Webster Planning Board orders outside review of 135-foot Verizon tower

This is a follow-up to yesterday's backgrounder on the Webster North application.

The Webster Planning Board directed Tuesday night that an independent engineering review be conducted of Verizon's proposed cell tower at 1222 Wildflower Drive. In ordering the review, the board also confirmed on the public record that the tower stands 135 feet (the 125 feet listed in the board's meeting agenda was a mistake).

No vote on the application itself was taken. Results of the independent review are targeted before the July 2026 Planning Board meeting.

Height confirmed at 135 feet

The agenda listed the project as a 125-foot tower. Laura Smith of Nixon Peabody, presenting for the applicant, clarified the discrepancy during Tuesday's sketch plan review.

"The 135 is the minimum that's necessary to fill the coverage gap," Smith said.

Smith attributed the difference to elevation. The parcel at 1222 Wildflower Drive sits roughly 10 feet lower than the town-owned site Verizon had originally proposed on Creekside Trail, requiring extra height to reach the same antenna center line. The town's code caps cell towers at 100 feet, meaning the application requires a 35-foot variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Board orders independent review

Board Chair Anthony Casciani said the town should not solely rely on Verizon's own engineering analysis. Casciani proposed that the town's engineering department select the consulting firm and made clear that taxpayer money would not be at stake.

"By getting an outside consultant, our code allows us to hire someone, and the bill goes back to the applicant," Casciani told the board and audience. "Your tax dollars are not involved in this."

Verizon's attorney indicated the company would cooperate with a third-party review, provided the reviewer was qualified and costs were reasonable.

Not all board members were equally convinced the review was necessary. Board member Derek Anderson said he found Verizon's engineering case persuasive and questioned whether hiring an outside consultant was money well spent.

Neighbor: only Verizon customers are complaining

The meeting was a sketch plan review, not a formal public hearing, but Chair Casciani allowed neighbors to speak.

Barb Robbins, who lives at 1205 Wildflower Drive, told the board she had spent five days canvassing the neighborhood with a petition.

"The only ones who have said that they have any type of cell phone coverage issues are Verizon customers," Robbins said. "...Once they get outside of their homes and they get onto the main roadways, they go up to three bars. Why is that?"

A Verizon project manager addressed the question directly. She said Verizon holds roughly 70 percent of the market share in the area, with AT&T and T-Mobile splitting the remaining 30 percent. "Part of the reason is coverage and part of the reason is capacity," she said.

Robbins said she plans to submit a formal petition and written questions to the town.

What happens next

The town's engineering department will identify and engage an independent consultant. The board set a target of having results before the July 2026 Planning Board meeting.

Beyond Planning Board site plan approval, the application also requires a height variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals and a telecommunications special use permit from the Town Board.

Verizon's application was filed March 10. Under FCC rules, the town has 150 days to act, placing the deadline at approximately Aug. 7, 2026.

Also at Tuesday's meeting

The Planning Board approved two sign applications: Public Storage at 665 Phillips Road (one monument sign, one wall sign) and Finger Lakes Federal Credit Union at 1055 Hatch Road (one monument sign, two wall signs), the latter with a condition requiring building numbers be added to the directional sign to clarify the Hatch Road address against Ridge Road-facing signage. A third sign application — Bloom & Blend at 790 Ridge Road — was tabled to the June 2 meeting after no applicant representative appeared.

The board also granted final site plan and subdivision approval to Bella Terra Phase 3, the last section of a 66-lot single-family residential subdivision off Bellora Way that received preliminary approval in 2018.

In administrative items, the board voted to declare itself lead agency for SEQR coordinated review of Dink N' Links, a proposed 41,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor recreation facility near 900 Five Mile Line Road, and approved the minutes from the April 7 meeting.

AI tools were used in drafting and research.