The AT&T cell tower resistance continues...

Stoddard now dealing with lawsuit

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Posted: Sunday, October 2, 2011 9:00 am | Updated: 8:26 am, Sun Oct 2, 2011.

By Sarah Trefethen Sentinel Staff | 4 comments

STODDARD — With a federal lawsuit hanging over its head, the town’s zoning board is poised to resume operation after a spate of resignations that left it out of commission back in July.

That likely means once again taking up a proposal to construct a cellphone tower on Melville Hill, with a board that features three new

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....

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.

Despite the protests, Stoddard ZBA approves AT&T Cell Tower on Melville Hill in 3-2 vote

After seven months the verdict is in: Stoddard's Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) voted on May 25 to grant AT&T a Special Exception to build a cell tower on Melville Hill.

To say it's a disappointment is a major understatement. In fact, it's taken some time even to write about what happened.

For the last seven months we've sat through a long series of hearings to determine whether AT&T should be granted a Special Exception in a Rural Area to build the proposed cell tower. As word got out, area protests grew in size and strength and outrage, as the cell tower would loom over Granite Lake, one of the jewels of the Monadnock region. The townships of both Stoddard and Nelson were affected as well not only by the visual desecration of the landscape but by the property devaluations that would follow and the summer rental businesses that would be hurt.

Stoddard ZBA to vote on AT&T's proposed cell tower May 25

After a series of postponements, the Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) will meet on May 25 at 7:15 p.m. to vote on AT&T's request for a Special Exception to build a cell tower on Melville Hill overlooking Granite Lake.

The meeting is open to the public.

Those who wish to communicate their views regarding the cell tower should write Pat Putnam, ZBA secretary, at: stoddardtreasurer@yahoo.com. She will distribute your comments to the ZBA.

Minutes of the Stoddard Board of Adjustment 2/25/11 re AT&T Proposed Cell Tower

Members Attending: Beverly Power, Fred Ward, Ruth Ward and Richard Betz.  Excused was Maureen Meyer.

Correspondence:  Various and numerous emails concerning AT&T Cell Tower Application....

New Business: Beverly Power went over some of the legal advice that Sam Bradley emailed to her and the members.  The board had a lengthy discussion on the contents of that confidential letter. 

Fred Ward asked if the Balloon Test, scheduled for March 4 - 5 or 6, 2011, depending on weather conditions could be cancelled.  Beverly Power said the balloon test has been posted and published and will be held.  Fred Ward felt the balloon test was premature. 

Keene Sentinel: Cell Tower Getting Cool Reception

Stoddard floats plan for more, smaller facilities

By Sarah Trefethen
Sentinel Staff

Published: Tuesday, February 22, 2011

STODDARD — The debate between residents and AT&T over how to deliver cell phone service to this hilly collection of hamlets rages on.

The town’s zoning board is considering an application from the wireless company to bring a single 150-foot cell tower to the top of Melville Hill, overlooking Granite Lake.

The board wants the company to consider using multiple smaller towers instead, but so far the company has not considered such a proposal.

To the Stoddard ZBA from Richard Nicoletti re the Feb.15 Hearing on AT&T's Proposed Cell Tower

Re: Alice: "It would be so nice if something made sense for a change." Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, for this and other "Alice" quotes in this email.

Dear Members of the ZBA,

Everybody who has attended any of the public meetings you have had regarding ATT's petition knows how diligently you have struggled to connect the seemingly contradictory words about ATT's "targeted coverage area" coming from both the written words of its original petition and from the spoken words of its professionals.  [Alice: "I think I should understand that better, if I had written that down: but I can't quite follow it as you say it."]

AT&T Rejects Stoddard ZBA's Efforts to Find Alternate Cell Tower Sites

The Stoddard Zoning Board of  Adjustment (ZBA) hearings regarding AT&T's proposal to build a cell phone tower on top of Melville Hill, overlooking Granite Lake, NH, continued on Tuesday, February 15 at 7 p.m.

ZBA secretary Patricia Putnam's notes on the hearing can be found here.

Margaret Schillemat, a town of  Nelson Selectman, was present and her letter from the Nelson Board of Selectmen opposing the AT&T proposed cell tower site on Melville Hill, was noted. (See her letter in the last post.)

The Granite lake area is unique in that it includes both the towns of Stoddard and Nelson. Nelson residents on the south side of Granite Lake currently pay a considerable "view tax" for looking directly at the lake and the

Nelson Board of Selectmen Oppose Proposed AT&T Cell Tower over Granite Lake

This letter was sent to the Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment regarding AT&T's proposed cell tower on Melville Hill, which would loom over Granite Lake: 


Dear Chairperson Power,

     I am writing as a member of the Nelson Board of Selectmen who have passed a resolution supporting my statement herein. I understand the Nelson Conservation Commission will be similarly writing you.
     Granite Lake is a most valuable resource for both Nelson and Stoddard. We feel the above proposal would be especially harmful to the lake, both ecologically and aesthetically. Moreover, we worry it could

Letter to Stoddard ZBA re AT&T's Proposed Cell Tower

At the December 15 meeting of the Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment  (ZBA), the following letter was presented and signed by 53 concerned local residents:

Dear Members of the Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment:

          As residents of the Town of Stoddard and Nelson who reside both in and outside of the Granite Lake Village District[1], we the undersigned respectfully ask that you do not approve the application of AT&T for

The Real Cell Tower Situation: What We Discovered

On November 10 a small group of us, mostly abutters to the land on which AT&T proposed to build the cell tower, arrived at the first Stoddard Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) hearing. None of us had any idea of the constraints already put on the ZBA, nor did we know what we were all up against.

After the two AT&T reps and lawyer discussed their proposal, many of us raised concerns about various issues: