28 August, 2014
The Board of Appeals met Wednesday, August 27th. Their discussion focused primarily on adding equipment to cell phone towers at 0 Wilson Street, 1 Mechanic Street, and 26 Lumber Street.
Board Chairman Rory Warren was absent from this meeting; Vice Chairman Michael Pierce presided over the meeting in his stead. After calling the meeting to order, the board moved to push discussion of Peppercorn Village, originally scheduled to be discussed at the meeting, to a later date. Pierce expressed concern over insufficient time to review the matter fully.
The board then moved to the public hearings of 0 Wilson Street, 1 Mechanic Street, and 26 Lumber Street. As the same action was requested for each location, and one lawyer was representing all three cases, the board moved to review all three locations at once.
Each of the locations discussed is home to a cell phone tower. The attorney for Global Signals Acquisitions asked that equipment be added to the existing towers to better provide service to the cell phone providers he represents. After clarifying that there would be no additional facilities or construction at the tower sites, the board saw little issue with the addition of the equipment. The only concern mentioned was that of the equipment's ability to handle high winds; as Hopkinton is on high ground, one associate remarked, the additional equipment should be able to sustain winds in excess of 100 miles per hour.
The board moved unanimously to approve the additional equipment, thus closing the meeting.
The next Board of Appeals meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 10th.
