Milton planners to move forward on cell tower
Milton Planning and Zoning Commission, at its Tuesday, March 16 meeting, will present a written formal decision for approval of a special permitted use to allow Verizon to erect a 140-foot-tall cellphone tower at the town’s public works yard on Front Street.
The commission gave, by a 5-2 vote, preliminary approval to the tower Feb. 16 but held off on final approval until a written decision clarifying the opinion could be issued. Verizon, doing business as Cellco Partnership, required a special permitted use because the land the tower would be located on is zoned R-1 residential.
The cell tower has been a controversial issue, primarily for its location. In the recent Milton election, three of the four candidates - councilmembers-elect John Collier and Lee Revis-Plank and candidate Allen Sangree - all spoke against the tower. Their opposition is both for aesthetic reasons, since the tower would be located within the town’s historic district near the waterfront, and practical; it is located within a floodplain. Residents have circulated a petition in opposition.
Former planning and zoning Chairman Barry Goodinson said in a statement, “On its face, it's easy to see this is a bad idea. Most critically, the site floods regularly. It would be wildly irresponsible to put a public utility in a location that floods and is inaccessible during storms and natural disasters. That’s when that public utility would be most needed to ensure public health and safety. For that reason, town code prohibits the placement of public utilities in a floodplain.”
The majority of the commission reasoned that the tower would provide a valuable utility for the whole community, improving Milton’s cellphone coverage, which has traditionally been spotty depending on the area a person happens to be in. Chairman Richard Trask said at the commission’s Feb. 16 meeting that the best coverage town-wide would be provided by having a tower within town. The majority also agreed that there are no other viable in-town locations to make the tower work; town officials have long been resistant to putting cellphone equipment on existing water towers.
Within its findings, and to grant a special permitted use, the commission must find that the purpose and intent of the permit is “to allow the proper integration into the community of uses which may be suitable only under certain conditions and at appropriate locations.” The commission is given the authority to permit, permit with conditions, or not permit a requested special permitted use based on a series of findings. Those findings will include whether the proposed use is good for the community, that it will not create excessive public costs, that it generally conforms with the town’s comprehensive plan, that the use is accessible for emergency services such as police and fire protection, and that the use will not be hazardous to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
Loblolly tower also on agenda
Besides the Verizon tower, the commission’s 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 16 meeting at Grace Church will also feature a public hearing on a request by Loblolly LLC to erect a 525-foot antenna tower on land Loblolly owns on Sam Lucas Road.
Loblolly, the land management arm of Draper Holdings, which owns TV stations WBOC and WRDE, is requesting the tower in order to cover a larger broadcast coverage area and provide a stronger emergency signal.
In addition, Fernmoor Homes, developer of the Heritage Creek development, is requesting preliminary site-plan approval for Phase 1 of the Heritage Creek subdivision, which is located within an area bound by Harbeson Road and Shingle Point Road.
Should the two preliminary site-plan approvals be granted, the applicants would then move forward preparing more detailed plans for final site-plan approval.
