BUCKLAND — With a year having passed since the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals initially approved the construction of a 135-foot cell tower at 28 Martin Road, the boards have now voted to extend the special permit issued to Vertex Towers LLC.

The limited liability company was granted a special permit with the condition that at least one licensed wireless carrier must take out a lease for antenna space on the tower before construction starts. With the year running out on the special permit, Vertex Towers still does not have a lease in hand and thus requested a permit extension.

“We are hoping to get the contract by the end of the year,” Francis Parisi, an attorney representing Vertex Towers LLC, said at the Planning Board meeting via remote participation on Thursday night. “We have not abandoned the project.”

The Planning Board issued an extension of six months and the ZBA allowed a one-year extension.

Last year, the Planning Board and Zoning Board conducted an extensive public hearing and permit review process that lasted several weeks. The boards ultimately decided to grant a special permit to build a 135-foot-tall, monopole design cell tower.

Parisi gave several concessions on the tower application. The application originally requested a 150-foot-tall tower, but town officials proposed revising the height by 15 feet.

Numerous Buckland residents provided comments during the review process, mostly speaking against the construction of the tower. Vertex also conducted multiple days of tests where they flew a balloon to the approximate height of the future tower to represent the visual disruption in the landscape. Meanwhile, the town hired consultant Fred Goldstein to corroborate the information provided to the boards, and obtained guidance from its legal counsel, KP Law.

These hearings were all conducted with the caveat of a Federal Communications Commission requirement that states a town may not prohibit the installation of wireless communication without substantial evidence of public harm. This requirement has stopped neighboring towns from rejecting special permit applications from cellphone companies. Most recently this happened in Heath, where the Planning Board rejected the initial special permit application from AT&T, but ultimately ended up settling with the cellphone company, allowing it to build a tower.

Parisi explained since the pandemic, there has been a slowdown in the technology industry. He said companies have had a difficult time getting technological equipment because there is a labor shortage and many manufacturing companies have diverted their attention to the production of military equipment in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

“We hope to get a permit later in the year and start construction as soon as possible,” Parisi said.

The Planning Board quickly granted the extension without much discussion on Thursday night.

“I understand from counsel this is a one-time deal,” said Planning Board Co-Chair John Gould.

Gould said the condition that Vertex needs at least one carrier to have a lease before construction starts protects the town from the construction of frivolous cell towers.

“We made no changes to the project since it was approved,” Parisi noted. “This is just a timing issue.”

Reach Bella Levavi
at 413-930-4579 or
blevavi@recorder.com.