Verizon is before the Vermont Public Service Board seeking a certificate of public good to install a 90-foot wireless telecommunication tower topped by 15 antennas on a 60-acre parcel of land off Tucker Hill Road in Fayston.
The land is located off Mikhal Drive and is owned by Lauren Kolitch. The cell tower location is along the top of a ridge that runs between Fayston and Waitsfield, between Tucker Hill Road in Fayston and Dana Hill Road in Waitsfield.
Per Vermont statute, the towns of Fayston and Waitsfield are encouraged to comment on the application for the certificate. The Waitsfield Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed tower at its May 15 meeting and by unanimous vote requested in writing that the Public Service Board require Verizon to reduce the height of the proposed tower and camouflage it.
At that meeting, the commission finalized its comments in a letter to the Public Service Board, including its request that the Public Service Board require Verizon to camouflage the monopole and antennas and to reduce the height of the monopole. As proposed, the monopole/antenna will be above the tree line.
The project will be enclosed in a 50-by-50-foot fenced area with an equipment shelter. The Waitsfield Planning Commission letter raises other issues with camouflaging the monopole and antennas and questions whether the project is in conformance with Fayston’s Town Plan while noting that although the project is in Fayston, it will be more visible from Waitsfield than from Fayston.
The Waitsfield Planning Commission noted that the tower will be 40 feet from the Waitsfield town line and asks the Public Service Board to consider the impact of the tower on Waitsfield as well as whether the project is compatible with Waitsfield’s Town Plan.
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