Despite resistance, Verizon remains committed to constructing a new cell tower at 12 Woodchuck Hill Road. The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) discussed the matter at its Nov. 10 meeting, where Verizon attorney Chris Swiniarski and Isotrope Engineering consultant David Maxson presented their arguments. While this meeting proved inconclusive, the board intends to attempt to reach a final decision at its Nov. 18 meeting.
The proposed tower would be 160 feet tall, which exceeds the 105-foot maximum height allowed by Harvard’s cell tower bylaw. It would be built next to an existing 130-foot tower, which Swiniarski claimed Verizon would remove at some point after the new tower is constructed.
ZBA Chair Chris Tracey explained that the board is in a difficult situation: Denying a variance with insufficient basis may leave the town open to litigation by Verizon, but granting one with insufficient basis may leave it open to litigation by abutters. The board has a legal obligation to grant the variance if failing to do so would entail an “effective prohibition of service,” Tracey said.
According to Swiniarski, a 2018 federal law states that towns must allow cell companies to build new towers to improve service even if they consider the existing service level acceptable. Maxson agreed with this principle, but said Harvard could still deny the variance for this tower if Verizon could reasonably achieve the same level of service by constructing the new tower in a different, available location or extending an existing tower.
Swiniarski dismissed several proposed alternative tower sites, either because the owners refused to allow a tower or because the sites would not offer equivalent coverage.
Another alternative site for the tower is the Hildreth House property. According to Maxson, this site’s coverage would be equivalent to that of the 12 Woodchuck Hill Road location. However, to locate a tower there would require the approval of the Select Board and a vote at a town meeting. While the Select Board has informally discussed the matter and expressed some interest, it has not come to any decision.
Verizon opposes Hildreth location
Swiniarski remains opposed to the Hildreth House location. According to him, Verizon spent years pursuing that location and was met with refusal. He feels he has done his due diligence in exploring that alternative and does not want the project further delayed by a lengthy and uncertain town meeting approval process. He said he would be legally within his rights to discount that option, saying, “Even if it became available tomorrow, I don’t know if a court would consider it an alternative.”
The board also discussed the possibility of building a shorter tower. According to Maxson, the structure of Harvard’s cell tower bylaw effectively favors multiple shorter towers rather than fewer taller ones, and while this is not the normal way of handling things, it is not unheard of, especially in wooded areas. According to Swiniarski, Verizon would consider the coverage provided by a 125-foot tower to be sufficient. The primary reason for wanting a 160-foot tower is so that other carriers could also locate there.
Swiniarski said he wanted to avoid building a 125-foot tower and then having it extended in the future to accommodate additional carriers, leaving Verizon with a lower (less favorable) position on its own tower. He said the ZBA could mitigate this concern by officially recording the fact that the tower’s limited height is a camouflaging feature, preventing it from being easily extended in the future. According to Maxson, Verizon will always have the freedom to deny requests to extend its own tower, so taking steps to prevent such extensions should be a concern for Harvard rather than Verizon.
Before the board’s Nov. 18 meeting, Tracey will ask the Select Board its opinion on the Hildreth House location and will ask Town Counsel Mark Lanza to provide an interpretation of Harvard’s legal obligations. The ZBA has until the end of November to reach a decision, so it will need to either decide at the next meeting or seek an extension of the deadline.
