Wading River residents file suit in dispute over fire district communications tower

A group of Wading River residents filed a civil lawsuit in federal court late last month in an effort to block the construction of a recently approved communications tower at the Wading River Fire District headquarters.

The complaint alleges that contracting company Elite Towers “conspired” with town and fire district officials to illegally bypass necessary zoning and site plan approvals, denying the plaintiffs’ rights to raise their concerns with the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

Facing ongoing communication challenges and a growing threat to the safety of first responders, the Wading River Fire District partnered with Elite Towers and Verizon Wireless to construct the communications facility, which would be equipped with a 190-foot concealment pole, to improve emergency correspondence capabilities. 

The Riverhead Town Board approved a zoning exemption for the project on Dec. 3, which allowed the developers to bypass applying for variances from the ZBA, securing a special permit from the Town Board and formal site plan approval from the Planning Board.

The 162-page complaint details the concerns of 17 residents who live near the proposed tower on North Country Road, including negative aesthetic impacts, a potential decrease in property values, financial hardships, risks of falling debris from the structure and other long-term consequences for the historic district. The lawsuit also alleges that officials failed to provide “sufficient evidence” for the need of the new tower prior to approval and requests that the Riverhead Town Board formally deny Elite Towers application in writing.

In seeking the zoning exemption, the developers undertook a nine-part process called the Monroe Balancing Test, which is used to assess the nature of a proposed project, its impact on the local community and how the public would benefit, factors used in determining whether a project should be exempt from local zoning rules.

The complaint was submitted by Andew Campanelli, a Merrick-based attorney representing the residents, who alleges that Elite Towers was aware of the “dramatic adverse impacts” the communications pole would inflict on the surrounding residences and the possibility of the ZBA not granting the required variances.

Because of this, he and the plaintiffs claim that Elite Towers “conspired” with Riverhead Town Board members who violated the town code to “deprive the plaintiffs of their rights to be heard before the ZBA” and the Planning Board, the complaint said.

The residents further claim this “coordinated scheme” to avoid the necessary zoning procedures violates their First Amendment rights to speak out against the communication tower’s construction.

The plaintiffs said the communications tower application does not meet the requirements of the Monroe Balancing Test and that there is “no evidence supporting the claim that there is a deficiency in the Fire District’s current communications services,” according the the filing, or that adding a wireless facility to the firehouse property would address those concerns in any way.

Mr. Campanelli previously said at a Riverhead Town Board meeting that the applicant omitted the photographic perspective from the homes surrounding the proposed tower and noted the dangers of potential structural failures, ice and debris falling from the tower as well as the risk of fire at the facility. 

He also stated that a more accurate method for pinpointing service gaps in the area would have been through a “drive test,” where an engineer monitors the frequencies of wireless signals in various locations, collects data through calls or other indicators and records where signal strength weakens. 

The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial, injunctive relief as well as monetary damages and reimbursement for attorneys’ fees.

Fire district officials plan to allow at least two cellular service providers access to the tower for two reasons: to improve and enhance real-time correspondence during emergency situations and to provide better overall cellular coverage to the area. 

In 2024, the department’s volunteers responded to nearly 1,300 emergency calls — and reported multiple communication hiccups, including an incident when firefighters at a scene could not reach the firehouse dispatcher to request backup and EMT support — despite being just a quarter-mile from headquarters.

At a Wading River Fire District fire commissioner’s meeting on Dec. 9, officials anticipated the communications tower would be up and running by March or April this year, according to the meeting minutes.