When the Rockland, ME City Council voted 4-1 to approve an ordinance last week to regulate wireless facilities, some residents felt the laws were too lax, according to the Courier Gazette. The Council decided to follow the advice of some objectors and listen to a presentation by Attorney Andrew Campanelli of Long Island, who represented the Rockland Planning Board in 2021. On Monday, Campanelli told the Council they have much more control over location and number of cell towers than they think.
Campanelli said the Council needed to put ordinances in place that stressed procedural guidance and make the wireless developers present evidence that the proposed towers are needed to cover dead zones in the immediate area. He said the current ordinance that was passed leaves the Board “completely ill-equipped.”
Wireless carriers file misleading data on the need for towers, Campanelli said, and will downplay the amount of radiation that the towers emit, reported the Courier Gazette. He stressed that local governing bodies can demand accurate information from developers before rendering a decision. Campanelli said his fee would be $8,500.
Mayor Louise MacLellan-Ruf thanked the lawyer saying he gave them “a lot of food for thought. You’ve done a great job on offering how to protect the health and well-being of our community,” she said.
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