A long and involved series of discussions with Verizon regarding the possible environmental effects of a proposed cellphone tower off Schoolhouse Road ended on Tuesday with the board approving a finding of no adverse environmental impact from the cellular phone tower the company says is necessary to fill dead spots in its coverage.
For ten months, the board discussed alternative locations and combinations of two towers to provide the coverage in the proximity of a historic house. One was finally approved.
All the environmental issues having been dealt with, the project now goes to the zoning board (ZBA), which will rule on whether to grant a variance for the tower. Cell towers are not a permitted use in the residential zone where the project is located.
The plan also requires variances from requirements that it not be “silhouetted against the sky from any viewpoint within 1000 feet” and that “no facility shall be located within 1500 feet of any district or structure listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.”
If the ZBA agrees to grant the zoning variances, the project will come back to the planning board for approval. The board’s seven-page decision on Tuesday applies only to possible environmental effects.
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