Petersburg’s Borough Assembly on Monday approved a subdivision request from a company that plans to install a communications tower near the fire hall.
The Assembly, acting as the Board of Adjustment, approved an appeal by the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
The assembly approved the sale of 0.23 acres of borough-owned land to Tlingit & Haida’s broadband company, Tidal Network, in June. That small parcel is part of a much larger lot. In order for Tidal Network to buy that small section, the big lot needs to be subdivided.
Months of back-and-forth
Tlingit & Haida’s subdivision request originally failed in the Planning Commission with no discussion in July.
Tlingit and Haida appealed, and the issue went before the Assembly acting as the Board of Adjustment. The board sent the request back to the Planning Commission, and directed it to take formal action.
In a narrow vote, the Planning Commission denied the request a second time in September. The commission determined that Tidal Network’s planned tower could be a potential hazard, and violated height restrictions.
Tlingit & Haida appealed again, and wrote that the Planning Commission made its decision in error. They wrote that the Planning Commission’s decision was based on concerns over future development rather than the state of the current property, and referenced height restrictions that were not applicable to the property’s current zoning.
Board of Adjustment ruling
In a brief Board of Adjustment meeting Monday, Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor agreed with Tlingit & Haida’s appeal.
“Those were not adequate criteria for rejecting applications,” said Stanton Gregor. “So I think it is our job to grant the appeal to Tlingit & Haida and move forward with the minor subdivision.”
Tidal Network has already constructed two other towers in the borough. Communications towers have become a controversial topic in town and are regularly brought up in public meetings. Multiple Planning Commission members have publicly testified against Tidal Network’s towers.
Commissioners who favored granting the subdivision warned during their Sept. 8 meeting that rejecting the request was not a way to undo the Assembly’s decision to sell the property.
Commissioner Sarah Fine-Walsh said that what the commission had to consider was very narrow.
“I do agree that we don’t have a reason under borough code to deny this plat, because at this point we aren’t an appeals board for assembly decisions,” said Fine-Walsh. “The dynamic is actually the reverse.”
During the Board of Adjustment meeting, Assembly Member Bob Martin referenced Fine-Walsh’s testimony.
“I also appreciated Secretary Fine-Walsh’s comments,” Martin said. “One of her quotes was that the Planning Commission is not an appeal board for the assembly, and I think that should be taken to heart here.”
The Assembly unanimously granted the appeal in a 6-to-0 vote. Assembly member Scott Newman was excused from the meeting.
