KELSEYVILLE >> Representatives of Verizon Wireless will go before the Lake County Board of Supervisors today to appeal the planning commission’s earlier decision to deny construction of a new cell tower in Kelseyville.
The project, which would occupy the southwest corner of 5660 Staheli Drive, was rejected by the commission back in January. The board bowed to community concerns and argued the 70 foot height and attached equipment would have a significant impact on nearby residents, thus violating the telecommunications infrastructure aspect of the county’s general plan.
At the time the commissioners heard comments from nine neighboring property owners objecting to the placement of the proposed mono-tree cell tower. Verizon’s representatives were not present to address concerns, leading to the decision.
However, the appeal’s author, Andrew Lesa of Epic Wireless Group, claimed that the county’s decision in January violated federal law by unreasonably discriminating against the company and preventing the provision of personal wireless service.
A staff report by Associate Planner Keith Gronendyke to the Board of Supervisors appeared to refute this, claiming that the commission previously approved two Verizon cell towers in other locations. He also alleged the telecommunications giant has only made one change to the project, shortening the faux tree to 64 feet.
“Other than this, all other aspects of the project remain the same,” he said. If this is the case, other items of public concern, such as the 132-gallon diesel fuel tank and the power generator, were kept in the project plan.
The company rejected three alternative locations, all of which were county-approved, because they deemed them to be out of the target coverage area of the Highway 29 corridor.
“Verizon Wireless … has determined the proposed to site to be the best available location for a new wireless telecommunication facility in order to service the desired coverage objective and provide coverage to the existing residents, businesses, and travelers,” Verizon said in its report. “This facility is believed to have the least impact to the community while offering future opportunity for other carriers to collocate.”
The meeting will be at 9 a.m. at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport.
Neither Andrew Lesa nor anyone from Epic Wireless Group returned calls for comment.
