The Camas Methodist Church in the state of Washington will be the site of a new concealed cell tower. When completed, the 88-foot tower will be disguised as a church bell tower.
As the Camas-Washougal Post Record reports, the granting of a conditional use permit will allow AT&T to proceed on schedule. While not a tight deadline, AT&T has been working to find a new location for a cell tower that is currently operating at Garver Theater and has a lease that is due to expire in 2028.
“The existing site we have on Garver Theater is going to be decommissioned. The use will be terminated soon,” confirmed Sharon Gretch, with Smartlink Group, LLC, speaking on behalf of AT&T Wireless. “So, we were trying to get a headstart on that.”
“We had been approached by [AT&T] some time ago,” noted Camas Methodist Pastor Don Shipley, who lives across the street from the church, according to the Camas-Washougal Post Record. “[They] were trying to find a suitable site to provide an alternative site to the one on the Garver building. We were pleased that we could provide that site.”
Shipley added that the improvement in connectivity would be a boon for the surrounding neighborhood. “We were mindful of the fact that there would be an aesthetic issue, but were pleased to find that the tower would be disguised to make sure it wouldn’t be an eyesore for the neighboring community. I’m in favor of it.”
Nearby neighbor Bonnie Jean Ione expressed a contrary viewpoint, saying that she worried about phantom health concerns from cell towers. “There have been studies,” she commented, claiming that the cell tower “could be potentially [damaging] for children. I do think there is a possibility there will be a class-action lawsuit if, at some point, there is a percentage of children who end up with brain cancer.”
Camas Hearings Examiner Joe Turner stated that he was acting in accordance with federal law and had no grounds not to approve the cell tower request. “The City does limit noise, and there is a limitation to how much noise this thing can produce … and the applicant has provided studies that they meet those (requirements),” he said. “I understand the concerns with health effects, but that is not something I can consider as federal law has preempted that. … I’m going to approve the application subject to meeting considerations noted in the staff report.”
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