The Petersburg Borough Assembly has approved a major zoning update for regulating wireless communications facilities, like cell towers. Although the long-anticipated zoning ordinance was met with much criticism from all sides, members adopted the regulations into local code after a final round of deliberation on July 20.
The tower issue gained traction, and controversy, in Petersburg since new wireless infrastructure projects emerged last year.
Petersburg’s zoning code was adopted decades ago before cell phones and broadband internet. The Borough is updating its local regulations to determine where the facilities can go, and under what conditions. The new rules come as telecommunications companies plan for more infrastructure in town.
The ordinance establishes new development standards, setback distances, and requires conditional use permits from the local planning commission for the facilities. It also provides the option for companies to request a regulation waiver if needed for a project.
The measure was months in the making. Assembly members amended it more than a dozen times over the past several weeks — making three additional “housekeeping” changes just minutes before taking the final vote.
Mika Cline, a resident and member of the local planning commission, testified at the decisive assembly meeting. She called the amendments “discouraging.”
“I’ve personally worked on this ordinance, and then it’s been completely gutted,” she said.
Cline told the Assembly the legislation lacked the protections that initially sparked the call for the local regulations last fall, and said she doesn’t think it’ll sufficiently prevent a tower from going up near her home or her kids’ daycare.
“I really hope when you make your decisions, you’re thinking about families like mine, who we want to grow and we want to stay here,” Cline said. “We need to preserve Petersburg’s integrity.”
There are several different distance requirements included in the new regulations. Towers must be 500 feet away from schools and licensed childcares, set back a bit more than the structure’s height (at least 110%) away from roads and property lines, and separated by a half-mile (2,640 feet) apart from other towers.
Assembly Member Scott Newman said during the ordinance’s last round of consideration that it had been a hard situation to navigate.
“I was one of the very first ones to advocate for an ordinance because I viewed it as a tool in the toolbox,” Newman said, “to regulate or at least put these towers, hopefully, in the least detrimental place. But, we live in such a small community. There’s just not a lot of options.”
For months, assembly members wrestled with competing priorities for the new regulations. Many residents pushed for stricter rules on where towers can be built; meanwhile, telecommunications companies argued some rules would make it harder to provide service or would violate federal law.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 limits how restrictive the Borough’s regulations can be. That was a sticking point as the measure moved through Petersburg’s municipal process.
“It’s been difficult. It’s been a lot of criticism, but I feel like this is a good ordinance,” Newman said. “We can modify it and make changes to it in the future as deemed as necessary, and I feel like this is worthwhile.”
Much of the public testimony over the months emphasized health concerns related to radiofrequency emissions. But federal law limits local governments from regulating wireless facilities based on emissions that meet federal standards.
“To the people who have been against the towers all along, I feel bad I’m not able to represent you better, but I do think there’s an element of being down a rabbit hole, and the health effects of towers is just a part of it,” Assembly Member Bob Martin said. “I want to represent you, but I’m just not a believer. There may be some truth to some of it, but federal law has really tied our hands here. And we’re just trying to do what we can to get something on the books, so at least there’ll be a public process, which wasn’t available a year ago.”
Mayor Bob Lynn said he’d spent more time with the Borough’s attorney on this issue than he has for any other issue this year.
“I know more about it now than I wanted to know,” Lynn said. “So I’m going to vote also for [the ordinance]. I know it’s not perfect, but it’s a starting point.”
Assembly Member Jeff Meucci also viewed the ordinance as a start.
“I think this is a good step in putting some guidelines and parameters for people who are interested in putting towers on Mitkof Island,” Meucci said. “Not doing anything, for me, is not an option.”
Meucci said although it’s controversial, the new regulations could be revisited once adopted into code.
“I know a lot of people won’t be happy with it, but I’m willing to see how it goes,” he concluded.
There were just four assembly members present at the meeting, so the measure needed unanimous support in order to finally pass. All four voted yes, sending the new regulations into Petersburg’s zoning code.
