Milton planners revise ordinance on wireless towers

The Milton Planning and Zoning Commission is close to finalizing its review of a proposed ordinance codifying regulations related to building wireless communications towers.

The commission will discuss the ordinance one more time at its November meeting before sending it to town council.

The ordinance had initially been reviewed by planning and zoning before being sent to town council, which at its Sept. 12 meeting said it wanted additional issues addressed, sending it back to the planners for further changes. 

The issue of wireless towers/antennas has been a source of public controversy in Milton since Verizon proposed building a 140-foot tower on Front Street. Opponents of the tower objected to the tower being in a flood zone and said the aesthetics of the tower are wrong for the area. Verizon has said the Front Street location and height of the tower will give the best cellphone coverage for its customers. The ordinance is not anticipated to affect the proposed building of the Verizon tower.

A special permitted use was granted, and preliminary site plans were approved by planning and zoning. Those approvals were both appealed by residents, with council upholding the commission’s decisions. Additional appeals have been threatened should a final site plan be approved.

The new ordinance would add a subsection to zoning code dealing specifically with wireless communications antennas. Town code has regulations for the construction and operation of antennas, towers and satellite dishes in both commercial and private contexts, but this new section would provide a framework for commercial towers to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, with regulations that all parties would know ahead of time.

The new ordinance essentially takes conditions that planning and zoning imposed on Verizon and codifies them into law. In addition to needing a special-use permit and site-plan approval, applicants must also submit structural engineering reports to show the tower’s ability to withstand high winds, a line-of-sight analysis to show aesthetic impacts, and documentation that the tower complies with Federal Aviation Administration regulations. Fencing and screening are required, and the owner must have in place a written agreement to remove the tower within 180 days after ceasing use.

Town Solicitor Seth Thompson said at the planning and zoning commission’s Oct. 24 meeting that the main issue to be addressed, besides aesthetics, is spelling out that a wireless communications tower is a public utility and for the town to present that in an organized way. 

The newest version of the ordinance says that “any apparatus used for the receipt or transmittal of UHF, VHF, HF, or any other radio, video or microwave signal for commercial purposes will be considered a public utility system.” Building of such a tower would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.