LAKE COUNTY ? A moratorium on new cell tower applications adopted by the county Board of Supervisors in July will be up for discussion again at the board”s next meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
Several hours of discussion that spanned three summer county Board of Supervisors meetings about a new U.S. Cellular tower recently approved in the community of Upper Lake spurred the moratorium on new telecommunications tower applications until the county has a more clear-cut plan for them.
The time is almost up for the temporary moratorium, according to County Council Anita Grant. It was established in an interim ordinance adopted by an urgency measure on July 24.
The current moratorium covers a 45-day time period that began on July 25 and continues through Sept. 8. It does not apply to wireless communication facilities completed on or before July 25 or to such facilities to be used for public safety or homeland security purposes, according to the ordinance.
The Sept. 11 discussion will concern whether or not to continue the moratorium and for what length of time.
The ordinance specifies in a “whereas” statement that the board and county staff needs time for fact-finding about “the construction, modification and placement of wireless communication facilities for the purpose of amending the Lake County Zoning Ordinance to address citizen concerns relating to the impacts associated with wireless communication facilities.”
Those concerns include how to determine if adequate coverage exists in a given area, how much review is doable in looking at “environmentally superior project alternatives,” how to go about ensuring compliance with federal radio frequency and emissions standards, setback requirements, sufficiency of design plans and the aesthetic impacts proposed projects would have.
Upper Lake resident Cheryl Little Deer appealed the county Planning Commission approval of U.S. Cellular”s application for a permit to put a 120-foot cell tower in on a 132-acre lot spanning three addresses listed on West Highway 20 in Upper Lake.
Little Deer”s concerns were mostly around electromagnetic radiation and radio frequency (RF) emissions, something she”s spent 12 years researching. Her points of contention included how the new tower would affect the county”s scenic corridor along Highway 20.
That was the point on which the county Board of Supervisors focused in its summer meetings because it has to do with aesthetics. Community Development Director Rick Coel noted that the county”s hands are tied with respect to health concerns related to RF emissions, which is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
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