Plymouth Mayor Mark Senter signed an executive order at the end of April that restricts the placement of small wireless devices and the Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety took further action on that document.
City Attorney Sean Surrisi said a state law passed in the final days of the General Assembly broadens access to government-owned right-of-way for the placement of cell phone antennae on poles of 50 feet or less. There was a provision in the law that the city wouldn’t have any review process over the location of those poles unless it is in a designated area for underground utilities.
“That sent a lot of communities around the state scrambling in the last couple of weeks to make that designation of city or county right-of-way only for underground utilities until we can study it more carefully with a little bit more time about certain areas that we would allow new poles to be installed,” commented Surrisi.
The Plymouth Board of Public Works and Safety ratified that order during their meeting on Monday night. Surrisi said a more comprehensive policy will be put in place.
“We’re going to come up with a more comprehensive policy that addresses the areas that we would allow new poles to be installed or the procedure to ask for a waiver for installing a pole in an area that was only designated for underground utilities. It will at least give us some oversight and review of poles that are being installed.”
Surrisi added that if the executive order had not been approved, cell phone companies would be able to put up poles anywhere on city property without consulting with city officials.
