ZBA Hearing Minutes
73 Chestnut Hill Rd
Date: 11/22/11
Hearing began at: 3:30pm
Members Present: Fred Chapman, Chair, Cynthia Weber, Clerk, Robert Lazzarini and Stanley Ross
The Board discussed the suggestions made by Robert Lazzarini for findings.
The Board made the following findings based on section IV.F.1 through IV.F.19 of the Personal Wireless Service Facilities, Towers and Repeaters Bylaw as amended at Town Meeting May 7, 2011 and as approved by the Attorney General November 21, 2011:
1. The applicant has examined all existing wireless facilities surrounding Monterey and has shown that there is not currently “adequate” personal wireless service coverage in Monterey. This application, together with its companion application by Eugene and Eleanor Bounous of 31 Main Rd, Monterey and Florida Tower Partners, LLC dba North Atlantic Towers (“North Atlantic”) & New Cingular Wireless PDC, LLC by and through its Manager, dba AT&T Mobility Corporation (“AT&T”), proposes a telecommunication facility for Monterey that employs two towers to generate “adequate” coverage for wireless communication of Monterey as demonstrated by propagation studies and maps..
2. The Board concludes that the proposals adequately protects and preserves to the greatest degree possible the character, scenic beauty and appearance of Monterey as well as the scenic, historic, environmental and natural resources. Each tower will have space to accommodate additional wireless carriers as well as the Town’s emergency communication equipment. The facility will draw its power from underground feeds but will also have its own emergency power generator in case of outages. Thus both wireless phone, and the emergency telecommunications of the Town, will be largely protected from outages. The towers will be sited on large parcels thus lessening the impact of the tower on abutting parcels and the whole Town. The Board realizes that there is an inherent contradiction in
following both mandates and has, therefore, asked the applicant to make certain modifications to its application and, furthermore, has mandated sufficient conditions to minimize negative impact.
3. The applicant has proposed good standards and requirements for regulation, placement, construction, monitoring, design, modification and removal of the facility. These include the posting of a performance bond and a bond ensuring that the site will be returned to its native state if the facility is no longer operational.
4. It is understood that construction and operation of the proposed facilities will be carried out in a timely manner.
5. The Board believes that sufficient evidence was provided to ensure that the towers will not have a substantial negative impact on property values. This evaluation is clearly subjective and involves the trade-off of having of towers in a rural community against the added value of having town-wide wireless cell service for personal, business and emergency needs.
6. The project for 73 Chestnut Hill is located in the telecommunications overlay district.
7. The proposed size of the compound at tower base is larger than that specified by Monterey’s Zoning Bylaw. Consequently, the Board waived the bylaw’s limitation of the size of the compound. Waivers were also given to the size limitation on the fence and vegetative strip since these must surround the larger area.
8. Two abutters, Berkshire Natural Resources Council and an individual~spoke against the tower location.~ The Board was divided on whether the two conserved areas will have their pristine isolation negatively impacted.~ To partly mitigate any impact applicant agrees to fund relocation of meditation bench.~The individual property owner passionately and poetically described how he felt with regard to the impact of the tower’s presence on the value of his home.~ However,~it was the Board’s judgment that since the proposed facility was very substantially within the boundaries of Keswick that any negative impact would be quite minimal.
The board concluded that the request was in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the Bylaws and that the use will not involve injurious, noxious, offensive or detrimental to the neighborhoods or town.
Conditions:
1. Two computer generated maps will be provide to show that wireless telecommunication coverage for Monterey with and without the 2 proposed towers , thus affording “before and after” pictures of the coverage.
2. Detailed construction diagrams for the foundation and the base of the tower will be provided to the Board prior to the effective validity of the special permit.
3. If the project is to be cancelled, curtailed or abandoned (no longer used for the purpose of a telecommunications tower) – the site and access road must be put back into its original, natural state and the tower and adjacent building compound shall be removed.
4. A performance/remediation/removal bond in the amount of $20,000 corrected for inflation per the Congressional Budget Office each year must be taken out by the applicant.
5. A maintenance bond in the amount of $20,000 must be taken out by the applicant for the access road, site and tower.
6. The applicant will erect a mono-pole tower with the bottom 40 feet to be painted tree-trunk brown and the upper part of the tower grey.
7. Applicant, at its sole cost and expense and without cost to the Town, shall provide space at the top of the tower for the Town’s police, fire and highway repeater and/or radio equipment, and shall provide ground space within the compound for a small building (or area within an existing building) to house the Town’s necessary emergency equipment.~ The Town shall have 24 hour access to the compound and tower, the right to connect to and utilize the power and emergency power supplies, free of charge.
8. The generator and its associated utilities need to conform and comply with all state, local and federal laws.
9. Fencing will be eight foot high chain link, motion sensing lights to be provided within the compound, lower rungs on ladders to be removed up to the 20 foot level.
10. The applicant will install underground wiring for the utilities going to the tower.
11. The Town is to be named as an additional insured for all insurance policies procured for the tower and associated structures, roads and utilities.
12. The applicant will pay up to a maximum of $5,000 to BNRC which will make the sole determination as to the repositioning of the stone meditation bench known as Dave’s Bench along the walking trail known as Bob’s Way.
13. Applicant must commence construction within one year of the date of this Decision and diligently pursue construction and completion, failing which this Application shall be deemed denied.
14. Applicant shall install on Chestnut Hill Road two break-away type gates as required and approved by the Town Director of Operations. Applicant shall be solely responsible for winter access and snow plowing~to the Tower, including access and snow plowing over the closed portion of Chestnut Hill Road.
15. Applicant’s construction of the access road shall include drainage and runoff mitigation such that there shall be no drainage or runoff onto, or over Town roads, and shall be subject to any further requirements of the Town Director of Operations.
16. All construction (including roadway) shall comply with all applicable Town by-laws, regulations and Board requirements.
The hearing concluded at 3:38pm
Submitted by
Melissa Noe, Inter-Departmental Secretary
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