FCC ruling preserves state and local right to keep towers ‘invisible’

A coalition of New York environmental and historic preservation organizations is praising the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for preserving the rights of state and local governments to regulate the size, shape and visibility of communications towers in scenic and historic areas.

In January, the groups sent a joint letter to the FCC, urging federal officials to recognize that scenic beauty and historic significance are the backbone of local tourism, both inside and outside of the Adirondack Park. 

They asked the FCC to reject the notion that expansions of 10 percent or more in the height or width of cell towers would have no impact on the environment or historic preservation.

“People have said ‘the Adirondack Park needs cell towers, but not ugly cell towers’ and today we applaud the FCC for agreeing,” said Adirondack Council Executive Director William C. Janeway.

“The Adirondack Park Agency’s outstanding policy on telecommunications towers has been a model for the entire nation. It has allowed rapid expansion of cell phone and broadband service, while screening new towers to preserve the wild and historic character of the Adirondack Park and its communities,” Janeway said.

In 2013, the FCC proposed new rules streamlining the approval process for minor expansions of telecommunications towers and equipment.

The rules eliminate the need to seek local or state permission for the change in most cases. That would have eliminated the Park Agency’s jurisdiction over tower expansions.

However, the FCC’s recent ruling specifically excluded from automatic approval any proposed tower expansion that “would defeat the existing concealment elements of the tower or base station.”

So if a proposed expansion would make a concealed tower visible, the APA could still enforce its towers policy.

That policy requires new installations to be “substantially invisible.”

Signing on to the letter were the Adirondack Council, Adirondack Mountain Club, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Mohawk-Hudson Land Conservancy, NY Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), Parks & Trails New York, the Preservation League of New York, Protect the Adirondacks, Scenic Hudson and Sierra Club, Atlantic Chapter.

Also expressing support for the FCC’s decision is the Central Adirondack Partner-ship (CAP-21).

The organizations did not object to new rules allowing the rapid expansion of low-profile, distributed-antenna systems for telecommunications, which would speed deployment of communications equipment on existing buildings.

They also did not object to new rules allowing temporary towers in some locations.

In the Adirondack Park, state and local regulators long ago anticipated a conflict between those pressing for improved communications and those who value the wilderness character of the park’s landscapes, or the historic value of its communities and buildings.

In 2002, the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) established standards to allow for rapid expansion of communications without allowing a significant impact on environmental, scenic or historic resources.

The APA enforces a requirement that all tall structures be “substantially invisible.”

In addition, individual communities have persuaded companies to use existing structures (steeples, water towers, chimneys, etc.) to conceal new installations.

In many cases, the state and local regulators have adjusted the tower height, location, and use of screening techniques to achieve desired communications coverage without slowing the rate of new installations or improvements, according to Janeway.

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