FRAMINGHAM — A request to install a new antenna atop a water tank on Indian Head Heights has stoked the ire of dozens of residents, leading a group of more than 50 to pack a Zoning Board hearing Tuesday.

Neighbors have rallied to block the project since it was introduced by the town’s Department of Public Works earlier this year. Those who live near the project site have raised a range of concerns, saying they fear the antenna could lower property values, emit harmful radiation or even topple onto their homes.

Documents being circulated by the group in advance of Tuesday’s Zoning Board hearing included a photo of a similar pole engulfed in flames.

The pole would be erected on town-owned property at 20 and 22 Indian Head Heights. The area currently houses one of six water storage tanks in the town’s water system.

The 75-year-old tank holds 3.5 million gallons and serves about half of the town's population, according to an application submitted to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The town plans to demolish the existing tank and replace it with two new tanks, which will together hold the same volume of water.

As part of the project, officials from the Department of Public Works are seeking a special permit allowing them to attach a new monopole to one of the tanks. The antenna would reach a height of 120 feet above ground level. In order to move forward with the project, the town must also receive approvals from the ZBA to build higher than 80 feet, and to exceed certain setback requirements.

Town officials say the location of the antenna was suggested by Motorola in a 2014 study. New facilities at the site would be used to monitor communications for the town’s water distribution and wastewater collection system.

That system includes six pump stations and 44 wastewater pump sites that require radio communication, according to the town's application. The police and fire departments would also use the antenna to boost their radio network, according to the application.

Neighbors concerned about the project established a website in advance of Tuesday’s meeting to organize their efforts, located at www.indianheadpole.info. A petition opposing the project also gathered approximately 200 signatures.

Sam Coluccio, who lives on Crestwood Drive, said the pole will hurt real estate values. Radiation from the communications equipment will also pose health risks, Coluccio said, particularly if more dishes are added to the pole in the future.

"The radiation that comes off of those dishes is very dangerous over a period of time,” Coluccio said. “It's been documented. There's been studies done in Europe about the whole thing. It's really not caught up here in the United States, so what we're trying to do is get ahead of that."

Sophia Banar, another Crestwood Drive resident, referenced a bill sponsored by state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, that would establish a special commission to study the health impacts of electromagnetic fields.

The commission would investigate cellular devices, utility smart meters and wireless internet equipment — particularly devices used in public schools — and report on potential harmful health effects.

The bill received a favorable recommendation in February from the Joint Committee on Public Health and was referred to the committee on Health Care Financing, where it remains, according to the state’s legislative website.

"The issues are there clearly," Banar said. "People are clearly concerned, and much like many other things that were not really deemed hazardous until they were, like tobacco or X-rays or UV rays, we just don't want to live for the next 40 years near a tower to only find out 40 years from now that our children, of which there are 500 or so in the neighborhood, were subjected to undue health risks.”

The ZBA had yet to begin discussing the town’s application as of the Daily News’ print deadline. The board is due to render a decision by Sept. 30.

Jim Haddadin can be reached at 617-863-7144 or jhaddadin@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @JimHaddadin.