Company sues Nissequogue after cell tower plan blocked

A company vying to build a 140-foot cell tower on the grounds of a St. James private school has sued the Village of Nissequogue over an adverse ruling that stopped the plan from moving forward.

LI Smart Solutions had sought a special use permit to build a sky-blue-painted cell tower on the campus of The Knox School, a boarding and day school that overlooks Stony Brook Harbor. The village's planning board, which is also named as a defendant in the federal lawsuit, ruled in March that the tower did not conform to the criteria for waterfront development.

Some residents said the cell tower would block sweeping coastline views. But company officials and some village residents cited an urgent need for better cell coverage on the North Shore of Smithtown. The village's topography creates a service gap, they said, posing a potential safety threat for residents needing to make emergency calls.

The Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, adopted in 1991, steers development along the coastline in Nissequogue and Head of the Harbor. The policies are meant to preserve the rural character of both villages along with the scenic waterfront views.

The 20-page complaint says the company, during public hearings, presented “overwhelming evidence” of a “significant coverage gap." The company showed that the tower “would eliminate that gap, that no feasible alternative sites exist, and that the proposed facility complies" with federal and village laws, the complaint said.

The lawsuit was filed May 4 with the U.S. District Court in Central Islip.

The complaint noted the denial was "not supported by substantial evidence in the written record." Instead, the lawsuit states, the findings outlined represented “a pretext to conceal the Village’s pre-existing political agenda to prevent the construction of cell towers in the surrounding community."

The lawsuit seeks a judicial order directing the village and the planning board to grant all variances, permits and approvals “to allow construction, operation, and maintenance” of the cell tower.

William Wexler, the North Babylon-based attorney for LI Smart Solutions, did not respond to requests for comment. Peter Marullo, the Nissequogue planning board chairman, also did not respond to a request for comment.

Several residents who live near the school have said a cell tower would mar the village's aesthetic and block views of the water.

Nissequogue Mayor Richard Smith said in an interview that he supported the board’s decision.

"We are ready to defend it vigorously, and I do agree and stand with and support our planning board’s decision,” he said.

Smith said the village took a lot of time to write its code on wireless communications facilities, which was adopted in 2007. That code limits the maximum cell tower height to 100 feet, unless the planning board issues a waiver “upon good cause shown.”

Smith said the proposed tower at The Knox School “did not come anywhere near close to complying with the standards called for and enumerated within the village code, and that was very clear from the beginning.”