Published: October 03, 2007 11:13 pm            

WHEATFIELD: Residents cry foul over Verizon

Planning Board approves site plan for cellular tower on Niagara Falls Boulevard

Residents came to Wednesday’s Wheatfield Planning Board meeting to have their concerns addressed about a proposed cellular tower in their neighborhood after the Zoning Board of Appeals gave its approval for the project.

Verizon Wireless is in the final planning stages to install an 85-foot cell tower on private property at 2335 Niagara Falls Blvd.

The planning board voted unanimously to approve the site plan for the project Wednesday after receiving recommendations from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

“We were not able to speak at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on Monday,” said Frank Silvernail, a resident whose home would be adjacent to the cell tower.

Silvernail told the board that there were two other viable sites for the cell tower.

“The Oppenheim (Park) area was rejected because the study showed overlap of services,” Silvernail said, disagreeing with those findings. “The Bell Aerospace site is a Superfund site, but the tower could be built on top of an existing building there.”

But representatives from Verizon said that those sites would not be feasible for several reasons.

“There are existing tenants and buildings at the Bell Aerospace site and it is a Superfund under remediation,” said Daniel Silber, spokesperson for Verizon. “Verizon Wireless wouldn’t dig up a known contamination site to put a tower there.”

Representatives from the company said they want to put the tower up to plug a non-service gap within the town, specifically the Bergholz area. The tower would be approximately 500 feet back from the road.

The company will be leasing private property for the site, and there are a handful of surrounding homes that would be able to see the tower from their backyards.

“We have quite a few towers on Niagara Falls Boulevard already,” said resident Danny Maerten. “There are three centered around Niagara Falls Boulevard and Ward Road. There are 20 people who will have to live under this tower.”

Residents want more time for alternative sites to be found before the tower is built and said they feel the Zoning Board of Appeals improperly handled the process.

“It’s not a railroad job,” said Planning Board Chairman Richard Muscatello. “The ZBA said it was OK to build there. By law, we can’t tell these people (Verizon) to go here or go there. No matter where we put it, we’re going to have a problem.”

The Planning Board does not have authority over the Zoning Board of Appeals and the residents’ only option is to appeal the Zoning Board’s decision.

In other business, the Planning Board recommended final subdivision approval for the Wheatfield Lakes patio homes project.

        

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