Petersburg cell tower subdivision dies without a second at planning commission

The Petersburg Borough Planning Commission killed a proposed cell tower subdivision Tuesday when a motion to approve it drew no second from the commission.

The motion sought to approve Resolution 2026-0101, which would have subdivided a parcel to create a 10,036-square-foot lot at 1200 Ogden Drive for a Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska application. The silence that followed came after what one speaker described as nearly a year of work on the proposal.

Opposition at the Hearing

Neighbors and regular attendees testified against the subdivision before the vote. Nicole McLaren, who lives on Seenum Street adjacent to the lot, questioned whether a cell tower qualifies as a permitted use under the site's open-space zoning. "I don't see a cell tower as a government building," she said. "That seems like quite a stretch." She added that if the tower were treated as a conditional use, a 35-foot height limit under Commercial One rules would likely make the site unworkable.

Another resident, who said she has testified at every assembly and planning commission meeting on cell towers since October, pressed commissioners to weigh fall zones. "Fall zones are critical to the safety of the area," she said, noting that a childcare provider walks children past the site.

A community member who testified cited the fire hall risk directly. At a prior public hearing on the borough's wireless tower ordinance, Tom Kowalski told the assembly that "risking damage to our fire hall, our only fire hall, is something to be seriously considered. And there are places for that tower right behind the fire hall. Yes, they'll have to build a little road, but that's the cost of doing business here in Petersburg. And, and that is definitely a better situation than risking our fire hall. Not to mention that these particular towers that Tidal Networks putting up has 300 gallons of diesel fuel sitting underneath it."

What Comes Next

The failed subdivision does not end the broader tower debate. The Planning Commission has been drafting a separate communications facility overlay intended to designate by-right tower sites and streamline future siting decisions. Commissioners said Tuesday they plan to wait for the assembly to finalize the wireless communications facilities ordinance before advancing the overlay, describing it as premature to act before that happens. Planning Commissioner Joshua Adams has argued in prior meetings that a well-designed overlay can protect property values and preserve land for housing while still allowing needed wireless infrastructure.

The commission expects to take up the overlay as an action item at its Aug. 11 meeting.