On Friday, Oct. 9, and Saturday, Oct. 10, Verizon Communications will be running a balloon test at 12 Woodchuck Hill Road. The balloon test, which is legally required of Verizon, will mark the height of the 160-foot cell tower the company proposes to install on private property at 12 Woodchuck Hill Road.
Verizon and its partners have appeared before the town’s Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals to request permits and variances for both height and setback for this nonconforming tower. The members of both town boards have been diligent in evaluating this proposal and the challenges it presents. I thank board members for their thoroughness.
Verizon proposes to site this communications tower in close proximity to two parcels of Harvard Conservation Trust (HCT) land on Slough Road, the Dolan-Mason field and John’s Field. The tower will also be visible from parts of the Town Common Historic District.
A good view of the proposed tower location, and the threatened degradation of the viewshed from conserved open space, can be had on Slough Road beside the new signs that mark these beautiful open spaces, land acquired through the donation of substantial time, funds, and energy over the last few decades by HCT leadership and members.
A communications tower that Verizon claims will improve cell coverage for Harvard residents would be better located on town land so that the town and all of its citizens can enjoy the substantial revenue that will accrue to the property owners on whose land the tower would sit.
Roseanne Saalfield
Woodchuck Hill Road
