After a review of two balloon tests to demonstrate the location of a proposed cell tower, the New Ipswich Planning Board has continued the hearing on the proposal until October.
The tower is proposed to be 170 feet tall, and would be located on a 22-acre property on Old Peterborough Road. It would carry multiple wireless broadband providers, such as AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile/SprintPCS and US Cellular.
Prior to the proposal’s initial hearing before the board on Aug. 21, a balloon test, where a red balloon is floated at the maximum height of the proposed tower, was held and the Planning Board provided views from Route 124 and a mile around the site. The board requested a second test be held to check for impacts to some of the nearby scenic sites, including the Windblown Cross-Country Skiing and Snowshoeing and the Wapack Trail. The second balloon test was held Sept. 14.
Planning Board Vice-Chair Liz Freeman said following the second test, there don’t appear to be any aesthetic concerns from areas with views the town has prioritized.
“We have not heard any major concerns,” Freeman said Monday. “Apparently, the terrain is hilly enough that it’s just not going to be in your face.”
Rick Blanchette, president of the group Friends of the Wapack, said he checked several significant views from the trail during the balloon test, and while there were some spots where the balloon was visible, he said the impact wouldn’t be significant.
“We did check from Kidder Mountain and the Temple Mountain ridge. You could see the top of it, looking at it from the Temple Mountain ridge in Sharon, but not a lot,” Blanchette said. Blanchette said it’s unlikely to impact hikers, pointing out there are more significant aesthetic impacts to popular spots such as Miller State Park from cell towers, without deterring outdoorsmen.
Cell towers in New Ipswich are allowed in all districts if they are camouflaged from view, and are not allowed in any location “that would unreasonably impact any significant views” according to the New Ipswich Zoning Ordinance.
The ordinance does not have a specific height restriction for cell towers. Instead, it specifies that towers must not extend more than 25 feet above the on-site vegetation or average tree canopy surrounding it.
Freeman said based on the surrounding trees, the tower would have been allowed at 95 feet or lower. The applicant has requested a waiver of the height limitation, which the Planning Board has the ability to grant.
Blanchette said the new tower is likely to improve coverage to some parts of the Wapack Trail including around Binney Pond and the Binney Hill Road entrance point, saying cell coverage is currently “spotty” in some areas.
“I think it’s a good thing, all in all, for the town,” Blanchette said.
Freeman said the tower, as proposed, would add coverage to a “dead zone” on the northwest section of town.
“There’s a lot of dropped calls going through there,” she said.
In addition to cellular phones, the local police, fire and emergency management would be able to access the tower for their own antennae.
The Planning Board continued the public hearing on the cell tower to Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. in the town offices.