Letter to the editor: monopoles may boost cell phone coverage

Editor’s note: The following was one of several comments made on the March 29 story about proposed MBTA monopoles and is reprinted as a letter with the permission of Mr. Domnitz, who served on the Planning Board from 2003-2015.

To the editor:

Although it is never easy to accept the preemptive authority of a state agency, a potential benefit of the proposed towers is that they may finally provide a relatively benign solution to the coverage gaps in two neighborhoods that have been relentlessly targeted by cellular telephone companies—the Red Rail Farm/Walden Pond area, and the Route 117 corridor near the Weston line.

About 11 years ago, the Planning Board did a comprehensive town-wide study of potential cell tower sites in an attempt to relieve the pressure we were experiencing from cell phone carriers who were seeking to locate at will throughout the town. Ironically, we identified the MBTA right-of-way sites near Red Rail Farm and Weston as viable options, but we were unable to arouse any interest from the MBTA. They are now interested, and they seem willing to work with Lincoln stakeholders.

A few points:

1. The Planning Board should reach out to the affected neighborhoods and invite them to attend the April 26 meeting. The Walden Woods Project and DCR [Department of Conservation and Recreation]/Walden Pond should also be notified.
2. Although the MBTA appears to be exempt from local zoning, the Planning Board should assess the extent to which the current proposals do not comply with current zoning dimensional controls. This might help the town negotiate any issues of concern to abutters.
3. The Planning Board should consider whether it makes sense to put the proposed sites into the Wireless Communications Facilities overlay district. This might provide some benefit to the town in the future by discouraging cell phone companies from attempting to negotiate siting with other property owners.

Sincerely,

Bob Domnitz
21 Mill St.

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.