After a lengthy public hearing, the Martha's Vineyard Committee approved a cell phone tower expansion project in Sitisbury last week.
MVC voted 10 to 1 on Thursday night to allow a 15-foot expansion of the existing camouflage tower near New Lane in Santisbury. The addition of utility poles aims to expand AT&T's coverage in the surrounding area, including emergency response personnel.
The project was reviewed by the committee as a development of regional impact (DRI) starting in October. In several public hearings, the committee members debated details, including the environmental impact of the existing single pine pole, whose top was camouflaged with artificial pine trees to minimize visual impact.
The existing 65-foot tower was approved by the committee and the West Tisbury District Appeals Committee in 2013. The expansion will place new AT&T equipment on the tower, including various pipelines and diesel generators.
These changes will extend the tower by approximately 15 feet, and the new height, including artificial branches, will be 80 feet.
During the MVC review, including field visits, extensive discussions with the applicant Centerline Communications and repeated discussions on the fact that the single-leaf pine has dropped a large number of plastic "needles" to the ground on the ground. year. The committee members expressed doubts about the plastic debris accumulated in the area around the tower. They discussed in detail whether to require the tower’s owner, U.S. Tower, to completely remove the veneer, or to leave this decision to the Sitisbury District Appeals Committee, just like the original tower.
During the deliberations on Thursday night, the debate continued. Commissioner Fred Hancock said that rural surrounding areas, including Tisbury Great Pond, are vulnerable to visual disturbances. But he said that when it comes to plastic trees and ordinary cell phone towers, the town should decide what is best.
"One of the things we are responsible for is protecting the natural beauty of the island," Mr. Hancock said. "This does not mean that we have great respect for the town of Satisbury we left to them [in the decision]... In other words, we don't think you can handle this."
Commissioner Doug Sederholm agreed. "We should let the town decide whether there is a monopine... The visual impact is mainly in Satisbury. We used to let them do it, and now we have no reason not to do it."
The approval includes conditions, and the final approval is still subject to the committee's written decision in early January.
Among other operations on Thursday, the commissioners voted to pass an updated agreement with the Martha’s Vineyard Airport Committee, which clarified the responsibility for reviewing the development of the airport’s business park. The original agreement dates back to 1993 when the business park was first developed and has since been updated at least once. Taking into account the strict review procedures of the Airport Commission itself, the agreement sets a threshold for sending commercial projects to MVC for review.
Mr. Hancock led the committee's review and update projects. Airport Director Geoffrey Freeman and Operations Manager Kevin Brennan both praised Mr. Hancock and the committee, which they considered was a thorough collaborative process.
The committee also voted to elect officials for the coming year. Commissioner Joan Malkin will serve as another chairman, Jim Vercruysse as vice-chairman, and Ernie Thomas as clerk.
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