Update: August 19^th Public Hearing

The Village Trustees reserved decision regarding the pending contract with Crown Castle. They invited further comments from residents on the proposed DAS installations in Matinecock. Following this, a motion was made to close the public hearing.

There will be no more testimony before the Village Trustees on the Right-of-Way Use Agreement with Crown Castle at any subsequent hearings.

MRIT will post the Trustees’ decision regarding the contract, along with their response to our 3 requests (call to action), when we have this information.

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Would you write a blank check for 25 years?

The Trustees of Matinecock Village are currently considering an agreement that would give Crown Castle the right to install wireless technologies on potentially all utility poles in Matinecock for a period of up to 25 years, with little to no accountability to the Village for their installation and monitoring. This is unwise. But this scenario will happen if the Trustees sign the Crown Castle contract without first creating a Telecommunications Ordinance for Matinecock.

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If you’ve read the Proposed Draft Ordinance for Matinecock Village,or the Summary, not only do you have a sense of how many factors there are to consider before saying yes to this contract, but also how important it is that the Village have a game plan for assessing additional applications for wireless installations in the future. Here are some key concerns to consider about the proposed DAS installations, prior to next Tuesday’s hearing– all of which would be addressed by an ordinance:

1. Proper monitoring of the DAS system, for safety.

a. Could these poles come down in a hurricane like Sandy? If damaged, could they cause fire, explosion, or danger to life and property? (see this link to an article about overloaded utility poles that snapped and fell to the ground under heavy winds, causing the 2007 Malibu Canyon fire)
An ordinance would require CC to provide the Village with evidence of safe monitoring, yearly. It would also require an engineer to certify the poles are structurally sound, every 3 years.

b. If there’s damage to property, or personal injury as a result of the poles, are we insured? If some become unsafe, will CC discontinue service and immediately remove the installation in question? An ordinance would spell out these requirements.

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It’s critical that the Village of Matinecock not rush into a long term contract with Crown Castle without the proper zoning protections in place. Without these guidelines spelled out in a telecommunications ordinance, residents will have no power to regulate a range of issues involving how the DAS is installed and monitored over time.

Here’s a summary of the Proposed Draft Ordinance for Matinecock Village. Or, download the full text here. Proposed Draft of Matinecock Wireless Ordinance. It outlines all the factors that must be taken into consideration before installing a WTF (wireless telecommunications facility) in the community, both now, and in the future.

Without an ordinance, residents of Matinecock will have no clear way of determining where future antennas are best located, how tall they should be, whether or not they are in accordance with Matinecock’s aesthetic requirements, how far away from homes they ought to be placed, and how they should be monitored for safety.

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