BRUNSWICK
Neighbors are vowing to fight a proposed amateur radio tower off Pennellville Road.
“It’s as appropriate to build a tower in Pennellville as is it to have a McDonald’s in Baxter State Park,” said abutting property owner Lee Silverman.
Silverman fears the tower, if constructed, could mar the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape.
Silverman — along with other abutters Dino Valaoritis, Clare Johnson and Alicia Heyburn — have hired Troub Heisler attorney Chris Neagle to fight the tower proposal.
In October, Joseph Fallon applied for a permit with the town to construct the 120-foot-high radio tower. Fallon, whose main address is listed as Topsfield, Massachusetts, on the permit application, owns a 3.5-acre parcel on Middle Bay off Pennellville Road.
On Monday, Fallon said he would prefer not to comment on the matter, since the issue remains unsettled.
At Monday night’s Brunswick Town Council meeting, Chairwoman Alison Harris noted she had received correspondence from constituents about the tower.
Although the area is not zoned for a tower, the town may be preempted by a federal law that allows for a tower if there is a reasonable accommodation.
What exactly constitutes “reasonable accommodation” will be the subject next week of a meeting between Fallon, Fallon’s attorney and the town’s attorney, according to Town Manager John Eldridge.
Neagle, in a letter sent to the town Nov. 16, said the tower cannot lawfully be built at the proposed site, because the area is a residential zone. Structures higher than 40 feet are not allowed in that area.
Fallon must also acquire a permit for the tower from the Federal Communications Commission, as well as have the site reviewed by the Maine Historic Resources Commission because the site is listed in the U.S. National Registry of Historic Places. The parcel is a former historic shipbuilding site.
In his letter, Neagle also noted that if the tower was to be built, and subsequently fall, it could land on neighboring properties, causing considerable damage. The attorney said the tower is “clearly incompatible” with the proposed location.
Neagle said to date, there has not been a permit issued by the FCC, and the Maine Historic Preservation Commission has not been contacted by Fallon.
Planning and Development Director Anna Breinich confirmed this at the council meeting.
The town council meets again on Dec. 4.
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