Antrim’s Zoning Board of Adjustment met Tuesday to plan the next steps regarding potential construction of a cellular tower in the town’s rural space near Pierce Lake.
The contentious plan has been in the works for over a year, and does not look to be coming to an imminent conclusion.
At Town Hall, in front of about a dozen residents who attended the public meeting, the Zoning Board completed what amounted to a ceremonial vote to send letters to connect with other towns within a 20 mile radius of the proposed tower.
“The court has tasked us with asking the regional commissions if there is a regional impact,” Chair John Giffin said to the audience.
Regional impact, Giffin explained, is interference on a large scale. He used the example of an airport, which would lead to noise and increased traffic in surrounding towns.
The board ruled previously that there was no regional impact from a cell tower, whose obstruction is only visual and limited to a small area, according to Giffin.
That vote failed to appear in the board’s officially reported minutes, so legally it never happened, and now they must connect with the impacted, surrounding towns.
The action is based on a judge’s ruling after residents of the Pierce Lake area challenged the tower in court. That court order said the Zoning Board must seek a ruling on regional impact from regional commissions – Merrimack Valley Planning Commission and Southwest Region Planning Commission.
The board voted to follow the legal direction, but members remain split on what the ruling ought to be.
“I believe there is a regional impact, and I have not changed my mind,” board member Shelly Nelkens said.
Members of the Zoning Board did not anticipate another joint meeting with the Planning Board, but the cell tower battle appears far from over.