Hamilton Planning Board Continues Cell Tower Hearing, Denies Willow Street Special Permit

HAMILTON — May 20, 2026 — Hamilton Planning Board opens first hearing on 110-foot cell tower, denies Willow Street special permit. The board voted unanimously, 7-0, at its May 19 meeting to continue a public hearing on a proposed monopole at the town's public safety building to June 2, pending a written report from peer reviewer Mike Lawler; it also voted 7-0 to deny a special permit for a proposed garage and gym at 176 Willow Street, finding the project had no legal path under the town's nonconformity bylaw. The tower, proposed by EIT Communications 1 LLC doing business as Everest, would stand 110 feet tall on town-owned land at 265 Bay Road, with Verizon Wireless as anchor tenant, targeting a coverage gap along Route 1A that includes approximately 14,223 daily vehicles and the Hamilton-Wenham MBTA commuter rail station. One resident, who identified himself as Max from 61 Union Street South, told the board the dead zone is real: "You can barely order your tickets up to get onto the train." On Willow Street, Chair Marcy Gale explained that the bylaw's nonconformity provisions offer the applicant no special permit avenue and that a Zoning Board of Appeals variance is the only remaining path.