Cell-tower regulations, borne out of health concerns about human proximity to towers, have been slowly inching through the borough lawmaking process. On Tuesday, they took a leap. 

Originally up for a vote was a set of regulations that would have established a mandatory 1,000-foot buffer between new towers and schools, daycares, playgrounds, and youth centers. New tower approval in all areas would have been subject to a more stringent conditional use permit process, requiring public hearings and a planning commission vote.

But Tuesday night, there wasn’t much appetite on the dais to support the new regulations, much less vote them through. Not because they were too strict, but because they weren’t strict enough—even after assembly member Kevin Forster proposed extending the buffer zone to 1,500 feet.  

Instead, the assembly unanimously voted in an outright ban on new cell towers in the townsite, and on cell towers within 1,500 feet of private property outside of the townsite. 

The borough’s attorney has advised against that language, borough officials said on Tuesday. Representatives from cell-tower and cell-provider companies have told borough officials in recent months that a townsite ban would violate federal statute and federal jurisdiction over regulation of the airwaves. 

Assembly member Mark Smith, who led the charge on the strict ban, acknowledged the legal risk. 

“I know the borough manager went to the lawyer and the lawyer said (the ban) will come into conflict with FCC regulation, which will put us at risk of a lawsuit,” Smith said. “First of all, so what…send this (ordinance) back for something with more teeth in it. Let’s show some moral courage.” 

The concerns about health effects of 5G have been widespread among assembly members and public commenters. No one at the meeting, or at recent meetings, has spoken up to defend the safety of 5G. Federal regulatory bodies maintain that electromagnetic waves from cell towers do not pose a health risk to people at the distances and dosages currently allowed in law.  

There will be another public hearing on the amended regulations in two weeks at the next assembly meeting. The assembly has asked the borough’s attorney to attend.

The unanimous cell-tower skepticism held for the rest of the night. Later in the meeting, the assembly voted against allowing the borough manager to lease land for a new cell tower at Jones Point, built by tower company Atlas Tower.  

The planning commission previously found the new tower complied with borough land-use regulations and recommended approving the lease. 

Opposition to that tower reflected health concerns, but also included public testimony from Cora Lee Cooper and Amanda Warren, the daughter and granddaughter of late Chilkat Valley resident Edward Warren. 

The borough parcel proposed as the site of the new tower almost directly adjoins Edward Warren’s allotment at Jones Point. Warren’s family members at the meeting said there is an impending survey of the property, which will clearly establish boundary lines. 

“Without having that survey done, I would think it would be negligent to have any building or planning in the area until there are clear answers of where boundaries are,” Cooper said. 

Amanda Warren also expressed concern over plans to build an access road to the tower site. In preliminary drawings, Atlas Tower has proposed routes for the road through borough property or Port Chilkoot Company property. 

“When I’m looking at it, I’m wondering, is this just about getting a road over to the area for more recreational use?” Warren said. “We don’t want to see anything used as a way to make a road, or make more public use lands, that would jeopardize more landowners and allotments.” 

The popular Jones Point trail system currently cuts through the family’s allotment.

Warren said she had contacted Tlingit & Haida about the tower plans, and “if necessary,” would contact a private attorney. 

“I have had cancer twice,” Warren said, adding health concerns to her other reservations. “I don’t want to deal with any of these issues.” 

Atlas Tower project manager Parker Bingham would not comment on the company’s plans were going forward.