AT&T, Verizon urge caution in Mat-Su tower setbacks

[unhappycamper]

http://www.adn.com/2013/12/12/3227885/att-verizon-urge-caution-in-mat.html

AT&T, Verizon urge caution in Mat-Su tower setbacks
By ZAZ HOLLANDER
December 12, 2013 Updated 8 hours ago

WASILLA -- AT&T and Verizon are asking a Mat-Su Borough committee to weigh potentially negative effects on their industry before deciding on setbacks to protect people who live near communication towers.

The borough's Tall Towers Advisory Committee formed last year to write new regulations for towers currently defined as 100 feet or taller. The Mat-Su Assembly removed all regulations for tall towers two years ago, then reinstated an old ordinance as a placeholder following a public outcry as residents complained of towers erected in dense neighborhoods with no warning.

Now the committee has drafted an ordinance that would require only that nearby residents get notified before new towers are built, borough officials say. The committee, however, still needs to approve language addressing setbacks for new towers.

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It says towers would have to be separated from neighboring property by the distance of the tower's fall radius, he said. The proposal includes two exceptions: if the tower builder owns the adjacent parcel; or if they secure an easement from the neighboring property owner that bans the construction of any dwelling within the tower's fall line.