Proposed Amendment to Cell Tower Setback and Map
Hello,
The Historical Commission has again been working with the Planning Board to amend the Communications Tower bylaw (4.21) so that the Chesterfield Center National Historic District (2009) will have the same protections as the zoned Town Center. We have proposed this change because the original bylaw was approved in 1999 and has never been updated.
Existing zoning by-law 4.2 Wireless Communications Overlay District Section 4.261 b. No wireless communications facility shall be located within 200 feet of an existing residential building or within 750 feet of the district designated as Town Center (TC) on the Chesterfield Zoning Map.
The proposed amendment would add this phrase to the end of the sentence:
or within 750 feet of the district designated as Chesterfield Center Historic District by the National Park Service.
The amended by-law 4.261 b reads:
No wireless communications facility shall be located within 200 feet of an existing residential building or within 750 feet of the district designated as Town Center (TC) on the Chesterfield Zoning Map or within 750 feet of the district designated as Chesterfield Center Historic District by the National Park Service.
The proposed change also keeps the spirit of the bylaw which mentions the character of Town in 2 places-
4.21d Purpose- To protect to the maximum extent practicable, the historic and residential character of Chesterfield, property values….
4.261 d. All wireless comm facilities shall be sited in such a manner that the view of the facility from adjacent abutters,..neighbors and other areas of the Town shall be as limited as possible.
Designation of the Chesterfield Center Historic District is not only a national honor, it has resulted in very real monetary benefits to the Town in the form of $110,000 in grants received from Mass. Historical Commission for several projects in Center Cemetery including gravestone conservation and rebuilding the tomb and parts of the East and South walls.
There will be a public hearing on March 11, 2024 at 7 pm at the Community Center. We hope you will come and voice your support for the change, but if not, we request that you write a letter of support to the Planning Board and send a copy to the Historical Commission. The amount of support received at this time will directly help ensure the proposed change will be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting. Please send letter no later than PB meeting on April 1 when they decide whether to support amendment or not.
This proposed change has zero effect on the Russell property whjch is covered under the existing bylaw.
Thank you for your support,
Chesterfield Historical Commission
Dee Cinner, Eileen McGowan, Deanne Ursia
MAP on Back
Chesterfield Planning Board, PO Box 299, Chesterfield, MA 01012