Town of Princeton, Mass.
PLANNING BOARD Hearing/meeting Minutes --– Jan. 3, 2018
In Town Hall Annex; present were: Chairman John Mirick, Ian Catlow, Tom Daly and alternate Ann Neuburg. Absent were Tom Sullivan and Rud Mason.
7:30 PM Board voted all in favor to approve minutes from November 15, 2017. Continued discussion on proposed sign by-law and text will get a final edit from Ann N. Plan is to get Advisory Committee in to a future meeting with business owners who will be invited by mail.
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7:35 PM John M. opened public hearing for Verizon for modification of a Special Permit to add receivers to the existing 169’ cell tower at 194 Worcester Road and noted that with only four members present, a special permit requires unanimous vote of all four. Applicant agreed to continue rather than hold off to a meeting of the full board.
Engineer Timothy Yee from Structure Consulting Group of Arlington distributed a packet with maps showing cell phone coverage before and after installation of Verizon receivers on the monopole owned by American Tower at Worcester Road. Engineer Keith Vellante from C-Square Systems of Auburn, N.H. provided technical details of the cellphone coverage. Also presenting technical data were Tim Johnson from ProTerra Design Group of Hadley and Chuck Webberly from Structure Cons. Group.
An issue arose over the shrouds which encircle the antennae at the top of the monopole. The top shroud for Sprint is 42” in diameter, next down covers AT&T and is 38” diam., and the proposed Verizon shroud below that will be 42.” It was observed that the off-white color of the shrouds do not exactly match, and are supposed to match the monopole.
John M. outlined several conditions which were in the same Verizon S.P. modification from November of 2017 at the Hubbard Farm cell tower, such as mitigation of any roadway damage caused by transporting a crane to the site.
Richard Chase, abutter on Stagecoach Road, presented a court-ordered Consent Decree from 2002 when the tower was constructed. He noted several conditions of the decree which American Tower has failed to meet, such as a report for FCC filed with the building inspector; a requirement for the emergency generator(s) to be fueled by propane rather than diesel, and other items. John M. asked the applicants that their proposal comply with the requirements of the consent decree.
The engineers explained that the diameters of the shrouds need to vary in order to accommodate the fasteners. They agreed to the condition about propane instead of diesel.
John M. asked the applicants to consolidate with Sprint and AT&T about the paint color and he asked them to have American Tower review the Consent Decree and determine where they may not be compliant. He said it was better to fix these issues through the Planning Board’s special permit modification rather than through an enforcement order from the building inspector which would result in a cease & desist on American Tower.
8:30 PM The board voted all in favor to continue the hearing to January 17 at 7:35 PM
Richard Chase was asked to forward any further concerns or issues to the Planning Office so the applicant could have them before the next meeting. Board decided to set meeting for sign bylaw review with Adv. Cmte. and business owners for Feb. 7.
8:45 PM Board voted all in favor to adjourn.
Respectfully Submitted: Marie Auger, Admin. Assistant
Referenced Documents: Plans for cell phone antennae installation from Verizon
Upcoming meetings: Jan. 17, Feb. 7 & 21, 2018
Marie Auger
Administrative Assistant
Planning Department
978-464-2100
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