ROWE — After receiving both support and objections from residents, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously Monday to grant conditional approval of a Wrentham telecommunications infrastructure developer’s variance request to build a cell tower on County Road.
Vertex Towers LLC’s conditions of approval include the tower not being lit and not exceeding 200 feet. The facility can be used only for the communications purposes it is built for, and only back-up batteries and an emergency generator can be used during a power outage. Also, Vertex representatives will be required to walk the portions of County Road with Rowe’s highway superintendent to determine the road’s suitability for construction and walk the road again following construction and repair any damage caused by construction.
This conditional approval is contingent upon review by town counsel. Board members granted conditional approval due to the area’s optimal topography and because they said the project poses minimal detriment to the public. The lack of cell service also proves to be a hardship for the town.
Vertex, represented at the hybrid meeting by attorney Francis Parisi, recently built a tower in Colrain, has one under construction in Shutesbury and was just approved for one in Ashfield. There would be no cost to Rowe for the project, which would be carried out on property owned by Christopher M. Brown.
“We do this very routinely,” Parisi said. “We think we found the most viable (location) for it.”
Parisi and some board members convened at Town Hall, while other members and residents tuned in via the online video conferencing platform Zoom. A variance is needed because the town’s zoning bylaws do not have a use category for wireless communications facilities.
Parisi explained the tower would stand 175 feet tall and be inside a 60-by-60-foot fenced-in compound with a 6-foot chain-link fence with barbed wire. He said there will also be ample temporary parking for maintenance vehicles. Parisi said Vertex “could be six months away from getting ready to construct” and the goal is to have the tower built by the end of this year, though “our construction ability is precluded by weather.”
Janice Boudreau, Rowe’s executive secretary, told the Greenfield Recorder she is unsure if the project would require the clearing of trees, grass or underbrush.
Parisi confirmed to ZBA member Ellynn Packard that construction would not begin until a carrier has committed to the project. Construction on these cell towers lasts four to six weeks, he said, and there is rarely road damage due to the fact that there is not much construction activity needed on abutting roads. He also said Vertex takes responsibility for any damage.
Packard expressed concern about insurance issues pertaining to trespassers, to which Parisi said the company is very safety conscious. He explained towers are built with anti-climbing mechanisms — special pegs are needed to scale the tower and they are not kept on site. He also said extensive due diligence is taken to make sure no endangered plants or animals are harmed by construction or the tower itself.
Fire Chief Dennis Annear chimed in to tell ZBA members this technology is critical to the future of the fire service. Cell coverage will make it easier for people to report a fire, and he said some of the department’s vehicles will eventually be dependent on this type of technology.
Similarly, resident Ruth Loomis mentioned she is in favor of increasing cell service “for safety’s sake.”
Rachel Holbrook, who said she is an immediate neighbor but not an abutter to this proposed project, said she feels she will be greatly affected by it. She said her house is 20 feet off the right-of-way of County Road, and her water well is even closer than that. She said fully-loaded gravel and cement trucks and other large pieces of equipment could damage her well casing or her home’s foundation, and she wanted to know who would be liable if that happened. She also mentioned her bedroom window would likely face any lights the cell tower has.
“This is going to be great,” she said sarcastically.
Holbrook added that the tower would negatively affect the neighborhood’s character and decrease property values.
Parisi said Vertex aims to develop a facility that covers as much of Rowe as possible. He said there would not be as much construction as a residential project would create.
“It’s really a very short construction cycle,” he said. He said the facility would be unmanned and have no water or sewer hookup. He mentioned the facility would have a gravel road that would remain unplowed because there is rarely a need to access the facility in the winter. Any employee that needs to visit the site in the winter would use a suitable snow vehicle, Parisi said.
John Bandoni, who said he has been a resident for 2½ years, said the lack the cellphone communication in town is a hardship. He said he believes cell service would increase property values.
Resident Dennis Humbert objected to a claim that the tower wouldn’t produce noise. He said the construction would be noisy, as would any transformers or motors associated with the tower.
“It will affect wildlife,” he said. “I have seen some of the best wildlife in the town of Rowe in that area. There are fields for animals to eat grass. It’s an extremely, I feel, unique environment out there.
“Don’t put something in to ruin our way of life now. I think life as it is now is the way to go,” Humbert added before indirectly addressing any residents seeking better cellphone service. “Well, shame on you for making an investment in property that lacked something you would like to have added later. Maybe it’s time to go back if you have to have cellphone service.”
The next ZBA meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 7, though the agenda has not yet been finalized.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.