SCARBOROUGH – The Scarborough Ordinance Committee has tabled, for now, any further action on a proposal to amend the town’s ordinances to allow new cell towers to be built in more zones around the community.

The next step is for the Town Council and the Planning Board to hold a joint workshop on the controversial issue at 6 p.m. on Sept. 3. The workshop, which is open to the public, will be held at Town Hall.

During the Ordinance Committee meeting last week Chairwoman Katherine St. Clair said her goal was to get more input, adding there “is no need to rush a decision.”

“The more input we get the better outcome we will have,” she said. The other members of the committee, which is made up of three members of the council, agreed.

However, Councilor Jean-Marie Caterina also said it’s her belief that allowing better cell and wireless data coverage in Scarborough is critical to the success of small businesses and overall economic development.

The joint workshop between the Town Council and the Planning Board was the suggestion of Council Chairman Richard Sullivan, who said, “the Planning Board has a lot of ideas that could relieve the frustrations of the public.”

Sullivan and Caterina both said they want local cell phone providers to meet with town staff during the next couple weeks to talk about how to achieve the best coverage while also keeping cell towers out of residential neighborhoods.

“They won’t have the opportunity to put cell towers all over town,” Sullivan said, “so it’s crucial they work with town staff to discuss” their preferred site locations.

In opening the Ordinance Committee meeting on Aug. 13, Town Planner Dan Bacon said his department had come up with several suggestions for tweaking the proposed ordinance amendment on cell towers.

Bacon said the recommendations he was making were in direct response to concerns raised by residents, who have argued all along that there are better ways to boost cell and wireless data coverage in Scarborough without allowing cell towers to be built in nearly every zone in town.

He said the recommendations include the creation of a hierarchy, which would require cell companies to first attempt to locate on an already existing cell tower before requesting approval for construction of a new tower.

Bacon said the town could also reduce the proposed maximum height of new cell towers from 150 feet down to 130 feet in order to give the towers less of a negative visual impact.

In addition, he said the town could require any cell towers in residential or rural areas to have bigger setbacks and lot sizes. For instance, Bacon suggested that in such zones the minimum lot size for a cell tower could be between 4 and 10 acres.

He also said the town could encourage cell companies to build any new towers in industrial zones by easing the rules in such zones.

Bacon said the issue, overall, is that Scarborough is a large community in terms of square mileage and most of the industrial zones are located in the center of town, which leaves the eastern and western edges of town with spotty coverage.

“If you want improved coverage, you need to allow (cell towers) in rural and farming zones,” he said, quoting a study provided by a consultant, who was hired by the town to review the problem of cell coverage and to make suggestions about the best places to site any new towers.

But Councilor James Benedict, the third member of the Ordinance Committee, said he would rather spend the $30 a month to have a land line than have a cell tower two doors from his house.

“We do need better coverage, but not at the expense of the taxpayers not liking” a change in the ordinance to allow cell towers in more zones, he said.

Residents speaking at last week’s Ordinance Committee meeting mostly urged the town to keep new cell towers out of residential areas, but also said they appreciate the town slowing down the process and taking their concerns into consideration.

Karen D’Andrea, a member of the group Scarborough Families for the Responsible Placement of Cell Towers, said, “I like what I’ve heard tonight and I think we’re headed down the right road, although there is still work to be done.”

But residents like Laura Hannan, Ted Bennett and Tina Caruso also said they’re willing to put up with the inconvenience of dropped calls and spotty coverage to keep Scarborough’s rural character and scenic views.

“Don’t leave the decision about where cell towers go up to the cell companies,” Caruso said. “We’re already bombarded by electronics. I moved here from California to escape that. We truly have something special here (in Scarborough).”

And Hannan asked the town to keep cell towers out of residential, rural and farming areas, arguing such structures would “ruin the landscape forever.”

While Bennett said even allowing more cell towers in more zones in town still would not guarantee 100-percent coverage, “I think the overriding message here is that residents want to keep cell towers in industrial zones. We don’t want them in residential and rural zones.”

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CLOSER LOOK

The Scarborough Town Council and Planning Board will hold a joint workshop regarding a proposed ordinance change to allow more cell towers in town at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 3, at Town Hall.

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