Although the rural town of Buckland, MA does not currently have a cell tower, that could soon change. As the Greenfield Recorder reports, the Buckland Planning Board and ZBA have been in talks with Vertex about the possibility of erecting a monopole at 28 Martin Road. The proposal suggests a height of 150 feet with room for up to four carriers.
“There is clearly a need for service in the valley,” said Buckland resident, Martha Thurber. “Our emergency folks always say there is a safety issue when people cannot communicate on Route 112.”
Actually constructing the tower will depend on overcoming a series of obstacles, starting with the tower’s height. Town bylaws dictate that a structure cannot rise more than ten feet above the treeline. The Martin Road location was deemed the best choice of the six possible options that were investigated. “We might be able to bring the height down a little,” said consultant Fred Goldstein, “But it is not way taller than necessary.”
The slope of the landscape presents another challenge, according to the Greenfield Recorder. Massachusetts law holds that construction is prohibited on an incline of greater than 5 degrees. However, attorney Francis Parisi, representing Vertex, stated that his company has built towers in other states where construction was on a 20 degree incline. Buckland would need to issue a zoning variance for the Martin Road site.
The presence of a nearby wetland is also a concern. While the tower itself would not be located within the 150 foot buffer zone demanded by the Conservation Commission, the access road would breach that limit. As attorney Parisi pointed out, there is already a driveway that is closer to the wetland, which suggests that an access road allowance could be granted.
Another criteria to be addressed is a Massachusetts zoning law saying that the tower company must hold an FCC license. Parisi argued that it has become more common for cell phone companies to work with firms like Vertex that build the towers, then lease the space. The nearby town of Conway was able to work with this restriction by having a cell tower company piggyback on Vertex from the project’s onset. Parisi suggested that a similar arrangement would work for Buckland.
Although the Greenfield Recorder noted that there were some residents who spoke out against the visual impact of a tower, most of the voices at a recent meeting of the Buckland Planning Board were enthusiastic about the possibility of better wireless coverage in the region.
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