By Scott MacKeen
Staff Writer
8/27/09
Green Mountain Communications said spotty cell-phone coverage around the Blue Hills presented a need for a cell tower in the area.
In the end, the Board of Appeals wasn’t convinced. Following a third night of public testimony on the proposed tower Aug. 19, the board voted unanimously to deny the application for a special permit.
According to board members, Green Mountain did not prove that the need for the tower outweighed neighbors’ concerns that it would intrude on the Blue Hills’ natural features.
“It seems to me the neighbors win out on that particular point,” said Board of Appeals Chair John Leonard.
Board member Virginia Donahue King took issue with Green Mountain’s assertion that the proposed cell-tower location – off Blue Hill River Road and just 50 yards from Route 93 – represents a so-called “dead zone” for calls in Milton.
“At peak hours, 2 to 3 percent of calls are getting dropped. That is not a dead zone,” she said.
King and Leonard were also opposed to the heights talked about for the tower. Totaling at least 140 feet, it would have dwarfed the town’s 35-foot building-height restriction.
“A 140-foot tower is problematic to me,” said King. “That is very, very high. [The tower] would be very visible from many areas of the Blue Hills.”
Leonard also said he was swayed by overwhelmingly negative response from neighbors, who have criticized the tower’s height and location since it was first proposed in May. Of the approximately 150 residents who live in the so-called Silver Brook Road neighborhood – those closest to where the tower would go – as many as 50 signed a petition opposing the construction, Leonard said.
“There has only been one citizen writing in support of the application, and I don’t know that he even lives near [the proposed site],” said Leonard.
Residents who spoke had similar objections. Chris Link, of Greenleaf Road, said he spoke to people around Houghton’s Pond who mostly said they don’t want to see a tower built.
“Overwhelmingly, people said no to a cell tower,” he said.
Peter Jeffries, current president of the Friends of the Blue Hills, was against promoting cell-phone use in what he feels is a “dangerous” stretch of highway, where Interstate 93 meets Route 3.
“It’s a sparsely populated area. It’s not a place where people should be talking on a cell phone while driving,” he said.
Milton attorney Robert Sheffield represented Green Mountain’s application request. He said the company demonstrated a need and a supplied a proposal that reflects the need of the location and upholds town bylaws.
“I believe we have met all the standards. There is a need and this is the only logical place,” he said.
Representatives from at least two carriers – T-Mobile and MetroPCS – were onboard with the cell tower plan because of reports of customer complaints of coverage, Sheffield said. The tower could have carried up to five antennas for different providers. Heights of 140 to 180 feet were discussed based upon the number of antennas.
Green Mountain, a New Hampshire company, had leased the property from MassHighway, hoping to build the telecommunications structure.
Leonard said the town has historically accepted cell towers. There are much smaller telecommunications structures atop Milton Hospital and facilities at Curry College, for example. But he said this one was just too big.
“If you propose a 140-foot tower, you’re going to upset people,” he said.