5G Poles vs. Beach Town Seascape (intro video)
Channel: JC Smith, Master Craftsman
Date: 2021-02-24

To protect its pristine beach seascape, a town faces off against big telecom companies who are installing 35' microcell telephone poles all over the beachfront for 5g service.  

The 1 mile long and 2 blocks wide town now faces an expected 30-50 poles, going in beachfront at its dunes at the end of its sandy streets. Recently the town finds its authority is virtually nonexistent vs a big telecom industry written bill passed two years prior. The law was co-sponsored and passed in Delaware by their own state representatives, both recipients of telecom industry contributions. 

The telecoms received no permits for the poles, which were within town limits. The Town Commissioners were not notified, and did not know about it until it was done.

In the video, finds poles going in adjoining the dune on five key streets already by Verizon, the most recent one which went in during the dead of winter from September 2020 to February, 2021. 

As shown by a drone, the pole incursion is a serious change to its beautiful vista at the ends of each street. The State has already issued 18 permits to Verizon and one other non-5g company, without ANY town notice or ANY public hearings. The companies have refused to move any poles, or consider the aesthetics of the installations at the beachfront.

The small Beach town with only 390 residents during the winter, faces almost impossible odds, seeming to be at the mercy of any company that seeks to install 35' tall poles on valuable beachfront land. A company (even providing wifi) can call itself a "wireless provider" under the state law and install a pole on any state easement with just a $100 permit fee. With two large national carriers yet to come (AT&T and Sprint) the number of poles is unknown, but estimated to be 30-50. 

Other towns nationwide are impacted by similar industry written legislation which passed thirty states, and received a boost from the FCC in a declaratory ruling at the request of a telecom company in 2018. The ruling allows the carriers to override any local input from town officials or the public, just as they have done.

This needs to be stopped, and the poles moved to the highway a block away from the Beach, as the telecom providers did in nearby towns.

See CoastalStewards.net for a full issue brief and fact sheets. 
Media inquires: Jeffrey C. Smith jcs@wpa.org