FARMINGTON – The planning board approved the construction of a new cell phone tower off the Farmington Falls Road and a used car dealership in West Farmington at their Monday evening meeting.
The 180-foot tower is scheduled to go up before the end of the year on property at 170 Hovey Road, a dead-end road off the Farmington Falls Road. The property is owned by David Hobert, who has been leasing a 100-foot by 100-foot square parcel to the Northeast Wireless Network, which is franchised by AT&T. Global Tower Partners representative Blaine Hopkins noted that AT&T had been leasing the property since 2007 and had appeared before the planning board twice with the same project proposal. Both times the cell tower project was not constructed, due to national decisions made by the company.
Hopkins said that construction would include a 250-foot gravel drive from Hovey Road to the compound, where the monopole-style wireless telecommunications tower would be anchored in a concrete pad. The plan is to erect the tower before the end of the year and have it in operation by March.
The new tower is part of a series of towers going up north of the Lewiston/Auburn area, Hopkins said, in a bid to improve the system’s capacity for smartphones and other wireless devices. The pole will have space for up to six companies.
After approving the project, the board turned to a proposal by Tim Bowen to operate a small, used car dealership at 111 Marvel Street, at the intersections of that street and the Town Farm Road. The property, formerly a sawmill, has been neatened up by Bowen who intends to specialize in seeking out particular vehicles for customers.
That area was changed from residential to residential/light commercial at a special town meeting in August, allowing for the business to operate on that lot. Bowen told the board he intended to run all mechanical work and detailing through sub-contractors who would tend to the vehicles at their respective locations. Generally speaking, Bowen said, he didn’t intend to have vehicles on the lot unless they were in the process of being purchased.
Board members asked questions relating to lighting, which Bowen said would consist of downward-angled lamps, and whether the parking lot would be hot-topped. At this point, Bowen said, he intended to leave it as a gravel lot.
Abutters who attended the meeting said they were satisfied with Bowen’s dealership opening in their neighborhood and the board approved the project.
i do not know who is in charge of zoning.. but Marvel str is not in any way residential/light commercial, it is just residential. There is a reason why places are zoned and this decision clearly wrong.
Congratulations, Tim!
cell phone towers are dangerous! negatively effecting our cells, dna, immune system….
become educated. it’s serious.