Cumberland council adds Tuttle Road parcel to public‑safety telecommunications overlay to allow tower proposal

Lede The Cumberland Town Council voted unanimously July 14 to amend its zoning and official overlay map to add the parcel at 14 Tuttle Road (Tax Map R01 Lot 03) to the town’s Public Safety Telecommunications Overlay District, clearing a regulatory step for a proposed telecommunications tower the town and Verizon say will address public‑safety radio coverage gaps along Route 1, 295 and the foreside neighborhoods.

Nut graf The decision follows months of effort by town staff and engineers to find a site that improves radio communications for police, fire and EMS. Chief Daniel Rumsey and Norm Boucher, the town’s radio consultant, told council members and about 60 live attendees that existing public‑safety infrastructure relies on a single transmitter and “leaves parts of town with poor or no coverage.” Verizon representatives said the privately owned White Pine parcel on Tuttle Road is a technically suitable site and would host public‑safety antennas at the top with carrier equipment below.

Body Chief Rumsey summarized years of attempts to fix the problem and opened the council presentation with a short video of a routine traffic stop in town in which an officer struggled to transmit a license plate and location to dispatch.…