By By Clarence Fanto,The Berkshire Eagle

Copyright berkshireeagle

LENOX — A proposal for Verizon Wireless tower on Canyon Ranch property has been shot down by the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals.

At Monday’s meeting, the board voted 3-2 against the measure, falling short of the 4-1 supermajority necessary to approve the structure.

ZBA member Kimberly Duval, who voted in favor, lamented the latest setback in the town’s attempt to improve the spotty cellular reception in the downtown area, describing wireless coverage as “imperative to the safety and security of our town.”

She called the proposed location “the best we’re going to get in this town” and she stated that “a small group of residents, the overwhelmingly majority of whom do not want a cell tower in their backyard, have drowned out the overwhelming support for this project.”

TowerCo, representing Verizon Wireless, had sought a special permit and zoning variance to place a 165-foot cell tower on a remote section of the Canyon Ranch Lenox resort off Kemble Street. The variance was necessary to exempt the tower from the town bylaw’s because it is within 250 feet of the property line.

ZBA member Arthur Oliver described the location of the proposed tower as “absolute anathema. How can you think of putting up a monstrosity like this, that violates so many words in the bylaws about preserving the aesthetic of this community?”

He also cited the adverse impact on residential values, as well as on historical aesthetics; “I mean, imagine what Edith Wharton would say.”

“If everyone would just be a little patient and wait,” he urged, “there are other places out there, they just have to be found.”

But before the vote, attorney Elisabeth C. Goodman, representing Verizon and TowerCo, noted that Verizon has searched other sites in Lenox for 10 years, primarily in 2016, but had not located other suitable locations.

Board Chairman Robert Fuster acknowledged that “cell service is terrible here, but he argued that the applicants had “not even come close to meeting the requirements for a special permit and variance.”

Acknowledging “a significant gap in coverage in Lenox,” associate ZBA member Daniel Schenker said he voted against the application “because I do not feel that there’s been sufficient exploration of viable alternatives.”

Casting her vote in favor, associate member Christine Conklin stressed the need for maximum cell coverage “for the good of the greater population and the majority voice I’ve heard of people who don’t have coverage.”

Lenox-based attorney Jeffrey Lynch, representing property owners at the neighboring Bishop Estate residential community, asserted that Verizon and TowerCo should have worked with the ZBA to help determine the height of the proposed tower.

Lynch argued that the board could not make a reasonable decision based on the evidence presented because the signal coverage goal of the tower was unclear.

He also contended that because Canyon Ranch (the former Bellefontaine Estate) is a historic site, a camouflaged tower would be necessary, according to the town’s wireless bylaw.

Lynch also questioned the impact on historic sight lines and declared that the variance sought by the applicant undermines the town bylaw because the project is too close to residential property lines and thus not sufficiently set back.

Bishop Estate resident Robin Roger said the applicants have been “dismissive and disrespectful of reasonable questions” posed by the zoning board and the town’s consultant.

“They’ve effectively ignored the bylaw itself, despite the effort put in to drafting it by the Planning Board and the citizens of Lenox,” Roger said. “All they’ve done since their original application is double down on a poorly conceived location that failed to meet the standards of the bylaws.”

Several nearby residents told the ZBA that their property values would be damaged if the cell tower is built at the proposed Canyon Ranch site.

As for alternative locations, Allyn Burrows, artistic director of Shakespeare & Company on Kemble Street, said the theater company could provide a better site for wireless coverage but had not been contacted by Verizon or TowerCo.