A Massachusetts communications company is proposing to build a cell tower on a piece of privately owned property on Bemis Tavern Road in Rindge to cover gaps in cellular coverage on Route 119.
Kevin Fadden, a site acquisition specialist for Industrial Communications, appeared before the Rindge Planning Board on Tuesday to present preliminary plans. Industrial Communications has not yet filed an application for a site plan review for the tower, but indicated its intention to do so during the discussion to identify any immediate issues they could address before making a formal application.
Fadden explained that after noticing a gap in coverage on Route 119, near the Fitzwilliam town line, Industrial Communications began to reach out to landowners in the area, to see if they would have interest in leasing land for a cell tower. Reuben and Kristy Goddard of 25 Bemis Tavern Road, which includes just over 24 acres of land, expressed interest.
The tower would be built about 700 feet from the roadway, and would be about 150 feet high, Fadden said. It would require a packed gravel driveway to access. Utilities to serve the site would be buried, and it would meet the majority of the requirements for a communications tower under Rindge’s town ordinance.
Rindge’s telecommunications ordinance allows cellular towers in every district except the village district, but requires site plan approval. Towers must comply with the property setbacks in the district they’re in, plus have an area of the height of the tower around it where there are no buildings or rights-of-way. The height limit for towers is 20 feet about the average height of the tree line within 150 feet from the tower, but the Planning Board can allow additional height if it is necessary to provide adequate coverage, or it can be shown not to have a negative visual impact on the area.
Fadden said Industrial Communications would own the tower, but the company would lease spaces for different major cellular carriers. He declined to name which companies were interested in space on the tower.
Planning Board ex-officio Bob Hamilton said he acknowledged the need for better coverage, but also expressed concern about the height of the proposed tower.
“Cell towers are needed in the town,” Hamilton said. “We all drive down and get knocked off because we have no signal. There’s no disputing that. That’s a fairly tall tower.”
Hamilton asked what the height of the treeline in the area was. Fadden said the area had been forested in the past few years, but the remaining trees were about 60 to 80 feet. Fadden said they intended to ask for relief from the Planning Board on the height restrictions, based on the exceptions provided for in the ordinance.
Fadden and the Planning Board agreed that a balloon test, to show the height of the tower and its visibility from other properties, could be conducted after the application was filed.
The Planning Board is scheduled to meet next on May 3.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.