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Commission recommends Firefly broadband utility hut; item goes to supervisors March 3
Summary
Campbell County planning commissioners recommended approval of a special-use permit for a 10-by-20-foot Firefly public utility structure to deliver broadband service locally; the recommendation will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors on March 3.
Planning commissioners voted to recommend approval of PL-25-277, a special-use permit request to allow a 10-by-20-foot prefab masonry public utility structure intended to extend Firefly Internet service into rural Campbell County. Staff said utilities would be underground and the non-habitable structure would be sited on parcel 37-5-5 and is generally consistent with the county's comprehensive plan for a rural area.
Applicant Massey Saunders, a land surveyor, and Jason Palmer of Firefly described the facility as a hardened "fiber hut" with generator and propane backup so the unit can provide continuous broadband during outages. Palmer said the site would distribute service in about a 15-mile radius and be connected to a regional network; "when we're done with the main build, it'll be 46 of these facilities," he said. Commissioners asked about noise from backup generators; Palmer described the units as the "smallest commercial-grade" generators and characterized them as "very quiet," similar to a small inverter-type generator.
No members of the public spoke for or against the petition during the hearing. Commissioners expressed support for improving rural Internet access and the chair moved to recommend approval; the motion was seconded and carried. The recommendation will be transmitted to the Board of Supervisors for final consideration on March 3.
