BOISE, Idaho — The Ada County Highway District commission is taking public comment Wednesday on a drafted ordinance that would give ACHD jurisdiction over what cell phone providers can and can't do when installing 5G panels on light poles across Ada County.
ACHD's general councilman, Steven Price, says the ordinance would allow wireless providers to build in the public rights of way, including schools, historical sites, and neighborhoods, but local land agencies would have the final say on where providers may install 5G.
“The wireless service provider will have to get their approval prior to us authorizing any small cell facility within the public rights of way,” Price said.
But not everyone is happy with the proposal.
Lynette Daute, an Ada County resident, says she is bothered by the way the ordinance is currently written, and spent the last two weeks writing a new version of the ordinance.
She claims the pulses emitted from the 5G towers and boxes are harmful to people, and doesn't want ACHD to give wireless providers a stepping stone to build in residential areas.
“So having this kind of power so close to people’s homes where they’re bombarded by it 24/7 is damaging to their health," Daute said. "Also to their ability to live, to their safety.”
Public land agencies include Boise City Planning and Zoning or Boise City Council, according to Price. Those agencies will have the final say in how close 5G towers may be built to places like schools and neighborhoods.
“They’re the ones that will have to decide what a safe setback is for those safe cell units and not ACHD,” Price clarified.
ACHD's ordinance is just one step out of many in allowing wireless providers to build more towers in public spaces in Ada County.