Subject: Judge rules againest cell tower in Maine (Knight)..
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 111809 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers"
To: emfguru
--------------------------------------------------
.......Guru says: It is going to be extremely difficult for any
federal judge to ignore the **constitutional issue** in these
cases......
Those of you who are engaged in such cases **must** simply **ensure**
that YOUR case is carried to a federal court....!! Best done by your
local city, county, or state zoning authorities.....
The point is, of course, that control over such matters is a local
decision -- because it was not expressly given to the federal
government in the constitution....!!! The 1996 Telecom Act violated
that....... Fight for your constitutional rights!!!
........This will also be posted on guru's website ... in the
"Legal/Law" file....
I receive too many messages on this list from people who are not willing
to go the "legal" (lawyer) route..... They think there is an easy
shortcut by demonstrating, signing petitions, letters to the
editor, etc..... In most cases, the Telecom companies know they can beat
you there..... (They don't worry one whit about the bad publicity.)
But they also know they CAN'T beat a federal judge who is willing to
preserve constitutional rights.....
Cheerio.....
Roy Beavers (EMFguru)
roy@emfguru.com
.....It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.....
NEW!!! Website... http://emfguru.com
...................People are more important than profits.................
Missed opportunity...
$$$$$ We could have changed the corrupted system!! $$$$$
McCain !!
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 11:30:40 +0000
From: "Warren R. Knight"
To: "Roy L. Beavers"
Subject: Judge rules againest cell tower in Maine
This is link to story (below):
http://www.portland.com/news/0005121a1towers.shtml
Story from the Portland Press Herald 5/12/00
--------------
Judge: Falmouth has right to reject tower proposal
By PETER POCHNA, Staff Writer
Copyright © 2000 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
A federal judge in Portland has supported the town of Falmouth's right to
regulate telecommunications towers, giving hope to Maine communities
trying to prevent towers from impairing scenic views and damaging rural
character.
Many communities have struggled to handle the dozens of tower proposals
that have come to Maine in the past few years as telecommunications
companies expand wireless networks for phones, computers and pagers.
The federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 encourages the development of
the towers, and in most cases takes precedence over local ordinances.
But U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby ruled this week that Falmouth
did not violate federal law when it rejected a 200-foot tower and then a
170-foot tower proposed by Industrial Communications and Electronics Inc.
of Massachusetts.
"This is a decision that's good for towns," said William Plouffe, the
attorney representing Falmouth. "The telecommunications industry has been
using federal law to override local zoning authority."
Hornby's decision is the first ruling to come down from Maine's federal
courts on tower regulations.
The decision will make it harder for companies to build towers in Maine,
said Paul McDonald, attorney for the telecommunications company. "This
will provide the road map for the next case that comes down the pipe. I
think towns will look to it for support for any steps they take around
regulating tower proliferation."
Municipalities such as Freeport, Buxton, South Portland, Bridgton and
Cape Elizabeth have all struggled recently with proposals to build towers
or develop tower regulations.
Ironically, the Falmouth tower plan was less intrusive than most.
Industrial Communications and Electronics bought a two-acre site on Hardy
Road in 1997 that already contained four towers, the tallest being 170
feet. After an ice storm damaged the 170-foot tower, the company proposed
removing all the towers and building a new 200-foot tower. The town's
zoning board rejected the plan, in part because it violated setback
requirements.
The company came back with a plan to replace the four towers with one
170-foot tower. Again, the town balked, this time because the new tower
was in a different location than the damaged 170-foot tower.
Industrial Communications sued the town, claiming that it was violating
the telecommunications act, in part, by "effectively prohibiting personal
wireless service facilities." Hornby rejected the claim. He wrote in a
26-page decision that the company created its own problem by switching to
a different type of telecommunications technology that could not be
accommodated by the towers it owned, even before the ice storm.
The judge added that there is land in Falmouth where towers can be built
that would meet zoning laws, and that the town has proven it will approve
tower construction.
Laurie Downey, spokeswoman for a residents' group fighting a 1,700-foot
television tower proposed for Baldwin, said the telecommunications act
has intimidated towns into thinking they can do nothing to stop tower
construction.
The Hornby ruling won't affect the Baldwin plan, because TV towers are
regulated differently than telecommunications towers, but Downey said the
ruling will have an effect elsewhere.
"Small towns in Maine are very reluctant to go up against the federal
government," she said. "But this case could show some communities that
the deck is not totally stacked against them."
Staff Writer Peter Pochna can be contacted at 791-6329 or at:
ppochna@pressherald.com
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com