The East Hampton Town Architectural Review Board offered only anticlimactic comments to the planning board at its Aug. 14 meeting on an over 10-year-old application by the Springs Fire Department to erect a communications tower on its property at 179 Fort Pond Boulevard.
While acknowledging that the 150-foot pole is set to be erected in one of the more sensitive areas of Springs, that was as far as the board got in addressing the controversial tower, which has been at the center of litigation going back to 2016.
“I think the color’s good,” said Chip Rae, the board’s chairman. “It’s a necessary thing. I’m supportive of it.”
“It’s a fact of life,” said Dianne Benson, a board member.
“I don’t see a huge impact,” said Klara Schiavoni, the newest member of the board. “I think the white pillar is fine.”
In fact, a 150-foot tower was erected by the Fire Department in 2015, but the town’s zoning board of appeals revoked its building permits shortly thereafter due in part to opposition from neighbors. It stands there today but is not operational.
The new application seeks to relocate it to the center of the firehouse property. Four cellphone carriers will offer transmission from the tower.
In April, a balloon test was conducted that showed the tower’s visual impact on nearby areas. After a code change in 2022, and tweaks to the Fire Department’s application, the planning board has seemingly been on a fast track to approve the tower.
While it said an old tower needed an extensive environmental review, for example, the new tower will require none.
Greg Alvarez, an attorney for Elite Tower and the Springs Fire Department, told the A.R.B. that after comments from the planning board, it had agreed to plant a second row of evergreens that will surround an equipment shed and provide screening.
