In a unanimous vote, the Village of Roslyn Board of Trustees rejected an application by Sprint Spectrum to install three panel antennas to an existing transmission tower by Rallye Motors. The purpose of the antennas was to help Sprint provide cellular phone assistance to residents in the Roslyn area.

The debate itself was marked by opposition by politicians and residents in East Hills, home to neighborhoods near Rallye. Led by East Hills Board of Trustee member, Linda Nathanson and Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Doreen Banks, the opposition cited possible health hazards, including cancer risks, as their main reason for urging that the antennas not be constructed.

The BOT has debated the issue for the better part of this year while lawyers for Sprint continually asked for a vote on the matter. At the last village meeting, the BOT finally did vote, but first they submitted into the public record, a list of "findings of fact" on the project. They included:

* Testimony of the public concerning potential or perceived health hazards resulting from radio frequency emissions is not relevant to the proposed application as a result of FCC preemption.

* The proposed site violates the minimum rear yard setback line in the applicable zoning district.

* The proposed site violates the minimum setback requirements of Local Law No. 3 in that the tower structure itself is located upon residentially zoned property.

* The applicant has failed to demonstrate compliance with Subsection G of the Local Law in that it has not provided substantial or credible evidence in the record that the AT & T tower to the north of the proposed location cannot accommodate its antennas.

* The applicant has failed to demonstrate that the alternate site proposed by the residents at the hearing would not result in seamless service in the borders of the village, either alone or in combination with some other existing tower which would not intrude upon minimum setback requirements.

Based on these findings, the application was then rejected by a 5-0 vote, with all BOT members present.

The alternate site alluded to by the finding was located near Acura Motors, which like Rallye, is on Northern Boulevard in Roslyn. In recent meetings, lawyers for Sprint rejected the Acura site mostly because of the height of a new tower. The tower near Rallye is 90 ft. high. Lawrence Ray, an attorney for Sprint, said the alternate site would have resulted in change in elevation in the tower. Engineers for Sprint said the new tower would have to be a 244 ft. high lighted structure in order to be effective. Mr. Ray also said a new tower, because of its height, would have an adverse visual impact on Roslyn. He also claimed that its existence would encourage the proliferation of more new towers in the Roslyn area.

The most intense opposition to the project came from residents of the Appletree Lane neighborhood in East Hills. Appletree Lane sits directly above the parking lot at Rallye. To determine what health risks may be involved in such an addition, the Village of East Hills Medical Commission visited the site earlier this year. Commission members could not say for certain if the transmissions posed a health risk, but they maintained that the possibility did exist.

The opposition was later joined by Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman, Doreen Banks. While acknowledging the constraints placed on local communities by the 1996 Federal Communications Act, Councilwoman Banks also noted health hazards, stating that Roslyn itself has been recognized as a "hot spot" for instances of breast cancer. The councilwoman added that studies suggest there is a "positive correlation" between the construction of power lines and breast cancer rates.

Other than health concerns, opponents questioned the need for cell phone usage itself, especially when health risks are added in. A real estate agent, Ms. Nathanson also said that the project could harm the housing situation in East Hills, noting that prospective buyers do not like living near cell towers.

For their part, Sprint lawyers invoked not only the Federal Communications Act; they also tried to address the health concerns expressed by area residents. Mr. Ray said that emissions from the proposed antennas would be less than one percent of federal limits. On both health and aesthetic grounds, the impact of the antennas on the community would be negligible.

A year ago, the BOT, anticipating such requests as the one Sprint made, approved a local law to regulate the placement, construction and modification of all telecommunications towers in Roslyn. The purpose of the law was to give the village some say in the construction of any new telecommunications towers. The law was also designed to give the village an opportunity to regulate areas of telecommunication operations "where it can" under the Federal Communications Act.