After asking for a final round of revisions, the New Ipswich Planning Board continued a hearing on a proposed cell phone tower, once again.
The meeting was continued until the Planning Board’s next scheduled meeting on Nov. 6.
Proposed by Vertex Tower Associates, the cell tower would be constructed on a 22-acre wooded lot on Old Peterborough Road. It would carry signals from multiple cell phone providers.
Vertex Towers has asked for a waiver on the height of the tower, which would be 170 feet tall. New Ipswich does not have a specific height restriction in its ordinance, instead relying on the height of the surrounding tree canopy or vegetation, and limiting cell towers to no more than 25 feet above that. In this case, the tower would be about 75 feet above the tree line.
Cell towers are also allowed in all districts if they are camouflaged and are not allowed in areas that impact significant views. The Planning Board has conducted two balloon tests to check for visual impacts from areas such as the Windblown Cross-Country Ski area and the Wapack Trail.
Planning Board Vice-Chair Liz Freeman said Thursday that the board requested Vertex Tower return with updates to proposed legal agreements with the town, which will outline issues such as leasing space on the antennae for the town’s emergency services dispatches, and a bond for the deconstruction of the tower at the end of its life, and a no-cut easement around the perimeter of the tower.
The New Ipswich Planning Board meets next on Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. at the town offices.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.