After months of contentious debate, the Malden, MA City Council passed an ordinance at its January 30 meeting to regulate small cell towers in the city. The ordinance states that new small cell towers must be approved by the city and may not extend further than 50 inches from the top of the pole. The final, and most controversial, provision of the ordinance mandates biennial inspections of small cell towers, with a hefty fee attached of $500 per inspection, per site, according to Wicked Local.
The original version of the agreement required annual inspections, but Verizon decried the inspection fee as a tax in a letter to the City Council that Councilor David Camell described as “threatening.” However, several City Council members agreed that the inspection fee was burdensome, eventually agreeing to require inspections only every other year.
Verizon was one of several carriers that requested permits to install small cell towers on National Grid utility poles several months ago. A handful of towers were installed before the city suspended construction to approve new guidelines and pass the ordinance. According to Wicked Local, Verizon had no obligation to agree to give the city ample time to work out the details of the proposed ordinance, extending the deadline four times before forcing the City Council to enroll and ordain the final version at their January 30 meeting.
There was some confusion as the deadline for passing the ordinance loomed, as two members of the council were absent from the meeting. Close inspection of the council’s rules indicated that the ordinance could be ordained with the assent of three-quarters of the members present, allowing the ordinance to be finalized.
February 2, 2018
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