OTISFIELD — The newly-formed Ordinance Review Committee has been charged by the Board of Selectmen with reviewing the town’s wireless telecommunications ordinance.
“Where you go from there is up to you,” Board of Selectmen Chairman Hal Ferguson told committee Chairman Joseph Zilinsky during Wednesday night’s selectmen meeting.
Many officials and residents agreed the ordinance, written in 1999 and only used once, is in need of revision after more than a year of legal wranglings during its first use last year when U.S. Cellular tried to build a 180-foot communications tower on Scribner Hill.
The town spent nearly $50,000 to defend itself against legal action by a grass-roots organization, Friends of Scribner Hill. The group said the process — in part based on the ordinance — that approved the application was faulty. The legal issue died in May when U.S. Cellular pulled out of the deal and the court dismissed the case as moot.
Town officials said they agreed the ordinance was “flawed.” In response, they called up the Ordinance Review Committee, which is generally made up of five to seven people and includes Planning Board members, selectmen and members of the general public.
Selectmen have encouraged Friends of Scribner Hill to share information with the committee at the open meetings, which will begin next month.
Zilinsky said he had not yet read the ordinance and had not kept up with hours of testimony and proceedings on the tower issue.
“We don’t know where to go. What are the rough spots?” Zilinsky asked selectmen.
But the board, including Selectman Len Adler, who is a member of the Ordinance Review Committee, said the committee must simply review it paragraph by paragraph and change what they think could to be improved.
“Start from the beginning,” Selectman Rick Micklon said.
It is expected that at least one public hearing will be held to discuss the revised ordinance. All meetings are open to the public.
Once the committee’s work is completed, it’s expected to go before voters for approval.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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- Board of Selectmen Chairman Hal Ferguson listens during Wednesday night’s board meeting.
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