Hawaii resident challenges Verizon tower, says permit may belong to different project

A resident on the Big Island of Hawai'i is trying to stop construction of a planned 60-foot Verizon Wireless cell tower there.

Patrick Ferreira, whose house in Papa'ikou is adjacent to the planned tower, alleges that permit paperwork produced for the project may be tied to a different project.

The dispute echoes a frustration familiar to many communities: When major infrastructure projects move forward near homes, residents can feel as though their concerns — and their neighborhoods — were treated as an afterthought.

Here's what to know

Ferreira has appealed the project and is seeking a pause in construction while the permitting questions are reviewed, the Hawai'i Tribune-Herald reported. 

The Verizon tower is slated for a lot situated near homes and businesses, and its 2024 approval came before a rule change, according to the local paper. Hawai'i County now requires telecommunications towers to be located at least 600 feet from residences and schools.

Cory Harden, a member of the Sierra Club Hawai'i Island Group who has been assisting Ferreira with the appeal, said records she obtained from the County Planning Department, meanwhile, appear to show that the use permit on file may not match the Papa'ikou tower proposal.

"I was looking through, and I thought, oh, how come the use permit is 2022? That's kind of odd," she told the Hawai'i Tribune-Herald. "So, I looked up the use permit and went, oh my goodness, it's for a different cellphone tower, not this one."

In Ferreira's view, the discrepancy should stop the project from moving ahead.

More background

In Ferreira's appeal, he asserts that work at the site has already affected his property. 

"Despite the flawed Use Permit, earth-moving equipment has worked on the site (shaking my house to the point where I asked the Building Department for a stop work order) and a layer of gravel about 20 feet square has been put down," he wrote in his appeal, per the Tribune-Herald.

Janine Kara Dumaguin, chair of the Sierra Club Hawaii Island Group, submitted a letter backing the appeal and indicating that certain records have not been publicly available. 

"Laws covering telecommunications towers have changed in recent years," Dumaguin wrote, per the newspaper, "but without records showing the date of application and the materials considered in approving the project, there is no way for residents to review whether the Papa'ikou tower complies with the law."

What's being done?

For its part, Verizon has claimed it has the approvals and permits required to proceed. It has also previously argued that Ferreira's initial appeal came too late.

"It was impossible for me to comply with the appeal deadline, because neighbors were not notified that a decision was being considered, nor when it was finalized," he wrote.

The Planning Department found his first appeal, filed Aug. 18, deficient, according to the Tribune-Herald. 

Ferreira submitted an amended version on Sept. 22 with help from Harden. He and his supporters want county officials to resolve the permit questions and stop work until the public record is clear.

As Harden observed, the dispute is not necessarily about opposing a new tower altogether. 

"Pat is not saying 'don't do it' — he's just saying there are other locations actually in Papa'ikou," she told the newspaper.

Wireless service can be particularly important to Hawaiians navigating extreme weather events. Meanwhile, Ferreira is not the first to challenge tower placement in the state.

In May, AT&T stepped back efforts to build a cell tower on the island of Kaua'i after residents "overwhelmingly opposed a plan to build a cell tower less than 50 feet from one resident's bedroom window," according to the Honolulu Civil Beat.

Where can I learn more?

The Papa'ikou tower fight echoes similar disputes over projects proposed near homes. These articles look at similar battles over permits, siting, and whether construction should move ahead:

• In Virginia, county officials issued a stop order on a battery project after resident objections.

• In Maryland, neighbors sued Anne Arundel County to block a 200-foot water tower near homes.

• In Hawai'i, utility regulators faced blistering backlash for choosing a new gas plant over solar.

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