DP 4944 Proposed Telecommunications Tower

Big Lake Twp., Washington County

Last Updated: March 26, 2015

Development Permit Application DP 4944: US Cellular, through its agent Black Diamond Consultants, Inc., has submitted an application seeking approval to construct a Utility Facility, specifically a telecommunications tower (the Facility), in Big Lake Township, Washington County, Maine. The Facility would be constructed on a 40,000 square foot leased parcel accessed by a 30-foot by 800-foot utility/access easement. As originally proposed, the Facility would include a 250-foot lattice-style tower; however, the applicant has revised the proposal and reduced the tower height to 190 feet. The Facility also includes a 75-foot by 75-foot chain-linked fenced area with co-locations for four (4) tenants, a 30-foot by 85-foot parking area, and an 18-foot by 800-foot driveway. The originally proposed tower would have been lighted to comply with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirement, but no lighting is proposed with the 190 foot tower under review by the Commission. The lease and easement area are portions of three contiguous lots identified as Maine Revenue Service Map WA033, Plan 04, Lots 23, 25 and 26 and described in Washington Registry of Deeds Book 1885, Page 171. The parcels are owned by Christopher S. Cochran. The lots are zoned Residential Development (D-RS) Subdistrict and General Management (M-GN) Subdistrict.

On February 9, 2015 the applicant submitted a revised proposal for a 190-foot tower. For specfic information click on the links in the table below for Exhibit 7B and the Notice of Extension of Administrative Record dated February 3, 2015. All other documents are available upon request.

If you wish to provide comments or receive postal or e-mail notices about upcoming events and important deadlines related to the Commission's review of this proposal, contact Karen Bolstridge (207-941-4052) at the LUPC Downeast regional office.

The Commission's Statute and Rules

Document Title and Description Links
Title 12 Land Use Law - The Commission's enabling statute, including criteria for approval of a development permit. 12 M.R.S (HTML)
Refer to Section 685-B(4).
Commission's Land Use Districts and Standards - Description of the Commission's land use subdistricts and land use standards applied in review of development proposals. Ch 10: Land Use Districts and Standards (HTML)
Commission's Rules of Practice and Rules for the Conduct of Public Hearings - Detailed description of the Commission's rules of practice (Chapter 4), including rules for permit applications, when to hold a public hearing, and procedures and time limits for issuing a permit decision; and the Commission's rules for the conduct of public hearings (Chapter 5). Ch 4: Rules of Practice (DOC)
Ch 5: Rules for the Conduct of Public Hearings (DOC)

Public Participation

On February 03, 2015, the Commission reopened the record in this matter, upon the applicant’s request, until Monday, February 9, 2015 for the limited purpose of allowing USCC to revise the height of the telecommunications tower proposed in permit application DP 4944 by reducing the tower height to 190 feet from 250 feet and to provide any application materials associated with the modified proposal, and for an additional ten days until Thursday, February 19, 2015 for the purpose of receiving written comments responding to the submissions made by USCC. No additional evidence or testimony will be allowed into the record after the close of the record.

Documents are provided in PDF and Microsoft Word formats. To view PDF documents, you will need the free Adobe Reader. To view MS Word documents, you will need Microsoft Word or the free Word Viewer.

Project Updates and Upcoming Events

Date Description Additional Information
3/26/2015 Final Decision Final Decision
3/11/2015 Draft Decision Draft Decision
2/3/2015 Notice of Extension of Administrative Record Notice
11/18/2015 Notice of Extension of Administrative Record Notice
9/16/2014 Notice of Extension of Administrative Record Notice
8/29/2014 Notice of Extension of Administrative Record Notice
8/25/2014 Selected Submittals Received After Public Hearing Exhibits:
8/25/2014 Index to Record Exhibits Index (As amended for 3/11/2015)
Documents available upon request
08/13/2014 Public hearing Public Hearing Notice
Audio from Public Hearing:
  Application and Site Plans