The summer’s battle between the adjoining New York cities of White Plains and North Castle has ended, with the state Supreme Court ruling in favor of White Plains.
The dispute began last spring when Nynex Mobile received permission from White Plains to erect a monopole for an antenna array on city property, positioned very close to the boundary line of North Castle.
After the site was up, the city of North Castle filed a lawsuit against the city of White Plains, saying the tower was “visually intrusive” and that it shouldn’t be located on city property. Only the city of White Plains received revenue from Nynex.
The court ruled that the lease and siting process were valid, said David Snyder, an attorney for Nynex, which helped White Plains with its defense.
CTIA cites horror stories
To support its position that local entities can wreak havoc on the buildout of wireless services, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association recently outlined some of the more colorful zoning problems encountered by industry:
A California woman successfully blocked an antenna upgrade and a new tower by testifying to local officials that existing cellular antennas had killed one of her dogs and gave her other pets headaches.
A 280-foot cellular tower was denied in Pennsylvania because of concern that a 300-watt blinking red light at the top of the tower would shine into the homes of residents at night and disturb them.
A specialized mobile radio operator’s attempt to put a cell site at a 30-acre cemetery in New Jersey was denied because the local board feared the radio waves posed a health risk, and stated that the tower wasn’t beneficial to the public.
It took a Florida cellular operator 18 months to receive permission to gain a site next to a county dump. The wireless provider first made appearances before 11 different agencies.
