Hempstead Town Board Meeting

The Hempstead Town Board meets for a regular session. Among the public hearings is: 

28235:  Proposed Local Law (To amend the Code of the Town of Hempstead to create a new Chapter 142) [entitled "WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES.

This hearing is on a new wireless telecommunication ordinance covering new regulations on the placement of cellular wireless equipment throughout the town. 

This  ordinance is one of the most important pieces of legislation coming out of the Town of Hempstead, according to community activists, giving the town a means to manage and control future wireless telecommunication installations. The question is, what effect, if any, will it have on existing cellular antennae that sit atop our utility poles just feet away from homes and schools? The new code, as it was originally written, exempted wireless telecommunication carriers that had a license agreement with the Town of Hempstead -- namely NextG, the company that installed cell antennae on utility poles.  

The Telecommunication Taskforce of the North Merrick Community Association requested that this clause be removed from the new code for fear that it may actually have prevented the community from eliminating existing cell antennae.   The taskforce went to the Town Board meeting on September 7 and asked the town to remove that clause since NextG's license agreement with the Town of Hempstead states that NextG must comply with town ordinances and apply for any applicable permits.As a result, the town revised its exemption clause, stating that if existing wireless carriers are required to comply with town codes under their license agreements with the Town, then they are not exempt from the new code. However, the wording is ambiguous and leaves the code open to lawsuits.  There are 35 antennae still sitting on utility poles in Merrick alone, for example.