Stoddard ZBA votes for re-hearing of AT&T Cell Tower Decision & then several members resign!

Strange happenings in Stoddard, NH these days.

Last week, on Thursday, July 21, the Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) voted 5-0 for a re-hearing of the AT&T cell tower request, which had been approved 3-2 on May 25. (See minutes of this meeting here --they're very strange....)

Then, on Friday, it was learned that all three ZBA members who had voted in AT&T's favor (chairman Bev Power along with Maureen Meyer, and Richard Betz) had submitted their resignations to the Selectmen of Stoddard, leaving only Fred and Ruth Ward, who voted against AT&T's request for a cell tower on Melville Hill, which stands high over the pristine lake community of Granite Lake.

Yesterday it was discovered that not only had Power, Meyer, and Betz resigned, but the three alternate ZBA members as well. Which makes some of us wonder what's going on....

Stoddard Conservation Commission Chairman Calls ZBA "Incompetent" in Letter to Keene Sentinel re AT&T Cell Tower Decision

Letter by Geoff Jones, Stoddard Conservation Commission Chairman, to the Keene Sentinel:

In the fall of 2010, AT&T approached the Stoddard ZBA for a special exception to place a cell tower on Melville Hill that provides the grand backdrop to Granite Lake.  When the residents of Granite Lake and the conservation commission learned about the proposal, they were naturally concerned.  A 200 foot tower would mar the summit of Melville Hill and undermine the conservation values of abutting protected lands that bordered the site on three sides.  There was nothing about the AT&T plan to locate a tower on Melville Hill that made economic, engineering or environmental sense. 

Granite Lake Residents Appeal AT&T Decision by Stoddard Zoning Board & Consider Lawsuit Against Chair

A number of appeals have been filed by Stoddard residents contesting the Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) decision to grant AT&T a Special Exception to construct a cell tower on Melville Hill, overlooking Granite Lake and the village of Munsonville, NH.  A group of Stoddard residents are also considering a lawsuit against the ZBA Chair. 

Citing bias and conflict of interest on the part of ZBA Chair Beverly Power, an owner of Pitcher Mountain Realty in Stoddard, as well as other concerns, the residents' appeals have resulted in a special meeting being called by the ZBA on Thursday, July 21 at 7 p.m. in the Stoddard Town Hall to consider undertaking a rehearing of the cell tower case. This meeting is open to the public, although they will not be allowed to speak.