FENWICK ISLAND – Officials in Fenwick Island are taking a closer look at legislative measures that would improve cell service within town limits.
In a meeting of the Fenwick Island Town Council last week, Town Manager Terry Tieman told councilmembers she and Fenwick Island’s police chief met with representatives from Verizon to discuss legislation that would give cellphone providers access to the state’s right of way, allowing companies to install small booster antennas along state poles and improve cell service.
“We have an issue here with dropped calls,” she said. “Police have had that issue and it’s a safety issue, so we are very interested in it and we are trying to get the word out to other municipalities.”
Tieman said eight other states have passed legislation similar to House Bill 189, including Virginia, and explained that Delaware would maintain a competitive edge over surrounding states by supporting the bill.
“If we get that legislation in place, Verizon will invest a lot of infrastructure in Delaware before it invests infrastructure in places like Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey,” she said. “I think it’s important we get that step up because otherwise we will get behind …”
Tieman said the town would work with Verizon and suggested the council write a letter supporting the legislation.
“I think it’s important to us, to the Town of Fenwick Island, to get this legislation approved so that these things can happen,” she said.
The town council on Friday also accepted a first reading on four proposed additions to Fenwick Island’s zoning ordinance.
While two of the proposed additions would outline setback requirements for pools and mechanical equipment, one addition would prohibit wireless providers from placing cell towers in the town’s residential, commercial and park zones.
Bill Weistling, chair of the town’s charter and ordinance committee, said three cellphone providers have contacted the town regarding antenna placement in the past year.
“Two of them were inquiring about poles on the highway, but we did have one recently that inquired about placing cellphone antennas on the roofs of some of our commercial properties,” he said. “Looking up and down the road throughout Ocean City or up north, you can see what happens when you have a lot of these antennas being placed on the top of buildings. So we decided we would pursue not allowing towers on residential and or commercial properties.”
Weistling ensured that the proposed ordinance would not impede on the town’s efforts to improve cell service.
