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Update on Wireless Initiative
On Monday, October 17, 2011, voters at the Special Town Meeting approved Article 12, the "delete and replace" article substituting a new bylaw governing Radio Telecommunications Facilities for the former bylaw governing Wireless Communications Facilities. A copy of the approved Bylaw, in the form of a Town Meeting motion, is available online. (See October 17, 2011 SPECIAL TOWN MEETING Final Motions). The bylaw must now be approved by the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General. Except as may be modified by the
AG's approval, the new bylaw should be considered to have taken effect as of October 18, 2011.
Prior Updates on Wireless Initiative
On October 3, 2011, the Planning Board closed its public hearing after deliberating and hearing public comments on the proposed “delete and replace” amendments to the Wireless Communications Facilities (WCF) bylaw. Upon closing the hearing, the Board voted 5-0 in favor of recommending the bylaw for approval at the October 17 Special Town Meeting.
The proposed bylaw in the form recommended by the Board is now available online, and at the office of the Planning Department in Town Hall.
The Board of Selectmen will consider the issue at their meeting on October 11. The Planning Board's consultant will attend the October 11 as will the Director of Land Use Management.
Project Overview and Background
"Redesign town's cell tower bylaw seeking input from residents and officials."
Significant policy changes were enacted by the FCC in November 2009 with other changes anticipated to result from the recent National Broadband Plan. The Town understands the importance of providing a local regulatory framework that reflects this changing context while maximizing local opportunities to influence the location and architecture of WCF infrastructure.
This project is a next step in an ongoing process to periodically evaluate and revise the Westford WCF Bylaw to keep current with ongoing changes in the industry, technology and regulatory environment, and to ensure a local regulatory framework that reflects community policy priorities and is clear and enforceable.
The Town retained a consultant, David Maxson of Isotrope LLC, to support the Town's efforts, and the Director of Land Use Management is serving as project manager. The initiative will include combined efforts with other Town officials and staff, and a working group of citizen volunteers.
On November 10, this issue was discussed on the Westford CAT program Main Street, Westford. This program will be broadcast on WCAT television, and is available for online viewing at:
In addition to periodic updates at regularly scheduled meetings of various public Boards, the Planning Board and the Board of Appeals will hold two public workshops. The first workshop took place on Tuesday, November 16 at 7 PM at the Blanchard School Auditorium.
At the first workshop, a summary was provided of background research completed to date to inform community dialogue on the technical, aesthetic and legal aspects of this regulatory challenge. This meeting was recorded by Westford CAT, and is available for viewing both through local cable television and online.
A related article appeared in the November 4-10 edition of the Westford Eagle entitled Curbing Cell Towers.
On Thursday, February 24, 2011 the Planning Board opened a public hearing on the proposed zoning amendment:
Article 35 Replace Section 6.2, Siting of Wireless Communication Facilities, Revisions to Section 10.2 Definitions related to Radio Telecommunications
To see if the Town will vote to amend the Westford Zoning Bylaw to delete in its entirety Section 6.2, Siting of Wireless Communication Facilities (WCF) (also known as “cell towers”) and adopt a new Section 6.2 Siting of Radio Telecommunications Facilities (RTFs) and adopt related amendments to Section 4.2 Height Regulations, Section 10.2 General Definitions, Appendix A: Table of Principal Use Regulations, and Appendix B: Table of Accessory Use Regulations.
After more than three hours of presentation, Board discussion and public comment, the Board voted to continue the hearing until March 7, 2011.
At that time, the Planning Board voted 5-0 to withdraw Article 34 and requested its removal from the March 26, 2011 Warrant. The following night, the Board of Selectmen followed this recommendation, and the article did not appear on the March 26 Warrant.
An article in the Lowell Sun that preceded the March 2011 Town Meeting provide a good summary of the Board's rationale for not recommending bylaw amendments earlier this year. The goal is to continue the public hearing with greater public participation as we continue to work toward a proposal for consideration at the next Town Meeting.
Useful Reference Documents
A number of useful reference documents are included below:
This online resource will be updated with new information from time to time.
You can also subscribe to the WCA Documents by RSS feed in order to receive email notification every time new content is added to that page.
Thank you.
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