Unanswered questions likely to dominate St. Patrick's Cemetery upcoming cell-tower hearing
Published on June 18th, 2008
The town's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will likely gavel to order next Wednesday's hearing on a proposed St. Patrick's Cemetery cell-tower without funding from T-Mobile to hire independent consultants.
In addition, as of this Tuesday, attorneys for Omnipoint Communications, the T-Mobile subsidiary that filed the petition, have yet to file any formal objection to the town's choice of consultants.
Further clouding the deliberations, there now seems to be confusion over where the 80-foot tall facility would be erected, as officials from the Archdiocese of Boston are under the impression that it will be placed on a parcel of land across the street from the cemetery.
The ZBA is expected to discuss the matter next Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Zoning Board had hoped to have its consultants on board by next Wednesday, but it's unclear whether that task can be accomplished in time.
The independent review is being sought by the ZBA in order to verify the accuracy of the cell-service provider's claims that the tower is necessary to fill a significant gap in coverage that extends right through the center of Stoneham and partially into neighboring Wakefield.
Omnipoint has insisted that the only way to fill that dead zone is to erect an 80-foot cell-tower, to be disguised as a flag pole, in St. Patrick's Cemetery at a location that's approximately 48-feet away from Broadway.
Based upon the federal 1996 Telecommunications Act, municipalities are prohibited from blocking telecommunication companies' attempts to fill such large gaps in coverage - even if wireless facilities violate local zoning bylaws - unless a reasonable alternative exists.
During a meeting on the issue earlier this month, Lobel, Glovsky, & Tye attorney Brian Grossman objected to several consultants being eyed by the Zoning Board to review both T-Mobile's petition and the company's claims about its coverage gap.
Grossman indicated his desire to file a formal protest with the Board of Selectmen, who would then have to hold a hearing to mull over the complaint. However, as of Tuesday, no such paperwork had been submitted.
"They said they were going to do it the next week. They should have done it by now," said Town Counsel Bill Solomon on the formal objections.
Perhaps of more concern to the ZBA, Omnipoint has yet to issue the town a payment to foot the bill for the independent review.
That lack of funding could prove troublesome to the Zoning Board, which has a shrinking window of time - by mid-July - to issue a decision on T-Mobile's request.
The consultants would conduct a technical review of the wireless service provider's data, a study which ZBA members have admitted is far beyond their expertise.
Based upon Mass. General Law Chapter 44, Section 53G, municipalities have the right to seek outside consultants to review an application at a petitioner's expense.
"The town will protect it's interests," responded Solomon, when asked if he was worried about T-Mobile's apparent lack of cooperation thus far.
Omnipoint's reported refusal to issue payment for the independent review appears to mirror the actions of the telecommunications company giant last year, when the Town of Wayland was weighing a petition for three cell-towers.
In late April of 2007, the Wayland Board of Appeals' rejected the proposal outright based upon the applicant's refusal to foot the bill for an independent study.
T-Mobile has since appealed that denial, and the matter is now before a judge in U.S. District Court.
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