CLEAR LAKE RIVIERA — The Lake County Planning Commission will hear public comment Thursday morning on a proposed wireless cell tower in the Clear Lake Riviera area of Kelseyville.
Danville-based tower developer Horizon Tower intends to construct an 85-foot “mono-leaf” tree-like tower on a 39 acre property located on Mojave Trail in the Clear Lake Riviera. The tower would be built to accommodate up to four wireless carriers.
A group of Clear Lake Riviera residents opposed to the project plan on making comments Thursday for the planning commission’s consideration. Many of these residents live within a 750-foot radial area around the proposed tower site, and are concerned that the tower would create a fire hazard, block lake views, disrupt animal habitats, and pose a health risk.
“We’re going to fight it,” local property owner Aurelia Johnson said Monday. “We’re going to fight it as best we can,” she said, including filing an appeal should the planning commission approve the project.
“If they approve this one,” Johnson said, “how many more towers will there be in the Riviera?”
A staff report from Community Development Director Michalyn DelValle recommends approval of the proposed project, citing conformance with the county’s general plan.
DelValle refers to the following goal regarding communications systems: “to expand the use of informational technology in order to increase the County’s economic competitiveness, develope more informed citizenry, and improve personal convenience for residents and businesses in the County.”
In support of a cell tower in Lakeport which was recently approved by the Lake County Board of Supervisors, Undersheriff Chris Macedo argues that improved cell phone reception would increase the sheriff’s ability to communicate during an emergency.
“Public safety agencies in Lake County rely on cell phone and high speed data communications for command and control during fires,” Macedo writes. “I strongly support the placement of cell sites in and around the county.”
The Clear Lake Riviera has been widely recognized as a high fire risk area, and is currently part of a geographically focused county effort led by District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown to abate hazardous vegetation on properties and around roadways.
Safe evacuation during a wildfire and communication during such an emergency are critical for the neighborhood in which the proposed cell tower would be located, Johnson said Monday, but the tower is not the answer.
Johnson is joining with other residents of the area immediately surrounding the proposed tower site to present their case against the tower on Thursday. She argues the sheriff’s alert system is “already functional enough” without the cell service that would be added by the tower.
In addition, Johnson said, “there’s fire hazard with cell towers. Right now, when everything is the way it is with all the fires here, it’s the worst time (for the tower),” she added.
Johnson said she believes good cell service could be achieved with a tower in a more ideal location, in less immediate proximity to a residential neighborhood.
“We’re not saying we don’t want cell service,” she explained. “We’d love to have better service, we just don’t want the tower right in our backyard.”
The planning commission is limited by federal law in its ability to hinder cell tower development. The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, which is referenced in DelValle’s report, disallows local governments from regulating cell towers based on health concerns relating to radio frequency emissions.
A letter to County Associate Planner Mark Roberts from resident Elizabeth Long dated Aug. 22, 2018 argues that short proof of emissions-caused health problems, the mere perception that radio frequencies emitted by the tower are harmful is enough to cause property values in the area to decline.
“Radiation is emitted from cell towers and regardless of whether this causes health problems, it certainly is perceived by many to do so,” Long writes. “This will negatively impact the price of homes near the tower.”
Leading up to the approval of the Verizon tower in Lakeport mentioned above, Verizon’s lawyers argued to the board of supervisors in a Dec. 12, 2018 letter that property value arguments based in health concerns are a “proxy for the alleged environmental impacts of RF emissions, and thus preempted by federal law.”
The planning commission does have authority over “decisions regarding the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities,” the 1996 act reads.
The proposed tower site on Mojave Trail lies within a 39.5 acre parcel owned by Richard Gubera and which is zoned as “RR,” or rural-residential, land. A map of the parcel’s vicinity shows that residential neighborhoods surround the lot to the north, south and east.
Also Thursday, the planning commission will also hold public hearings on two proposed commercial outdoor cannabis cultivation operations, one which would be located in Lower Lake, and one which would be located in Kelseyville.
