NEW: Boy Scouts Key to Cell Tower Siting Compromise

The Boy Scouts were certainly prepared as they played a critical role in reaching a compromise on a cell tower that benefits the neighbors, the City of Cranston, and the owners of the tower.

A cell tower project in Cranston was approved by the city Zoning Board after a compromise was reached between T&H Holdings, the tower company, and neighbors of the Champlin Scout Reservation in Cranston.  The compromise allowed the tower project to move forward, following a series of meetings arranged by the Scouts that produced an agreement between all the parties.

“We were pleased to be able to bring the parties together and reach a solution which was a win for all involved,” said Dave Anderson, Scout Executive for the Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America, which owns the 106-acre site in Cranston. 

Anderson said that key to the agreement was willingness of the neighbors to work in good faith with the tower company to reach a compromise.  He also cited the leadership of local elected officials, including state Sen. Bea Lanzi (D-Cranston) and Cranston city council members Richard Santamaria and Robert Pelletier.

The key elements of the approved compromise were:

• T&H agreed to the neighbor’s request to move the tower site several hundred feet to the west, and behind a small hill on the property.  This moved the tower closer to the center of the Scout property, reducing visual impacts on the neighborhood.
• In return, the neighbors and elected officials agreed to support a higher elevation for the tower.  The initial recommendation by the city planner would have capped the tower at 138 feet.  Under the compromise, the zoning board approved a tower height of 160 feet.
• T&H agreed that there would be no vehicle access to the site from the north through the neighborhood via Village Avenue.  The company concurred with the neighbors’ request that all vehicles access the property from Scituate Avenue to the south.§  The neighbors agreed to allow utility access to the tower site from the north.  At the same time, T&H agreed to bring the utilities in from the street at an angle, and to minimize the impacts on the trees and bushes.

Anderson said the tower will produce tax revenue for the city and income for the Scouts, who have a full-time ranger on staff to care for the property.

“This will allow 106 acres of open space in Cranston to stay that way – for our Scouts and our neighbors,” Anderson said.