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Verizon Proposal Withdrawn

We're happy to announce that Verizon withdrew their proposal on 9/9/10. The letter from their lawyer was very dry, and did not give much useful information. Here's a link to the letter.

This is probably not the end of the issue. Verizon will almost certainly try again. They might file a revised proposal for the same location, try to find another location inside the park, or look for a site outside the park. As long as they try to put this tower inside Odiorne Park, we will continue to oppose it.

Here's what Verizon wanted to do -

• Verizon wireless wanted to build a 110' cell phone tower in the middle of Odiorne Point State Park. It was to be disguised as a pine tree.
• Verizon's lawyer said they "might want to add another 20 feet to the tower at some point in the future."
• Verizon wanted to clear-cut an area about 60' x 60', and surround it with an 8' wooden fence.
• This was to be located about 180' to the right of the gate house at the main entrance.
• The area inside the fence would have included a 12' x 30' building. Verizon wanted to try to rent space on the tower to "one or two" other cell carriers, so eventually there might have been several of these buildings inside the fence.
• The "lease area" was about 1/4 acre. Including a driveway and utility access, this project would affect a larger area.
• Once this section of the park was "industrialized," it would have been much easier for other cell companies to demand their own towers and equipment in the same area.
• Apparently the State agency in charge of the park (DRED) was in favor of this. You might think they would be fighting to protect the public's right to enjoy this land. However, DRED is broke, and they seemed mainly to be interested in the $2000/month lease fee. With the DRED managers in this kind of mind-set, we're concerned that all of our state parks are in peril.
  
  

Here's what we think -

• This thing would have been ugly and intrusive, and does not belong in the middle of a park.
• Better cell phone service at the northern end of Rye for Verizon customers would be nice, but it is not a necessity that requires digging up this park. Verizon can and should find another location for its tower.
• This proposal amounted to the State selling off protected public land so a private corporation could install a piece of industrial equipment. This would have set an extremely bad precedent for all of our parks.
• The State has accepted almost $500,000 in Federal money for the park under the "Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The State agreed to use the land for "recreational use . . in perpetuity." Verizon and the State may try to find a way around this, but the process would be long and difficult, and we will fight them every step of the way. Here's a link to more information on LWCF.