David Forbes (Chair), Liz Ryan Cole, Jamie Thaxton, Dean Whitlock (Recording Clerk)
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Thetford Planning Commission May 5, 2020 – DRAFT Minutes Present: David Forbes (chair), Liz Ryan Cole, Jamie Thaxton, Dean Whitlock (Recording Clerk) Absent: None Selectboard liaison: Li Shen Guests: Nick Clark, Andrew Welch, Kevin Llewellyn, Patricia Smith, Keith Merrick, Kathleen ?, Jesse Anderson, Didi Pershouse, Erica Ko, Lynda Day Martin, Stacey and Steve Glazer, Alden an dDuncan Nichols, Jennifer Hauck, Alex Cherington, Mark and Donna Richardson, Michael Snow, Don Blake 1. David called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. 2. Public Comment Jesse Anderson of Thetford Center said he was shocked by the proposal from AT&T to build a 200-foot-tall cell tower off Sawnee Bean Road. He said he was opposed to the tower, would like to know if the Planning Commission was opposed, and would like to know the process involved in reviewing the proposal. He also asked if the project would be in compliance with the Town Plan. David explained that the Town Plan was currently in transition, a draft having been approved by the Planning Commission and submitted to the Selectboard at the end of last year, with the Selectboard’s first hearing scheduled for this coming Friday, May 8. However, the draft Town Plan doesn’t include any reference to telecommunications. There is a Telecommunications Ordinance, which follows state rules closely, but nothing in the Town Plan. Liz pointed out that this was the Planning Commission’s first opportunity to discuss the proposal. She wanted to know if there was cell service in the neighborhood around the tower, and whether lack of service there an issue for the Town’s first responders. Li Shen said the tower was intended to cover areas along both Routes 113 and 132 that lacked cell service. She also said that FCC rules might override the Town’s rules. The review would be made by the Vermont Public Utilities Commission (PUC), and the Town is automatically a party to their proceedings. The Town Plan and some ordinances will be considered, but AT&T has many lawyers. The have filed a notice of intent to apply for approval; it’s not the actual application. Li said she had spoken with one lawyer who told her that our pending Town Plan might have weight in the review but advised her to check with the Town Counsel. David said he had spoken with Keith Merrick of Post Mills, a flight instructor at the Post Mills Airport, who had some knowledge of previous tower projects. Keith was present and said that there had been one case in the past where a cell provider had proposed to build a project similar to this one, having 1 very tall tower instead of several smaller ones, which would have been located on top of Potato Hill to service the Connecticut River Valley. A group of people associated with the airport had proposed an alternative project that installed one smaller tower off Route 244 near the Thetford/Fairlee town line and a second smaller tower in Fairlee at the Planning Commission Minutes for 5/5/2020: DRAFT Page 1 Perrys’ farm. Keith added that it was his opinion this tall tower would be a hazard to planes and sailplanes flying out of the Post Mills Airport and probably to balloons, though he suggested checking with Brian Boland about that. He felt smaller towers would be a better solution to filling the holes in cell service. David said this was the equivalent of building a 19-story building, but that building more smaller towers would probably be more expensive. Erica Ko said that, for the most part, she supported expansion of telecommunications to support first responders but was also concerned about conserving resources and energy conservations so would like to find a compromise solution. Kevin Llewellyn said he was not opposed to expanding telecommunications but this tower would be much higher than any local hills and the viewshed shown in their documents is actually smaller than the actual viewshed because it was based on a 140-foot sample tower height. It would be the first thing anyone saw when they came into Thetford, and it might need permanent lighting due to the proximity to the airport. Li said she was mystified by the choice of location on the side of the hill. She thought they could have found a better location to achieve the same reach without having to have such a high tower. David noted the very steep slope of the access road, which could be an issue. Li said the regional planning commission (TRORC) had noted that the location was in the middle of one of the Town’s largest unbroken forest blocks, which the legislature has made an important concern in town planning. Jamie suggested asking AT&T to respond to these issues. Nick Clark said he was emailing the Town Counsel to arrange a meeting to discuss the best way to communicate with AT&T. This was not discussed at the last Selectboard meeting because the agenda was already full before the notice arrived but it will be on the next meeting’s agenda. Liz asked what role the various town boards might have in the proceedings. Li said that they would be parties, as would abutters. Dean said that a friend of his who appeared to be an abutter had received a notice and wondered if anyone within the viewshed would be a party. Several of those attending said they had not received a notice even though they were in the viewshed. Jesse Andrews said he was concerned about the 60-day length of the notice period, and David agreed that any efforts to oppose the construction would have to move quickly. Erica Ko said that the proposed access road traveled over a right of way that was already deeded to Joel and Anne Legunn, who live across the Ompompanoosuc River at the junction of Route 113 and Sawnee Bean Road. She wondered if they would be able to block the project by not allowing that use on their right of way. They would need to check with a lawyer soon. Liz said she was concerned that our personal feelings regarding the tower had us pushing forward without enough information. We needed to check with the Town police and fire departments to see if lack of cell service was an issue. Liz said we also need to know what power municipal bodies have before writing letters to AT&T. Nick said that Thetford’s first responders are able to use radio receiver/repeater equipment in their vehicles to achieve coverage in 70% of the Town, so a cell tower could help improve the situation. However, he has looked into alternatives, which include using more lower towers but also small repeaters located on existing telephone poles. These could provide equal coverage to the one tall tower. He recommended speaking to the Town Counsel and make any contact with AT&T through the counsel. Liz agreed that would be a stronger approach, to find out our options, what power we have and how to make sure the powers that be hear our message. Planning Commission Minutes for 5/5/2020: DRAFT Page 2 Jesse Anderson suggested speaking with other towns that have dealt with similar issues to find out what solutions they came up with, so we could develop a strong case before approaching AT&T. Li said it would be best to make our arguments to PUC before AT&T can formulate their rebuttals. Erica Ko said we should also continue the conversation with TRORC, since it will also be a party. Nick suggested that the Planning Commission and town counsel meet in a private session next to clarify their respective roles. He also suggested setting up an email list of the attendees so they could be kept informed easily. Dean suggested that everyone use the Chat function to provide their emails and to make sure they were all listed properly as having attended. Jesse Anderson volunteered to develop the email list so the group could act separately from the Planning Commission; however, he is a member of the Development Review Board and the list should probably be handled by someone not on any town board. Lynda Day Martin asked if the Town Manager was available to be a point person for communications and to address the proper order of addressing questions and concerns. Nick replied that it wasn’t part of his job description; this would fall more to a committee or the Selectboard, but he would be kept informed and could provide advice. Liz raised concerns about the technical difficulties regarding proper posting of the announcement and Zoom link on the Town website prior to the meeting. Didi Pershouse agreed that the problem could limit public involvement. Nick said they were being addressed and it shouldn’t happen again. David pointed out that the warning had been properly posted in all the other required locations and on the listserve. There was some concern and discussion about the timing of the notice of application. Dean said it had arrived on the previous Tuesday evening, April 28th, but that he hadn’t looked at it for a couple of days, thinking it would be about a normal subdivision. He forwarded it to the commissioners as soon as he read it. It hadn’t been sent to David, the chair; instead it went to the previous chair. The Selectboard learned of it a day or two later. Several other attendees expressed concern about the short notice period and how they had learned about it only third- or fourth-hand.