Town sued over placement of cellphone antennas
NORTH ANDOVER -- Thea Fournier is taking on Town Hall over the siting of cellular telephone antennas in her neighborhood because she thinks that people consider the microwaves transmitted by the antennas to be a potential health threat and that fear will decrease the value of her house and others in the area.
"Among the public there is a perception that the microwaves these antennas emit can cause cancer," said Fournier, a certified nutritionist and environmental health consultant. "Antennas carry a stigma, both because of the potential health threat of radio-frequency radiation and the fact they are visually intrusive to a beautifully 19th-century historic area."
Fournier is asking an Essex Superior Court judge to set aside a September 2002 decision by the North Andover Zoning Board of Appeals that granted a permit to Omnipoint Holdings for the construction of three wireless telephone antenna panels on the smokestack at the historic Davis & Furber complex on High Street. Seven other residents who live in the neighborhood have joined her lawsuit.
"The zoning board ignored the town's own regulations for the siting of this cell tower in granting this permit," Fournier said. "By regulation, a cell tower can be sited no closer than 600 feet from the nearest house, and this one would be within 125 feet."
In responding to the suit, Omnipoint Holdings said in court papers that the neighbors' concern that the antennas will diminish their property values "rests entirely on speculative, unsubstantiated fears."
Jerry Marquis, the spokesman for Omnipoint Holdings, said his company believes the zoning board properly allowed a variance from the 600-foot setback rule because the 90-foot-tall smokestack is the only location in the area that can provide the coverage the company needs for its T-Mobile customers.
"We have significant gaps in service in the area of downtown North Andover which we are trying to resolve with this site," Marquis said. "There is no other site nearby which works for us."
Marquis added that federal law does not allow municipalities to reject permits for the installation of cellular telephone antennas because of potential health effects.
Furthermore, Marquis argued, the town's bylaw that covers the siting of wireless antennas encourages companies to use existing facilities or buildings to mount their antennas instead of constructing new structures.
Marquis said his company plans to place three antenna panels on the smokestack and doesn't anticipate leasing space on the smokestack to other competing carriers. He said company policy forbade him from disclosing the amount of rent his company has agreed to pay Schneider Electric for using its smokestack.
Marquis said the three 6-by-1-foot antenna panels will be painted the same color as the chimney so that they will be less noticeable.
The smokestack is part of the old Davis & Furber Mill complex, which is the focus of the Machine Shop Village Historic District. The mill was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Davis & Furber was founded in the first half of the 19th century as a builder of mechanical weaving equipment. The company expanded in the 1860s with the construction of several typical brick mill buildings, prompted by the demand for fabric to clothe Civil War soldiers.
Thomas Mullen, who is representing the neighbors in their Superior Court case, said he believes Omnipoint could respect both the town's setback requirement and the existing facility rule by mounting its antennas on a cellular tower on Osgood Hill 1 mile from the David & Furber parcel without any loss in service to its customers.
"Another cell tower is being located there, and Omnipoint has the burden to prove satisfactorily that they cannot use that location," he said.
Fournier is also taking issue with a decision by the North Andover Planning Board. The board voted last February to deny a special permit for the cell tower's construction but reversed its ruling in July after Omnipoint appealed the decision in US District Court.
Thomas Urbelis, the town's chief attorney, said he does not comment on issues that are in active litigation.
Fournier said she recognizes that she and her neighbors face what she characterized as "a monumental task" in fighting both the town and a well-financed wireless provider. She said she recognizes that the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 grants companies like Omnipoint broad latitude in siting cellular telephone antennas.
She has already won a $2,000 grant from the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund to help pay her legal fees and is applying for other private foundation support.
"It is our hope that this case will set a legal precedent and thus help residents of other cities and towns who are threatened by inappropriate placement of cell tower devices," she said.
Caroline Louise Cole can be reached at cole@globe.com.
