Thursday, January 30, 2014

Cell tower rejected by appeals board

From the Boothbay Register as reported by Ryan Leighton:

"The Ocean Point skyline will remain towerless, at least for now. On January 28, the Boothbay Board of Appeals denied Mariner Tower a variance to build a 120-foot tall cell tower in East Boothbay. 

Mariner Tower’s attorney John Springer made his opening statement at the Boothbay Town Office. Springer told the appeals board that a cell tower would be an essential part of the Ocean Point area in order to cover a “significant coverage gap” in wireless service. Although cell towers are prohibited in the special residential district where the proposed tower would go, Springer said that the 120-foot tower would have a low visual impact on the surrounding area and provide AT&T and other wireless service to the community. 

“I think it’s important to keep in mind that although communication towers are not permitted in the special residential district, essential services are,” Springer said, citing a list of communication facilities that the Boothbay ordinances define as “essential services.”

“I will be the first to admit, I don’t think we are an ‘essential service’ as that phrase is defined in the ordinance,” Springer said. “But we are an extremely popular service that people use for essential phone calls all the time.”"

No comments:

Post a Comment