Planning Board continues unlimited-height tower bylaw to September

WESTON — July 15, 2020 — Weston Planning Board pushes back on unlimited-height emergency tower bylaw. The board on July 15 continued to Sept. 9 a Select Board–referred zoning amendment that would let the town build municipal emergency communications towers "exempt from all dimensional regulation including without limitation restrictions as to height." Fire Chief David Soar said an 80-foot tower at Paine's Hill is needed because firefighters cannot reach fire alarm from inside homes; John Whitten of KP Law argued a standalone provision is cleaner than relying on variances after the current Land Court appeal. Member Susan Zacharias called the language "draconian"; Steven Oppenheimer said any cap should be 80 feet, not unlimited. Abutter Tom Seaman and attorney Mark Corner of Reamer and Bronstein objected to the absence of fall-zone and setback requirements and showed a three-legged lattice design they said the existing telecommunications bylaw expressly prohibits.