Blue Sky Towers pitches 126-foot Verizon tower for Shapleigh; board schedules site visit and public hearing

Blue Sky Towers representatives on Tuesday presented a proposal to install a 126-foot galvanized lattice telecommunications tower (132 feet with lightning rod) on a 5.2-acre lot off Gray Road in Shapleigh, saying the site will close an identified coverage gap for Verizon in the ‘‘Shapleigh Northeast’’ area.

Mike Cohen, who identified himself as counsel for the applicant and the project lead, said the proposal would create a 100-by-100-foot lease area with a 50-by-60-foot fenced compound for equipment and up to four carriers. "The above analysis concludes the RF exposure levels from the proposed site will be well below the maximum permissible levels as outlined by the FCC," Cohen said, citing a radio-frequency emissions report that showed Verizon-only equipment would operate at roughly 11.5% of FCC limits.

The presentation included coverage maps for 700 MHz and 2,100 MHz bands. Emilio Solongo, introduced as a radio-frequency engineer at C Squared, showed maps indicating existing gaps (white areas on the maps) and explained how the proposed site would propagate service into populated basin areas such as Granny Cat/Pine Springs roads. "White is no coverage," Solongo said; "green and yellow is good service." He added that the tower is designed to accommodate future colocating carriers so other companies would not necessarily place separate towers nearby.

Board members pressed the applicant on engineering, setbacks and public‑safety issues. The applicant team said the lattice design is engineered to industry standards (TIA), will include a reinforced foundation based on local geotechnical analysis and can be detailed to higher safety factors if the board requests them. Tom Johnson, introduced as the site engineer from Proterra, described erosion-control measures, swales and level spreaders sized to a 50-year storm to limit runoff and minimize downstream erosion.

The applicant told the board wetlands were delineated and a vernal pool lies uphill of the disturbance; the team noted the northern long‑eared bat may be present and said tree clearing would be timed in the Nov. 1–Mar. 31 window recommended for bat protections. Cohen said a NEPA environmental checklist and related state consultations are required before the federal process is complete.

The board also discussed fuel and containment for backup generators, which the application listed as propane (with carrier options for diesel and double‑walled containment if needed), and the ordinance requirement that the owner post a removal bond equal to 125% of an engineer’s decommissioning estimate should the tower be unused for 12 consecutive months. The applicant agreed to provide a removal-cost estimate and a bond amount for select‑board approval prior to building-permit issuance.

No final vote was taken. The board set a site inspection for the proposed location (tentatively Saturday the 21st at 10 a.m.) and asked the applicant to provide larger-scale plans, the deed, DEP/NEPA submission materials, the wildlife documentation, and a removal-bond estimate ahead of a scheduled public hearing.

The board will circulate those materials to local emergency services for comment and make the full application available before the public hearing.

Ending: The planning board closed discussion of the application with a call for supplemental materials and a site visit; the application will return to the board for a public hearing once the requested documents and the bond estimate are provided.