Bangor tower moratorium sent to council

BANGOR – A controversial plan to erect a new AM radio station on outer Broadway has prompted city officials to consider a six-month moratorium on applications and building permits for radio, television and telecommunication towers as well as wind turbines.

If approved, the moratorium would apply to the city’s rural residence and agriculture districts, most of which are located in the relatively undeveloped tracts located on the city’s outskirts, including outer Broadway.

The radio station, proposed by Charles A. Hecht and his business partner, Alfredo Alonso of Pittstown, N.J., is planned for a 51.6-acre parcel located at 2110 Broadway, about six-tenths of a mile from the intersection of Broadway and Pushaw Road.

The call letters for the station, which would be heard at 750 on the AM dial, would be WRME, though the format has yet to be firmed up.

Hecht and Alonso received permission to move forward with the project when the city’s planning board voted 3-2 on July 3 to grant them conditional use approval for the station’s four 276-foot-tall radio antennae.

But an appeal of that decision was filed by residents Jason and Constance Lewis a little over a month ago in Penobscot County Superior Court, according to Edmond Bearor, the attorney who is representing them.

Also, at the request of residents who live in the affected area, City Councilor Gerry Palmer has proposed a moratorium on towers and turbines. The residents have cited potential health problems from electromagnetic fields and voiced aesthetic concerns with the antennae, which would be within view of the Kenduskeag Stream’s scenic Six Mile Falls.

Existing development in the area consists of some single-family homes, a few churches and a small store.

Palmer’s proposal was discussed Tuesday night by members of the City Council’s transportation and infrastructure committee, which he chairs.

Though they took no formal position, the four councilors who attended Tuesday’s meeting agreed to forward to the full council two versions of a six-month moratorium to consider at its next regular meeting, set for 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 24.

One version would make the moratorium retroactive to July 1, while the other would have it become effective after council approval, if it is given.

Under state law, the city could not impose a moratorium without first finding that:

. The moratorium was needed to prevent a shortage or overburdening of public facilities.

. The city’s existing land use rules are inadequate in terms of being able to prevent “serious public harm” to the natural or human environment.

Defining “serious public harm” could prove tricky, however, and both proponents and opponents of the project have presented contradictory health information and data to city councilors.

If the retroactive moratorium is approved, it would affect two projects now in the pipeline.

In addition to the radio station, it would put a halt to U.S. Cellular’s application to erect a cell telephone antenna elsewhere in the city.

U.S. Cellular spokesman Bob Gashlin, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, said the city lacks the authority to prevent the company from erecting a cellular telephone tower under the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996.

The act, aimed at promoting a competitive environment for cell phone service providers, states that no state or local statute or regulation may prohibit the ability of any entity to provide any interstate or intrastate telecommunications service.

It does not address radio and television towers or wind turbines.