Editor:
As someone who has worked with the Cross Border Coalition to Stop the Radio Towers and the cartoonist responsible for the Dragon Slayers cartoon, I'd like to briefly try to set the record straight relative to concerns that politicians are trying to take too much of the credit.
In the early spring I became involved as a facilitator between the coalition and MP Kerry- Lynne Findlay's office in answer to concerns, raised in repeated editorial comment in this newspaper, about lack of involvement of our federal government respecting BBC Broadcasting Inc.'s plan to erect five 45-metre (150-foot) radio towers.
Although I was not a member of the coalition, coalition members met at my home/office approximately every two weeks to mutually plan and implement courses of action to stop these towers, including the drafting of the petition to the House of Commons asking for intervention with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Occasionally, Findlay's assistants would attend these meetings.
Under the able leadership of Nancy Beaton in Tsawwassen and Jennifer Urquhart in Point Roberts, members of the coalition, resident in Tsawwassen and Point Roberts, included Jim Ronback, Lois Wilkinson, Steve Graham, Gail Neff Bell, Bonnie Roberts-Taylor, Susanne and Michael Rosser, Steven Wolfe, Arthur Reber, Jean Nord, Carol Clark, Mark Robbins, Al McKinnon, John Lesow, Armene Lee and Renee Coe.
These people and others worked tirelessly to fundraise for legal and expert witness costs, distribute and collect signatures for the petition, involve and co-ordinate local businesses, including Century Group, operate signing and fund collection stations, interact with media, do research, encourage letter writing, and interact with politicians.
MLA Vicki Huntington involved herself early, filed an informal objection against the license renewal for the towers with the FCC in June, 2014, and scheduled herself to appear as MLA for Delta at the Whatcom County hearing.
In addition to making her assistants available to help the coalition, Findlay was instrumental in having two diplomats from the Canadian Embassy to the U.S. meet with coalition members and take Tsawwassen's concerns to the Whatcom County authorities, delivering the 3,600-signature petition to Ottawa and arranging a meeting with coalition leaders and Industry Minister James Moore.
Mayor Lois Jackson wrote letters of concern to Whatcom County and Industry Canada and her council resolved to have CAO George Harvie appear at Whatcom County to speak in opposition to the towers.
In my view, what was also instrumental to the rejection of the building permit application for the towers by hearing examiner Bobbick of Whatcom County was Findlay's meeting with Congresswoman Suzan Delbene, her U.S. counterpart and a powerful member of the U.S. Congress Judicial Committee. This meeting resulted in Delbene writing a strong letter to Bobbick in opposition to the towers.
I've read Bobbick's reason for decision. The decision appears soundly written, not to be unexpected in a situation where the applicant, BBC, states to the media after first hearing of the decision that they intend to appeal, prior to the reasons for decision being rendered.
The essence of the decision, as I read it, is that Point Roberts is a particular zoning area where a height restriction applies, also noting that height restrictions of the underlining zoning district of Whatcom County have applied to "Public Utility Applications" for the past 25 years. He then notes there are seven zones in Whatcom County that do not have height limitations and which could provide a site for radio broadcast towers which do not meet the height restrictions in other districts, with the total acreage of the parcels in these districts being 296,024 acres.
He then notes that the "Public Utility" U.S. constitutional argument made by the applicant BBC has to be considered by a state or federal constitutional court having jurisdiction, not the hearing examiner or Whatcom County, which lacks jurisdiction to consider this issue.
He then refers to general case law that makes it clear that "Federal Preemption" of certain areas of regulation in regard to radio and broadcast media "can be subjected to reasonable limitations, including restrictions on siting" (similar to what Canadian courts have said regarding the Canadian Charter of Rights) but carefully refrains from making findings of fact or binding conclusions of law on this issue.
I noted an absence of any reference to the huge public opposition on both sides of the border, even though Delbene wrote a powerful letter about this, and politicians/ representatives on all three levels of Canadian government, including Findlay, were scheduled to speak.
Having experience adjudicating some high profile cases following two terms on the Parole Board of Canada, I can state that adjudicators like Bobbick do not work in a vacuum, but are aware of the concerns of the community, in this case on both sides of the border.
Facing the prospect of a prolonged hearing attended by three levels of Canadian government and being aware of his own elected U.S. representative's views, Bobbick neatly nipped the problem in the bud by meticulously applying the coalition lawyer's height restriction argument submitted to him. Hence my cartoon, where the faces of the three levels of government represent the community of Delta.
My prediction, for what it's worth, is that BBC, compelled to chase a huge amount of potential lost revenue and recover its costs and expensive outlay for this saga, will appeal to Whatcom County, which will rubber-stamp Bobbick's decision, and then further appeal this matter to a U.S. court having jurisdiction to hear constitutional issues such as federal utilities exemptions possibly trumping local height restriction bylaws.
Then BBC will have to convince that court the 296,024 acres available in Whatcom county to build broadcast towers is not enough alternative siting justifying a reasonable limit to Whatcom County's height restriction ordinances, a tough argument to make considering BBC is already broadcasting from Ferndale, Wash.
We will have finally won if and when the court rejects BBC's constitutional argument. Industry Canada, which should fear the proliferation of radio tower farms south of the border targeting Canadian audiences, should be encouraged to get standing to make submissions to the court hearing the appeal, as good relations with Canada and a considerable segment of its north-of-the border population might be a "reasonable limitation" to be considered by a U.S. constitutional court.
The petition to compel the involvement of Industry Canada and Foreign Affairs must be acted upon within 45 days of presentation. In the meantime we'd better keep fundraising.
Ulf Ottho
