AT&T is nixing a controversial plan to build a cell tower on Buffalo Mountain in Hardwick.Â
The telecommunications giant filed a request with the state Public Utility Commission on Wednesday to dismiss a petition to build the 184-foot-tall tower.
“AT&T’s motion is based upon the general opposition to the proposed project as evidenced by the motions and public comments filed to date,” William Dodge, an attorney for the company, wrote in the filing.
A spokesperson for the company had not responded to an email seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.
The company submitted the petition to the state commission in October after a year of planning. The tower would have been sited on the mountain, which serves as the scenic backdrop for the Caledonia County town, near a trail used by bicyclists and hikers.
AT&T had said the tower would expand cell coverage in the surrounding rural areas. It also would have been one of 36 towers the company is building as part of the federal FirstNet system — a national project to improve communications for first responders. AT&T in 2017 was awarded the contract for Vermont’s network.
But the proposal faced resistance from Hardwick residents, who in local meetings and public comment argued the tower would compromise the scenic value of one of the town’s greatest outdoor assets.Â
In a Wednesday filing, AT&T said it has since found existing wireless telecoms infrastructure around Hardwick that could be used to achieve the original goal.Â
The company plans to file a new petition regarding that existing infrastructure, according to the document, but revealed no further details about the move.
This is not the first time a telecoms titan has tried to put a tower on Buffalo Mountain and failed in the wake of outrage from locals.Â
In the 1990s, Verizon tried to build a 150-foot tower on Buffalo Mountain. “Many residents believe (the project) would ruin the view from the valley below and spoil the ecology of the pristine mountaintop,” The Associated Press reported in 1998.