On August 19, 2014, The Board of trustees closed the public hearing on Crown Castle’s Application, thanking concerned residents and Crown Castle for their input with regard to this application.
On September 16, 2014 (Crown Castle Decision 9/16/2014), the Trustees of the Village approved Crown Castle’s application, allowing the installation of a distributed antenna system telecommunication network (“DAS”) within the public right-of-way on Chicken Valley Road, with the following amendments:
- Permission was given to install only 4 DAS Antennae on four existing utility poles, instead of the previously requested Village-wide agreement.
- At the time of the Agreement, only one carrier, projecting a limited range wireless signal between the four poles along Chicken Valley Road, was installed. If additional carriers (up to 4) are added, Crown Castle must apply to the Village for permission to install larger equipment boxes on the poles.
- If Crown Castle wants to install additional telecommunications equipment in Matinecock Village in the future, they must reapply to the Trustees for permission.
Thank You to the Trustees of the Village!
MRIT thanks the Trustees for making these amendments to the Agreement, as they are a significant improvement over the initial contract in the following ways:
- Crown Castle does not have carte blanche to install telecommunications equipment throughout Matinecock Village.
- Through the re-application process, Crown Castle will be accountable to the Trustees and Village residents in terms of when additional carriers will be added to the poles.
SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review):
In their 9/16/14 Decision, the Trustees rejected MRIT’s request that Crown Castle be required to undergo further environmental review (SEQRA: Type I Action), regarding the potential adverse impact of DAS telecom equipment on the environment. Please see the document for their rationale.
No Telecom Ordinance Passed
The Trustees did not pass a Telecommunications Ordinance for Matinecock Village, as was requested by MRIT. MRIT urges the Trustees to join neighboring villages by adopting the proposed draft ordinance submitted by Thomas McKevitt, Esq. (add link here) MRIT asks that this be done as soon as possible, so that the rights and protections regarding future telecom installations provided under law to the Village and its residents, are ensured.
Check the Village Website Regularly, for Postings About Future Hearings with Crown Castle!
We urge you– residents of Matinecock– to check the Village website: www.matinecockvillage.org, to find out when future hearings with Crown Castle will be held. We urge you to attend these meetings so that you can stay informed, ask questions, and voice concerns about current and future installations of telecommunications equipment in the Matinecock Village!
