The Village of Williston Park Board of Trustees recently voted in favor, 3-2, of a law eliminating the requirement to use stealth material for minor modifications of telecommunications facilities.
“In reviewing laws on telecommunications, certain issues came to the forefront, and we felt a need to amend the current law,” Village of Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar said.
Andy Ruskin, an attorney filling in village attorney James Bradley, explained the law negating the use of certain materials that would hide or make telecommunications facilities more difficult to see.
Ruskin also said the village learned of a conflict between the stealth requirement and federal law, saying the federal edict would take precedence over local law, and if challenged in a federal court, the village’s stealth requirement would not hold up.
“This is to remain on the correct side of the law,” Ruskin said.
Village trustees William Carr and Teresa Thomann voted in opposition, citing multiple reasons for their position.
“I’m the one that pushed for stealth, and I understand what’s happening, but I’m dead-set against it,” Carr said. “I think its an eyesore, it reduces property value and makes the neighborhood look bad as you drive down Willis Avenue. There’s no different between this and Queens.”
Thomann objected to the requirement’s elimination, saying it wouldn’t hold up in federal court because its worded as a mandate and suggested to instead include the aesthetics of stealth materials as part of the village code.
“I’m really concerned about how we’re amending this,” Thomann said. “Eliminating it doesn’t give us as much input on these designs…just having that language in the code makes a more viable and persuasive position for the village.”
Ehrbar said the law will provide for oversight by Kerry Collins, village building inspector, and that many of the villages concerns can be relayed to applications for modification.
