023
Next Post
Farming is an important part of our sense of place

Hinchey bill dangles yearly $10K grant to entice farmers of the future

Trending News

  • Onteora faces “unfathomable” choices as district’s enrollment dwindles 1.4k views
  • Stockade FC will play at Marist College’s Tenney Stadium while Dietz Stadium is being renovated 824 views
  • Who is Howard Harris, and why is he so angry at Woodstock town supervisor Bill McKenna? 734 views
  • Hunter Mountain’s ski weekend nightlife is staging a post-pandemic comeback 692 views
  • Saugerties to host inaugural Snow Moon Festival February 3 to 5 641 views
  • Top 10 free sledding hills in Ulster County (if it ever snows) 576 views

Weather

Kingston
◉
32°
Cloudy
7:13 am5:04 pm EST
Feels like: 28°F
Wind: 4mph WSW
Humidity: 60%
Pressure: 29.94"Hg
UV index: 0
SatSunMon
46/30°F
46/30°F
37/27°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

×
You have free article(s) remaining. Subscribe for unlimited access.
View Subscription Offers Sign In
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Free HV1 Trial
  • Holiday Gift Subscription

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In
  • Free HV1 Trial

© 2022 Ulster Publishing