They got the decision they were hoping for from Whatcom County, but the fight might not be over just yet.
At a packed meeting at the county courthouse in Bellingham Tuesday evening, Whatcom County council announced it was upholding a decision by the county's hearing examiner to reject an application to erect radio transmission towers in Point Roberts just south of the border with Tsawwassen.
It was another sweet victory for Point Roberts and Tsawwassen residents, who have been fighting hard on several fronts for the last year-and-a-half to stop the contentious proposal.
"Another huge sigh of relief and evidence that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can indeed change the world," said Nancy Beaton, a member of the Cross Border Coalition to Stop the Towers. "Whatcom County council rewarded the coalition's hard work and persistence ensuring justice prevails." Noting the coalition deserves enormous praise for its efforts, Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington, who was on hand at the meeting, said there was a wonderful gasp of relief when the decision was announced, but no clapping out of respect for the proceedings.
"This has been one hell of a fight," said coalition member Arthur Reber of Point Roberts, who noted it's been a costly legal battle.
BBC Broadcasting Inc. is proposing to erect five 45-metre (150-foot) steel transmission towers at an undeveloped lot on McKenzie Way just south of the international border.
The towers would transmit South Asian radio station KRPI, AM 1550, which broadcasts from studios in Richmond for its Lower Mainland audience. Also known as Sher-E-Punjab AM 1550, the station currently broadcasts using antenna in Ferndale, but
wanted to relocate them for a stronger all-day signal.
Concerned about interference with household electronics and other impacts, the residents' arguments included the application being fraudulent because a map submitted to the Federal Communications
Commission left out Tsawwassen. Residents also gathered a petition with thousands of signatures asking Ottawa to intervene. The FCC granted a construction permit but a zoning permit was still required from Whatcom County, where planning staff had recommended approval.
Just days before a county public hearing on the proposal was scheduled to begin last fall, the hearing examiner, in a surprise move, announced he had denied the application and cancelled the hearing.
In his ruling, hearing examiner Michael Bobbink wrote that nowhere in the county's zoning ordinance could he find any section to allow radio broadcast towers to exceed the height limits established for Point Roberts.
BBC Broadcasting appealed the decision, claiming the towers were public utilities that provide "vital public services."
BBC Broadcasting Inc. has hit a dead-end as far as dealing with the county, however it still has the option of taking the matter to court.
