LAKE COUNTY – Cellular carriers will have a harder time building new towers in Lake County after the board of supervisors adopted an ordinance Tuesday that requires a major use permits for new towers to encourage co-location at existing sites.
After it was sent back to the Community Development Department for revisions at the board”s May 27 meeting, the ordinance that seeks to guide where cellular towers can be built in the county was adopted unanimously after minor revisions Tuesday.
“There needs to be a strong policy statement in favor of making these services available ? radio, satellite, short-wave, the county”s emergency information, Yuba colleges broadcasts from there ? there are lots of users who are not just talking about cell towers,” attorney Peter Windrem said.
Representing Buckingham Peak, LLC, which owns 176 acres atop Mount Konocti and two telecommunication towers that he said have stood for more than 40 years, Windrem said the ordinance needed to allow for existing towers to be replaced.
“I have seen come carriers, under the guise of replacement, come in and double the size or make some other substantial change. I don”t think the intent here is to see the existing towers disappear. They provide valuable services we want to keep,” Dist. 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing said.
The ordinance requires a major use permits for new cellular towers and puts restrictions on applications for the permits concerning aesthetics, design plans, set-back requirements, methods of ensuring compliance with federal regulations, consideration of project alternatives and deciding whether or not adequate coverage already exists in a given area.
The board will also extended a temporary moratorium on new applications.
In other business, the board entered into a water-sharing agreement with the City of Lakeport. The agreement ties together the city”s water system and the county”s water system in North Lakeport by a 700-foot pipeline.
“This will not increase our capacity, but it will be a backup plan in case the water treatment doesn”t meet health standards, which at times occurs during the summer months,” Dist. 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington said. The North Lakeport water system is in his district.
Following a short meeting, the board toured the Soper Reese Community Theater and heard a presentation on the construction committee”s efforts to refurbish the building and open its doors.
Soper Reese Construction Committee Chair Michael Adams told the board the committee hopes to raise $789,000 to begin phase two of the renovation. Plans include completing the stage, installing a new dressing rooms and restrooms, installing fire sprinklers, remodeling the front lobby and painting the outside walls, among other improvements.
Adams said he hopes to start sandblasting the peeling paint on the building”s exterior this summer. He said he has a meeting next week with Richard Knoll, Redevelopment Director for the City of Lakeport, about using redevelopment funds to upgrade the building”s fa?ade.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com
