Southampton Planning Board Continues Cell Tower Hearing to August After Site Relocation Announced

EASTHAMPTON -- July 8, 2026, Southampton Planning Board continues cell tower hearing after applicant proposes moving tower 750 feet southeast. Attorney Francis Parisi, representing Atlantic Communications, told the board at the July 8 meeting that the company would shift its proposed 160-foot monopole from the center of a horse farm at 1 Cook Road to the southeastern corner of the same lot, where commonwealth-owned conservation land borders the site on two sides. The Eastampton City Council, represented by Precinct 5 Councillor Tamara Smith, read a unanimous resolution into the record opposing the tower, asserting that 111 Eastampton residences, compared to 15 Southampton residences, fall within 1,500 feet of the site and that residents on the more-affected side of the town line have no vote in Southampton's permitting process. The board voted unanimously to continue the hearing to August 19, 2026 at 7 p.m., with a new balloon visibility test set for the morning of July 18 at the revised location. The applicant faces a federal shot clock deadline of approximately October 1, 2026, after which inaction could be treated as a constructive denial.