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Tinmouth residents press questions as company outlines plan for 160‑foot communications tower
Summary
Industrial Tower and Wireless presented a notice for a 160‑foot lattice tower near a gravel pit and cemetery in Tinmouth; the Department of Public Service described the Section 248a process and residents raised concerns about RF exposure, visibility, wetlands and a 130‑foot local height guideline.
Industrial Tower and Wireless representatives presented plans on June 19 for a 160‑foot lattice communications tower at 158 Northeast Road in Tinmouth, drawing a packed public information session where residents raised questions about health, visibility and local zoning.
Michael Swain, an attorney with the Vermont Department of Public Service, opened the meeting by describing the Section 248a procedure for communications facilities, which begins with a 60‑day notice and later a completeness finding and a 30‑day public comment period before the Public Utility Commission (PUC) issues a decision. “If you have something to say about the project and you want it read and heard by the commission, it would be best to submit that comment during that 30‑day window,” Swain said.
The applicant’s team—AJ LaRosa (attorney for Industrial Tower and Wireless), Louie Hodges (senior project engineer, Du Bois and Kean Engineering) and on‑Zoom representative Kevin Delaney—described a site moved out of a protection zoning district to minimize impacts to rare plants and wetlands and said the tower is designed for Industrial’s two‑way radio network with space for future cell‑carrier collocation.
Residents questioned RF safety, the realism of visibility balloon tests and possible property‑value effects. Louie Hodges said the company’s visibility simulations show the lattice tower will be visible only briefly from some vantage points and stressed efforts taken to avoid sensitive plant populations. “We’ve done a significant amount of evaluation on the wetland delineation… and we believe we’ve sited it in a location where we minimize environmental impacts,” Hodges said.
Next steps: the applicant must file a full petition with the PUC (site plans, testimony and studies); the PUC will find the petition complete or not and open a formal comment and intervention period. Swain and presenters encouraged residents and municipal bodies to submit written comments and consider intervention if they want party status.
