Both Verizon tower variance requests return to the zoning board Oct. 13, along with four new applications
The Zoning Board of Appeals meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13. Both Verizon tower height variances are on the agenda, along with four new requests.
Webster's Zoning Board of Appeals meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the Town Board Room at 1002 Ridge Road. Both Verizon cell tower height variances are back on the agenda, along with four new requests.
The six applications:
- Lake Road tower: a height variance for a Verizon tower at Lake Road and County Line Road.
- Webster North tower: a height variance for a Verizon tower near 1222 Wildflower Drive.
- Chickens: a special use permit for a backyard coop and run for up to six hens on Lake Road.
- Olive Garden sign: a sign variance for the Olive Garden planned for the former UNO building.
- Interpretation: on Lake Road, whether an accessory structure can exceed 2,500 square feet.
- Fence: an area variance for a 6-foot privacy fence in the front yard of a corner lot on Hills Pond Road.
The two towers
Robert Burgdorf is the applicant on both, for Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, doing business as Verizon. The maximum height allowed for a communication tower in Webster is 100 feet.
The Lake Road tower would stand 125 feet at Lake Road and County Line Road, plus a 4-foot lightning rod, for 129 feet in all. The Webster North tower would stand 135 feet near 1222 Wildflower Drive, plus a 4-foot lightning rod, for 139 feet in all.
The board closed the public hearing on both towers Sept. 8 and tabled both to this meeting.
What has changed since Sept. 8
At its Oct. 6 meeting, the Planning Board gave Webster North preliminary site plan approval. The Planning Board tabled Lake Road to its Nov. 10 meeting.
Verizon also filed letters dated Sept. 29 on each tower, one for Lake Road and one for Webster North. In both letters, Verizon agrees to extend the shot clock to Nov. 20, 2026. The shot clock is the federal deadline for the town to act on each application.
The Webster North letter includes an updated coverage justification that addresses the Webster Presbyterian Church site. Verizon's letter says a representative of the church offered the site at the Sept. 8 meeting and that the company had previously evaluated and rejected it. The Lake Road letter adds a landscaping plan, which Verizon says is meant "to screen ground-level equipment from view." The Lake Road letter also says it responds to letters from two law firms, dated Sept. 15 and Sept. 23, that object to the tower's location. The letter says the firms argue that Verizon's alternatives analysis is inadequate and that Verizon has not met state environmental review requirements, including for visual impact.
The four new requests
Two of the new requests are on Lake Road. They are separate applications from the Verizon tower at Lake Road and County Line Road.
Chickens. The request is for a special use permit for a 6.3-by-3-foot chicken coop and an 8-by-15-foot enclosed walk-in run. No more than six hens would be kept on the half-acre lot.
Olive Garden sign. The request is a sign variance for the Olive Garden planned for the former UNO building at 931 Holt Road. The variance would allow a 71.6-square-foot wall sign on the building's north side.
Interpretation. An applicant on Lake Road is asking the zoning board for an interpretation of whether an accessory structure can exceed 2,500 square feet.
Fence. The request is an area variance that would allow a 6-foot privacy fence in the front yard of a corner lot on Hills Pond Road.
How to follow along
The agenda links the files for each application. Reviews by the town's radio-frequency consultant are also posted, including the July 24 and Aug. 31 reviews of Webster North and the Aug. 31 review of Lake Road. The Ledger's guide explains where to find agendas, minutes and recordings for Webster's boards.
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