DEWEY BEACH, Del. - Some of the 5G towers that many people say are an eyesore are coming down. Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf and Senator Ernie Lopez announced a breakthrough in the dispute with Verizon Wireless late Friday afternoon.
For months many people in Dewey Beach have said that better cell service or not, the poles don't belong on the beach.
Schwarzkopf and Lopez say the deal they negotiated will have some of those poles relocated in the fall. They say they're still working with Verizon to get what they call the most "egregious" poles moved too. Senator Lopez says this agreement comes after months of negotiating with Verizon. He says where exactly the poles will be relocated is still to be determined.
"The initial legislation allowing 5G to come to Dewey Beach and to Eastern Sussex County a few years ago most certainly did not allow for the location of these poles to be along the dunes," Senator Lopez says. "We were very disappointed to see that that's where they were placed and we want everyone to know and we want them to hear loud and clear that as upset as citizens of Dewey Beach were, their legislators were just as upset."
The July 5th protest organized by Save Dewey Beach is still on. Organizer Dan Dionisio says this announcement is too vague for him to cancel.
Verizon did not respond for comment about the deal.