City To Revisit Wireless Tower Regulations

By Gordon HopkinsThe City of Fairbury will be reviewing, and possibly revisiting, guidelines for the placement and construction of wireless communication towers.Fairbury recently received a request for special use permits to construct three wireless communication towers within the city limits, but the city council only approved one. It is unclear how this decision will impact the project going forward.One permit was denied on the grounds that current zoning code does not allow for towers in medium density residential zoning districts. The other was denied due to the proposed location's proximity to a housing development.The request was made by Industrial Tower West LLC, in conjunction with Mountain Tower & Land LLC. According to a letter written September 24, 2021, by the company to the City of Fairbury, “a coverage gap exists,” in Fairbury and these two towers would help to fill that gap. In addition, “the introduction of 4G service coverage has caused Viaero, as well as other carriers, to place additional towers in high use areas to provide better in-building coverage.”The letter notes, “the increased usage of 4G data places extremely high demands on the existing capacity if Viaero at its other tower locations to provide quality service to its customers. The data usage has increased exponentially as customers are using their home internet solutions, smart phones, tablets and other wireless devices at a higher level and more frequently, which has only been exacerberated by COVID-19 and continues at that rate.”As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of employees have opted to work from home, requiring remote access and reliable internet service to continue doing their jobs.In addition, wireless communication technology and FCC (Federal Communications Commission) law has changed considerably over the last few years.According to a memo from Laura Bedlan, Development Services Director for Fairbury, presented at a meeting of the City Council on Tuesday, January 18, 2022, “During staff’s review of the Conditional Use Permits and requested Amendments to Zoning it was suggested that Fairbury consider a third-party review process that would help to facilitate new tower development without sacrificing the protection of the community's interest and safety.”Bedlan indicated that city staff has reached out to several communities in Nebraska that currently use third-party review services and all have recommended CMS (Center for Municipal Solutions). The Planning and Zoning Commission discussed this and recommended the Council approve contracting with CMS to amend Fairbury Zoning section 9.03 wireless communication towers at its January 3, 2022 meeting.According to Bedlan's memo, there should be no expense for the city for this service, “At no cost to the city CMS offers a complete wireless communication review package. They work with communities to review and rewrite code to meet the new FCC regulations and fit the community's needs, along with managing the permitting process to ensure tower development is meeting the new regulations and providing adequate services for the community. The service costs for CMS are covered by an escrow deposit from the applicant to pay for expert assistance as part of the permitting process and any money left in escrow at the completion of construction is returned to the applicant. Among the Nebraska communities that currently use this third-party system there is a consensus that CMS has helped to balance the needs of the community and those of the carriers to help assist in tower development. Tower development continues to rapidly grow in those communities and all of them have continued to uses CMS's permit review services beyond the initial 3-year contract period.”

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