Ten years after the radio towers fight

B y a rthur S. r e B er and r eneé c oe

It has been 10 years since Point Roberts residents discovered that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had given the go ahead to BBC Broadcasting (BBC) to build an array of five 150-foottall radio towers on a 10-acre lot at the corner of Tyee Drive and McKenzie Way. Many likely don’t know about this episode and it seemed like the right time to inform, amuse and alert because these sorts of threats to our community can happen again.

BBC operated a Punjabi language radio station (KRPI) in Ferndale and wanted to move to Point Roberts and broadcast at 50k watts, the most powerful AM signal that the FCC allows. The FCC had denied their request to boost their transmissions in Ferndale because of blanketing interference, which would compromise electronic devices, including an FCC monitoring station. BBC wanted their signal to be clearer to residents of B.C.’s Lower Mainland – their target audience. But broadcasting from Point Roberts would cause unmitigatable damage across the entire Tsawwassen peninsula. BBC’s applications to the FCC and the county never mentioned Tsawwassen and the 25,000 people whose lives would have been forever altered by high powered electromagnetic radio waves raining down on them 24/7.

The real trouble began, of course, when Whatcom County Planning & Development Services (PDS) approved BBC’s construction application. A group of dedicated residents in both countries got together, dubbed ourselves the Cross-Border Coalition (XBC) and began the fight. Our core argument was that the towers violated the height restrictions in Point Roberts. Although the FCC approved BBC’s construction permit, BBC could only move forward if local zoning allowed for it. BBC’s lawyers maintained that approval by the FCC over-ruled local regulations – and the PDS agreed, a decision which was egregiously wrong and, as we discovered, violated FCC’s own policies.

XBC hired attorney Bob Carmichael who specialized in zoning regulations as our legal representative. He made our case before the county hearing examiner who agreed and overruled PDS, something we learned rarely happens. BBC’s lawyers appealed and off to the courts we went.

For nearly three years, our group held events, auctions and many fundraisers to cover the $250,000 the fight cost us − as BBC’s lawyers peppered us with every legal maneuver they could find. Finally, a formal hearing was held in Skagit County Superior Court.

We maintained that Point Roberts had a height restriction in Whatcom County Code and in the end, the judge who had been hearing the case agreed. The height restriction saved us from five huge, unsightly radio towers at the entrance to Point Roberts and from the blanketing interference which would have flooded the entire Tsawwassen peninsula.

Winning a David and Goliath fight is nothing short of extraordinary and almost unheard of today, but our group stayed together, stayed focused and continued the fight to the end. Enduring friendships were formed and celebrated including the marriage of two coalition members.

It was quite an adventure, but not one any of us would want to repeat.

B y G alen W ood

“If you build it, they will come.” That is the conclusion of a market feasibility study conducted by Dave Stumpo, CEO of Amptrex and long-time resident of Point Roberts. Stumpo completed the feasibility study for Circle of Care in December at the behest of the board of trustees, in order to determine the feasibility of building one or more adult family homes (AFH) in Point Roberts (for a copy of the full study, please contact Circle of Care at prcircleofcare@ gmail.com; the executive summary can be found on our newly revamped website prcircleofcare.com).

One of the challenges identified by the study was the shortage of long-term affordable housing for staff. Rental properties of all sorts, long-term or not, affordable or not, are at an all-time low in Point Roberts. Circle of Care trustees are aware that this issue must be addressed in order to have the project be successful. Therefore, we are looking for solutions both near and far.

Navigator Homes of Martha’s Vineyard, for instance, has obtained funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build nearby, affordable apartments to house the staff hired to provide care and management in its latest development, a skilled nursing facility in partnership with the Green House Project. According to Green House Project communications director Alex Spanko, “Navigator’s commitment to workforce housing is a perfect example of how organizations can think creatively to meet the challenges facing the eldercare sector – particularly around staffing,” he said in an email. “What’s good for elders is good for the entire community, and the same is true for the dedicated people who care for elders.”

Closer to home, on Lopez Island, a non-profit, Housing Lopez, has taken on the challenge of providing long-term affordable housing for its workforce, seniors and low-income residents by developing dedicated, affordable, sustainable rental housing communities. Their first project, Fishbay, opened in November 2019, providing six two-bedroom modular homes built in Ferndale by Method Homes

(methodhomes.net).

Doesn’t this statement, taken from the Fishbay Project website, sound like it could be written about Point Roberts?

“Those of us lucky enough to live, work, and play on Lopez know what a special place this is. What’s not so special is the housing situation. We have a housing crisis that forces many island employees to live in dilapidated structures, move multiple times a year, or relocate off island only to endure expensive and time-consuming commutes. If folks can’t find housing, they can’t take jobs in our emergency services, school, restaurants, or retail. This impacts all of us who spend time on the island.”

The lack of affordable, long-term rental housing adversely effects all elements of Point Roberts’ economy from the restaurants that serve us and our Canadian visitors, the construction industry that builds and repairs our homes, the workers and professionals who install and maintain our phones, internet, water, septic systems, teach in our schools and care for our elderly. Not having available housing keeps our economy in a stranglehold, unable to grow and be vital and resourceful.

If they can do it in Martha’s Vineyard with grant money from the Department of Agriculture and do it on Lopez Island with funds raised from within the community, we can do it here in Point Roberts!

If you are interested in participating in solving this community wide issue, please contact us at prcircleofcare@gmail.com.

CrossinGs >>>

Traffic into Point Roberts December 2022, with figures for 2021 following:

Personal vehicles 44,862 (21,499); personal passengers 60,116 (28,525); pedestrians 583 (299); commercial 421 (247).

Traffic into Point Roberts January 2023, with figures for 2022 following:

Personal vehicles 47,068 (17,427); personal passengers 61,338 (22,570); pedestrians 481 (180); commercial 375 (153).

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