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Residents urge Petersburg Borough to pause land sale and halt tower construction pending disclosures
Summary
Dozens of residents told the Petersburg Borough Assembly Dec. 1 they oppose newly proposed and erected communications towers, urging a pause to borough land sales and stricter siting rules; the assembly encouraged attendance at a Title Network community meeting Dec. 16 and discussed drafting an ordinance.
Dozens of Petersburg residents used the assembly’s public-comment period to demand that borough leaders pause land sales and halt further communications-tower construction until the community receives full project disclosures and clearer siting rules. Speakers said a recently constructed tower on Mill Road and proposed tower sites close to homes, assisted-living facilities and child-care centers are causing fear, stress and concern about property values.
Residents including Judy Omer and Tom Kowalski described organized outreach—neighborhood canvassing, signature drives and community gatherings—and urged the borough to explore alternatives such as relocating towers to less-populated sites, using existing towers, or offering borough land as leverage in negotiations. John Murgus told the assembly that lease revenue to private operators would not offset anticipated property-tax losses from devaluation. Several speakers raised health and safety concerns related to electromagnetic fields and invoked the lack of recent FCC guideline updates.
The issue moved to the center of the meeting. Speakers said Title Network (also referenced as Tlingit Haida/Title Network in public remarks) has received federal grant funding and is holding a community meeting on Dec. 16 at the John Hansen Senior Community Hall; the mayor noted that more than three assembly members may attend but that no official borough business will be conducted at that meeting. The manager and multiple assembly members said Title Network has presented to the borough previously and that, legally, some tower siting is allowed on industrially zoned property and private property outside Service Area 1.
Assembly members and staff responded with a mix of caution and procedural notes rather than new policy decisions. Several members urged residents to attend Title Network’s public sessions and suggested the borough and its attorney begin researching and drafting a targeted ordinance addressing tower siting, permitting and disclosure if community concerns persist. Mayor Lynn and staff said negotiations over at least one borough parcel (the fire hall/Haugen Drive site) remain ongoing and that any sale terms would return to the assembly for approval.
Claims and replies recorded at the meeting illustrate the dispute: residents alleged insufficient notice, potential property devaluation, health risks and an overbroad grant-driven federal push that could limit local control; borough staff said Title Network has complied with applicable procedures so far and that some proposed locations are on industrially zoned or privately owned land outside the borough’s land-use jurisdiction. The assembly discussed forming a small working group with staff and the attorney after the Dec. 16 meeting to evaluate ordinance options and other local responses.
Next steps: Title Network’s community meeting is scheduled Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m. at John Hansen Senior Community Hall; the assembly encouraged residents to attend. The borough indicated it will continue negotiations related to borough-owned parcels and said staff and the borough attorney can begin researching ordinance language if requested by the assembly after residents and Title Network have completed community engagement.
