Bangor council to consider ban on towers

BANGOR – A six-month moratorium on the construction of radio and television towers in rural areas of Bangor would become an outright ban on the structures under a proposal to be considered by the City Council next Monday.

A subcommittee of the council split 3-2 Tuesday night in favor of forwarding the proposed ban to the full board.

Imposed by the council in October and made retroactive to July 1, the six-month moratorium was prompted by a plan to put up four 276-foot-tall antennae towers for a proposed AM radio station on outer Broadway. Charles Hecht and his business partner, Alfredo Alonso of Pittstown, N.J., are looking to build the station on a 51.6-acre parcel at 2110 Broadway, about six-tenths of a mile toward town from the intersection of Broadway and Pushaw Road.

The two won 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 antennae.

Councilors imposed the moratorium after neighbors raised concerns about the project. Complaints included potential health effects of radio waves, detrimental impact on wildlife, obstruction of pastoral views and decreased property values.

If the proposed ban is approved, Hecht and Alonso won’t be able to build the station on outer Broadway.

Voting Tuesday night in favor of moving the ban along were council chairwoman Susan Hawes and councilors Richard Stone and Geoffrey Gratwick. Opposed were Frank Farrington and Peter D’Errico.

Though he didn’t have a vote on the subcommittee, Councilor Hal Wheeler, a retired broadcaster, said Tuesday that he intends to oppose the ban, which he believes would “send a message that Bangor changes the rules in the middle of the game.”

The outright ban on broadcast towers was one of two options considered Tuesday. The other option would have allowed broadcast towers, but with expanded setbacks.

The proposed ban will now be considered at the City Council’s next regular meeting, set for 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26, at City Hall.

At that time, the proposed ban is expected to undergo a first reading and be referred to the planning board to review and offer a recommendation. The ban then would return to the council on Dec. 10 for a second reading and possible adoption.

Opponents of the towers were satisfied with the committee’s vote Tuesday night.

“We’re pleased with the councilors’ decision to accept [the ban option]. We think it’s the right one to go before the full council,” said resident Steve Daniels.

If approved, the broadcast tower ban would apply to the city’s rural residence and agricultural districts, which make up about 35 percent of the city’s total area and which are where much of the city’s recent housing development has occurred.

Exempted from the ban would be cellular telephone towers, which the city must allow under the Federal Communications Act of 1996.

Though allowed, those kinds of towers would be limited to 195 feet in height, or five feet under the Federal Aviation Administration’s 200-foot cutoff point for requiring navigational lighting.