EDITOR’S NOTE: This report has been corrected to reflect that there was a speaker during the City Council’s public hearing.
SEQUIM — Using a Spokane ordinance as a template, the city of Sequim is crafting its own law to regulate the use of mini Wi-Fi/cell signal broadcasting devices on street poles located within city rights of way.
“We have the word version of the Spokane ordinance,” City Attorney Craig Ritchie said Monday.
City staff will then make “changes with respect to our land-use designations because Spokane put in their land-use designations,” he said.
“That will be . . . our draft ordinance.”
The City Council on Oct. 26 enacted a moratorium on mini Wi-Fi/cell tower construction or installation within city limits until a code is drafted to better regulate the structures.
The city didn’t receive any construction or installation applications for such sites prior to the moratorium, Ritchie has said.
The moratorium became effective immediately after it was adopted.
Prior to the moratorium, city code allowed the use of Wi-Fi/cell signal broadcasting devices on street poles located within city rights of way but didn’t include specific regulations for the devices, Ritchie has said.
Port Angeles already has such devices located on telephone poles throughout the city.
Of most concern is that Sequim does not have sufficient regulations in place to deal with radio frequency protection and testing requirements, Ritchie has said.
Those will match Federal Communications Commission guidelines, he said.
“The purpose of getting an ordinance, and having a moratorium so that we can get an ordinance, is so that we can look at what needs to be done to benefit city of Sequim residents,” Ritchie said.
“Mostly, it is making sure that the towers are set such that they don’t interfere, or that they interfere in the least possible way, with uses of the city.”
Public hearing
To comply with state law, which states a public hearing session must be held within 60 days of the onset of a moratorium, the City Council during its meeting Monday opened the floor to public comments about the issue.
Diane Hood, 66, of Sequim asked how the devices could impact the health of residents, noted concern of their potential placement in residential neighborhoods and requested a hard copy of the Spokane ordinance for review.
No other public comments were taken.
Following the conclusion of the public hearing, the council unanimously adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law concerning the proposed ordinance as presented by city staff.
The move allows Ritchie to move forward with the creation of the ordinance.
Citing legal statutes, Ritchie said he has 180 days to craft the ordinance and bring it back before the council for review.
“I think that can be done in 30 days or 60 days easily,” he said during the meeting.
No date has been set to bring the draft ordinance before the council.
Community discussion
Mayor Candace Pratt during the meeting said, “I am not really anxious to rush this through. I really want to have some community discussion about it.”
Councilwoman Laura DuBois said she was concerned the devices “are not very attractive” and asked that the draft ordinance incorporate aesthetic guidelines.
Said Ritchie: “They are relatively small. They are not tiny. You certainly can see them.”
As such, “some of them can be disguised with other things, and that is provided for in the ordinance, but it has to be reasonable because if you make it really expensive, then the companies have a right to complain about that” to the FCC, Ritchie said.
Councilman Ted Miller said he wants the code to protect the city from liability if such devices on city-owned poles are vandalized, ensuring the city cannot be cited for the cost to repair or replace them.
Ritchie said that would be the case.
Following adoption of the ordinance, companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Sprint would be able to find locations within the city, get permits and install the devices as long as they adhere to city and FCC guidelines, Ritchie has said.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
