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Board discusses telecom tower waiver without expiration; members urge time limits on waivers
Summary
Members raised concerns that a waiver for a telecommunication tower lacks an expiration date and discussed ordinance timelines after a past building-permit lapse on a cell tower project.
Planning board members flagged that waivers for telecommunication projects sometimes lack expiration dates and said the board should require time limits on future waivers.
One member asked whether a permit for a tower would expire and said, “Our waiver does not have an expiration. That's one of my problems with it. It's that our waivers need to have expirations, because it's into perpetuity.” Another member noted a prior case on Stone Dam Road where a cell tower project began but was not completed before a permit expired; after a new ordinance took effect the applicant had to reapply.
Board members discussed adding timelines to waivers and agreed the town should consider placing explicit expirations on approvals to avoid indefinite authorizations. There was no formal motion or amendment recorded at the meeting to change the waiver policy or ordinance; members suggested follow-up work, including potential ordinance review by a committee.
The transcript does not cite a specific ordinance number or statutory citation; references were to “the new ordinance” and to the town's waiver practice.
