Janet Holbrook: Work begins on Shady Side cell tower under cover of the coronavirus pandemic | COMMENTARY
...Residents and parents from Shady Side allied with an existing community organization, South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development, to oppose a tower on the grounds of the elementary school. They were successful in pausing the Board of Education’s consideration of the cell tower in December 2018.
However under-the-cloak of the pandemic, the cell tower was approved at the May 20, BOE meeting. Public comments for that meeting were allowed via email only and had to be submitted prior to discussion due to the pandemic. It is notable that in the midst of an unprecedented school crisis an issue unrelated to the educational mission of the BOE was prioritized for attention.
To add insult to injury after the BOE also voted to transfer the forest conservation easement for the property to Milestone (the contractor for the tower), Planning and Zoning granted Milestone a modification that allows them to disregard the forest conservation easement. The grading permit was approved early October without a requirement for mitigation of the effects on forested land...
...Shame on the BOE for using the pandemic to railroad through approvals without allowing all stakeholders to be heard. The BOE should halt the project until all appeals have been heard, the citizens who worked so hard on behalf of their community deserve that much respect.
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