Petersburg Assembly overturns denial of land division for tribe's wireless tower

The Petersburg Borough Assembly on Oct. 5 overturned the Planning Commission's denial of a land division the Central Council of Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska needs for a wireless tower beside the borough's fire hall.

Sitting as the Board of Adjustment, the six members present voted unanimously to grant the tribe's appeal and approve the minor subdivision, which creates a 10,036-square-foot parcel on Haugen Drive. That lets the borough complete the sale of the land to the tribe, which the assembly approved June 15. The tower is a project of the tribe's broadband arm, Tidal Network.

It was the tribe's second appeal to the assembly. In July, a motion to approve the subdivision died without a second at the commission, and in August the assembly, also sitting as the Board of Adjustment, sent the application back for a formal decision. The commission then denied it 4-3 on Sept. 8. Its written findings cited possible hazards from a future tower, including air traffic, the nearby fire hall, weather, tower collapse and fuel, and a 35-foot height limit, according to the tribe's appeal.

The tribe argued that the commission did not apply the code's criteria for a minor subdivision and based its denial on concerns about a future tower, not evidence that the land could not be divided. It noted that borough staff had recommended approval and that the FAA had determined the tower would not be a hazard to air navigation.

Vice Mayor Jeigh Stanton Gregor, who made the motion, said he agreed. "Those are not adequate criteria for rejecting applications," he said.

Assembly Member Bob Martin called the tribe's appeal well reasoned. He pointed to Commissioner Sarah Fine-Walsh, who voted to approve in September and said then that the commission is not an appeals board for assembly decisions, and said that "should be taken to heart here."