KENT — A proposal to build a cell tower on private property in the Town of Kent, Putnam County, is facing strong opposition from local residents and officials in both Kent and the neighboring Town of East Fishkill, Dutchess County.
The applicant is seeking approval from the planning board to construct a tower at least 100 feet tall at 59 Hortontown Hill Road. Chelsea Mulroy, a nearby resident, launched a petition opposing the “150-foot monopole cell tower,” raising concerns about property values, health and safety, the availability of alternative sites, and the fact that the property owner lives out of town in Tarrytown, Westchester County. Mulroy and her neighbors submitted the petition to the planning board.
Chelsea Mulroy said her husband, Daniel Mulroy, a former SEAL Team 6 member who was diagnosed with cancer, sought their home as a place of healing and safety. “If the tower is approved, it will force us to leave the only place that has ever truly felt like a haven for our family,” she said.
Some residents have suggested placing the tower on nearby state-owned land at Fahnestock State Park instead of the Hortontown Hill neighborhood.
Kent Highway Superintendent Richard Othmer also opposes the project, stating in a memo to the planning board that Hortontown Hill Road is prone to flooding and that the area’s forested hills help protect against erosion. “Any roadway constructed in this area will only serve as a sluiceway; we might as well build a watermill at the bottom,” Othmer wrote. He discouraged any development in the area, citing its vulnerability to weather and environmental changes.
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