Dalton Gardens clearing up connection on 5G laws

While 5G — the next evolution in a speed war between wireless providers — continues to spread across the country, the city of Dalton Gardens will debate how to get ahead of some of the practices the industry has imposed on cities and towns.

Dalton Garden’s Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Thursday will include an agenda item to consider a small cell ordinance as part of its package to regulate how and where wireless providers can hook up the smaller cellular nodes.

Rand Wichman, the city’s planner, said the driving force behind the ordinance is to set up a framework for companies to abide by, rather than let wireless providers make up the rules as they go.

“The reason the city is doing this is, if we don’t have an ordinance, then a provider can come in and get a court order," Wichman said. "Under federal law, they can get a court order saying, ‘Look, the local jurisdiction doesn’t provide for it,’ and the court says, ‘Yep, knock yourself out.’ And the city would have no say in the matter.”

Small cell nodes are, functionally speaking, micro-cell towers. Designed to blend into the environment, the nodes typically cover ranges anywhere from 30 or 40 feet to more than a mile, depending on a node’s specifications.

While 5G already exists in patches around Kootenai County, the nodes would serve more as signal boosters, strengthening speeds for 4G- and 5G-capable devices.

Small cell technology has been officially on Dalton Garden’s plate since last May, when initial drafts of an ordinance were workshopped. But locals have come to city council meetings from Dalton Gardens to Hayden to Coeur d’Alene expressing concerns — some grounded in science, some not — about the safety risks enhanced wireless networks might pose. Some have expressed concerns about the general lack of studies on 5G technology in relation to previous networks like 3G and 4G/LTE.

Others, however, have brought up baseless claims that 5G not only causes COVID-19, but that governments and businesses are actually using COVID to cover up the health effects of 5G. Those arguments were almost immediately debunked from the onset of the pandemic, but that didn’t stop many in Europe and here in America from setting fire to or otherwise damaging cell towers.

Tyler Drechsel, who serves on Dalton Garden’s Planning and Zoning Commission, said he’s heard from many locals who’ve brought 5G to the city’s attention.

“Based on what I’ve seen at the meetings, we’ve had a lot of people bringing forward their concerns...," he said. "It’s important to recognize and consider those concerns. We’ve had one lady saying 5G causes cancer. We’ve had some people saying it releases frequencies that are hazardous to human health. We’ve had some people saying it emits frequencies that can damage the environment.”

Drechsel qualified, however, that he’s taken those testimonials and Google searches to heart and conducted his own research, eventually concluding that he hasn’t seen enough evidence to sway him toward or away from 5G. He added that even if small cell technology did pose a risk, the commission would still have to weigh that risk versus a benefit to the city before making any decision, benefits he said even the most skeptical Dalton Gardens residents can’t ignore.

“Right now, I’m talking to you on wireless internet because I have to,” he said during his phone interview. “If I go outside into my back yard, I can’t call 9-1-1.”

Wichman pointed out that questioning the dangers 5G might present to a community — imagined or otherwise — has actually been removed from Dalton Gardens’ purview, thanks to the federal government.

“We’ve heard a lot of concerns from residents about the health effects of these wireless communications facilities,” Wichman said. “From what we can gather, in reviewing the direction from the [Federal Communications Commission] and the court decisions and all that, we are expressly pre-empted from regulating these kinds of facilities based on the health impacts. That’s just not something we can do.”

Wichman added that, regardless of the consequences — real or imagined — exploring the potential health effects generated from the internal workings of wireless communication devices and facilities is something other departments in the federal government have been entrusted with regulating, essentially tying the city’s hands.

“We have an FCC that’s supposed to deal with these kinds of issues,” he said. “I don’t worry about road maintenance, because that’s the job of the highway district. I don’t worry about septic systems, because that’s the health district’s job. It’s really the same kind of thing here...The local jurisdictions and the courts have said, ‘Nope, you don’t have the ability to play in that sandbox.’”

Wichman said the best way for the city to exert its authority on the matter is to remain proactive with an ordinance that dictates the details of the devices, which are often designed to be installed on street lights, telephone poles or utility boxes.

“Doing nothing does not prohibit these,” he said. “Doing nothing results in us not having any control over them.”

While no court orders have been filed, and while no official proposal has been presented to Dalton Gardens, the city has fielded inquiries from providers about whether or not ordinances or regulations are on the books.

Dalton Gardens Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday at 6 p.m. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, attendance will be held virtually.

To participate through web conferencing, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84218570357?pwd=NE5rRkx6OUoyNEJXYk1HcDRpRlBnUT09 .

To participate or listen via telephone, dial (253)-215-8782 or (301)-715-8592. Use Webinar ID: 842 1857 0357; the password is 822302.