TOWN OF NORTH HARMONY
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
WEDNESDAY, 3/22/2017, 7:00 PM
ZBA MEMBERS PRESENT: JAMES LEVESQUE ROGER VAILLANCOURT
GREG MICHALAK WILL ORTMAN
DAN THOMAS HELEN EMICK
GARY WINGER
Dave Stapleton, Attorney
OTHERS PRESENT: Chris Borncamp, NB&C for T-Mobile Pauline James
James Kranking
Mr. Stapleton swore in all who expressed intent to speak at the hearing.
- American Tower Corporation requesting a Special Use Permit to co-locate T-Mobile antennas on an existing tower located at property owned by Pauline James and located at 3355 Route 394 Rear, specifically Section 332.00-2-31..TW1.
Mr. Borncamp said he is employed by Network Building and Consulting and is representing T-Mobile and American Tower for a co-location on the tower located at Tri-James on Rt. 394. He said it is the addition of an antennae array on the existing structure in order to serve T-Mobile customers with wireless communication facilities. He indicated that 6 panels (8’ x 18” arrays) will be added to the structure that exists. Mr. Levesque asked if there is a current coverage survey that indicates what area will be addressed. Mr. Borncamp said he did not believe that had been addressed in the site selection, but the reason the RF Engineer selected this site was to serve its customers based on a propagation map. He said this addition is more about increasing T-Mobile capacity than coverage. Mr. Levesque asked what tower this addition will balance. Mr. Borncamp said he is not quite sure which existing tower(s) is exhausted but this tower was selected based on propagation studies and maps. There was further general discussion. Mr. Borncamp provided the board with a copy of the original land lease for the tower. There was discussion of the removal bond requirement that is in place.
Mr. Stapleton said the original lease agreement was with Global Towers. Mr. Borncamp said American Tower Corp. had bought out Global Towers. Mrs. Emick said the Building & Zoning Application does not appear to have the property owners name on it. She said it should be clear that Pauline James is the owner of the property. Mr. Borncamp said Mr. Slavotinek represents American Tower and as part of the original lease agreement with the James’, American Tower Corp. has the right to co-locate additional tenants on their tower. Mr. Thomas asked about inspections on the tower. Mr. Stapleton said Sec. 619 of the Telecommunications Zoning Law requires the owners of towers to have them inspected every 2 years for structural integrity. Mr. Borncamp said a structural analysis was completed by a licensed PE that was included in the application.
Mr. Levesque formally requested that American Tower go back to determine if the required inspections have been occurring and provide those reports to the town in accordance with Sec. 619. I.2.
A copy of the current structural analysis report done 8/8/16 was provided to the board. Mr. Levesque asked Mrs. James the landowner if she had any comments or questions. She said no. Mr. Levesque asked when the installation was to begin. Mr. Borncamp said they would like to do the installation as soon as possible within the confines of the permitting process and the Code Enforcement Officer.
Mr. Levesque motioned to grant a Special Use Permit to American Tower Corporation to co-locate T-Mobile antennas on an existing tower located at property owned by Pauline James and located at 3355 Route 394 Rear, specifically Section 332.00-2-31..TW1 as outlined in their application and these minutes. Mr. Vaillancourt seconded and the motion was carried unanimously.
The hearing was adjourned at 7:30 PM.
Nancy Thomas
Town Clerk
