Zoning Board of Appeals — Town of Shelburne

Zoning Board of Appeals — Meeting Minutes — January 8, 2009

A duly posted meeting of the Shelburne Zoning Board of Appeals was held at the Assessor's Office at Town Hall, 51 Bridge Street, Shelburne, on January 8, 2009.

Members Present: Joseph Palmeri, John Taylor, Lowell Laporte, William Sweeney
Clerk: Faye Whitney
Members Absent: Theodore Merrill, Catherine Smith, Laurie Bluver-MacLeod
Guest: Wendy Regan (ITW)

Chair Joe Palmeri called the meeting to order at 7:28 p.m.

The Board considered the application of Industrial Tower and Wireless LLC (ITW) for a Special Permit to replace their existing communications tower off Tower Road. Since ITW has changed the proposed tower height from 150 feet back to 100 feet a Special Permit is no longer required, since the new tower is now simply a replacement for the existing tower. The Board found that a Special Permit under Section 16.5C of the town Zoning Bylaws is not required. All that is required is for the Board to review and approve the plans.

Because there had been co-applicants for the tower and an antenna, Mr. Palmeri asked if the waiver permitting the 20-foot antenna was to be extended to ITW, the owner of the site and the tower, or to Northeast Utilities (NU) the company leasing space on the tower. He said that while NU was not a municipal service it did provide a public safety service. Mr. Palmeri said he would like to grant the waiver permitting the 20-foot antenna only to NU since that company provides a public service. He was not necessarily willing to give a waiver for strictly commercial purposes.

Mr. Taylor said there had been a lot of previous discussion on whether the town bylaw intended to include antennas in the tower height. He suggested limiting the antenna to a certain type ∏ dipole, not a microwave array.

Mr. Palmeri said there had been no response or communication from either the Planning Board or the Select Board concerning the application, though representatives from both boards had attended a December 16 hearing on the subject.

A motion was made by Mr. Laporte, seconded by Mr. Taylor, to approve the application and architectural and engineering plans dated Sept. 10, Oct. 1, Dec. 2, from Industrial Tower & Wireless LLC and a letter dated Dec. 12 from Northeast Utilities System to replace a freestanding CMRS structure with a structure of the same height, and grant permission under section 16.5B.2 to construct a new tower to replace the old tower at the same facility, subject to the following conditions:

  1. The applicant shall comply with all other applicable sections of he Zoning Bylaw.
  2. All antennas will be designed with or painted with a non-reflective coating (ref. Section 16.3.19) of a blue or gray color.
  3. The applicant shall allow, at no cost, the Town of Shelburne to install and maintain, at its own expense, one antenna and ancillary operating equipment, for the purpose of improving municipal radio data, or other telecommunications in the community, provided that unused space on the tower for such an installation is available at the time of request.
  4. The applicant has reimbursed the Town for all expenses incurred by the ZBA in reviewing the application originally dated Sept. 10, 2008, prior to the issuance of a Building Permit (ref. Section 16.12.A).
  5. The applicant has provided a bond or other form of financial security for an amount of $25,000 to cover the cost to dismantle and properly dispose of the facility in the event the facility is abandoned or falls into non-use for a period of one year or more (ref. Section 16.8).
  6. The applicant shall remove the existing tower within 90 days of the installation of the replacement tower.

    Voting in favor: Lowell Laporte, John Taylor, Joe Palmeri
    Opposed: None
    Abstaining: Bill Sweeney

A motion was made by Mr. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Laporte, to grant the following waiver, as permitted by Section 16.10, relative to the application and architectural and engineering plans dated Sept. 10, Oct. 1, Dec. 2, from Industrial Tower & Wireless LLC and a letter dated Dec. 12 from Northeast Utilities System to replace a freestanding CMRS structure with a structure of the same height:

To waive the value in Section 16.5.D.2 limiting total combined height limit of one hundred (100) feet above ground level, and permit the installation of one (1) dipole antenna, as specified for use by Northeast Utilities, not to exceed twenty (20) feet in length, on the top of the tower, as the addition of this antenna has been technologically supported and the aesthetic impact will be minimal due to the facility's remote location, subject to the following conditions:

  1. The supporting tower structure, lightning rods and all other attachments, shall not exceed one hundred (100) feet.
  2. Any future requests to increase the height or numbers of antenna, tower structure, and/or overall height will require a new submission for a special permit and/or waiver from the Special permit Granting Authority in accordance with the Zoning Bylaw.

    Voting in favor: Lowell Laporte, John Taylor, Joe Palmeri
    Opposed: None
    Abstaining: Bill Sweeney

A motion was made by Mr. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Laporte, to grant the following waiver, as permitted by Section 16.10, relative to the application and architectural and engineering plans dated Sept. 10, Oct. 1, Dec. 2, from Industrial Tower & Wireless LLC and a letter dated Dec. 12 from Northeast Utilities System to replace a freestanding CMRS structure with a structure of the same height:

  1. To waive the Fall Zone requirement in Section 16.3.21 as the new tower is of the same height as the existing tower, the lot size has not changed, and the surrounding area is entirely forest and in a remote zone.

    Voting in favor: Joe Palmeri, John Taylor, Lowell Laporte
    Opposed: None
    Abstaining: Bill Sweeney

Following the votes Ms. Regan left the meeting.

A motion was by Mr. Laporte, seconded by Mr. Sweeney, to approve the meeting minutes of Nov. 16, the ITW hearing minutes of Nov. 16, and the Ashfield Stone hearing minutes of Nov. 16 as amended.

Voting in favor: Bill Sweeney, John Taylor, Lowell Laporte, Joe Palmeri
Opposed: None
Abstaining: None

The Board reviewed the mail, which included a letter from Building Inspector James Hawkins. The letter said that the plans for the Gitsis property on Bridge Street were going to change, so the plans will need to come before the ZBA again.

Mr. Taylor, with some input from Clerk Faye Whitney, had created a protocol on how ZBA minutes should be handled. The Board reviewed the procedure and also reviewed the town policy for honoring requests for minutes. It was noted that the ZBA's guidelines were not quite the same as the town policy, with the ZBA guidelines coming straight from state law.

A motion as made by Mr. Sweeney, seconded by Mr. Taylor, to adopt the newly treated guidelines for taking, approving, maintaining and distributing minutes of the ZBA as an addendum to existing ZBA rules and regulations provided by Section 12, Chapter 40A.

Voting in favor: Bill Sweeney, Joe Palmeri, Lowell Laporte, John Taylor
Opposed: None
Abstaining: None

The Board briefly discussed a letter from Joe Judd Chairman of the Board of Selectmen regarding the town's winter parking rules. It seems that village residents are parking in unauthorized places and vehicles are having to be towed. The letter asked for any input the ZBA might have on the situation.

At 10:24 p.m. Mr. Taylor moved that the meeting be adjourned. This was seconded by Mr. Sweeney. The vote in favor was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted,
Faye Whitney, Clerk