United in standing against cell tower plans, Manchester’s Select Board and Planning Commission have joined forces to take on Vermont’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC). As the Manchester Journal reports, the two factions have both continued to argue against plans to install a cell tower at the Northshire Civic Center’s Riley Rink. While residents have acknowledged the need for better connectivity in the region, they do not agree that the selected site is the best site for a cell tower.
“We’ve had the recent applications put before the PUC for cell tower locations and we feel that – many of the people in the town feel – that in order to fully address and deal with these applications, we need some help,” stated Selectboard Chair Ivan Beattie.
The PUC is in the process of reviewing the Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, LLC (doing business as Verizon Wireless and Vertex Towers LLC) cell tower plans following rejections by the Select Board and Planning Commission. While it did not outright deny the cell tower proposal, the PUC did issue challenges and conditions that need to be addressed before the project is allowed to move forward. The PUC asked Verizon/Vertex to explain why a different location or colocation option was doable, and made requests about the appearance of the cell tower.
Revised plans reduced the height of the cell tower from a 140-ft structure to a 130-ft structure. Additionally, Verizon/Vertex agreed to minimize the visual impact of the tower with brown paint and greenery that would allow the site to blend in better with its surroundings.
“We need to hire an engineer to tell us where in this valley we can put a tower that solves the problems that do exist in communication and data and internet and phone,” noted Planning Commission Chair Wilbur Rice. “That does exist, that issue.”
In their most recent meetings, the Select Board and Planning Commission again voted against Verizon/Vertex and speculated on whether or not the PUC would be willing to pick up the cost of hiring an engineer, according to the Manchester Journal.
“This is the infrastructure of how our community operates these days,” responded Selectboard member Jonathan West. “Regardless of whether the PUC pays for it, I think we have to prepare to pay for it. I think it’s in our best interest.”
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