For over a decade, the 17,000 residents who call themselves Citizens for Preservation of Rural Living (CPRL) have been engaged in a protracted legal battle with the Lazer Broadcasting Corporation over the construction of a radio tower above Wildwood Canyon Park. According to a report from Redlands Daily Facts, the conflict continues, as CPRL has filed another appeal to the Board of Supervisors’ decision to approve a 43-foot monopole antenna with a 100-square-foot equipment shelter on a 38 acre plot of land in November 2017. The new tower would increase Lazer’s listener base from 191,000 to over two million people.
The clash began with Lazer’s initial request, filed in March of 2009, for a 140-foot tall lattice tower with a 250-square foot accompanying equipment building, as well as a 500-gallon propane tank to power a backup generator, according to Redlands Daily Facts. Though the proposal was approved by the Planning Commission, CPRL filed an appeal, citing fears that the antenna would damage the aesthetic beauty of Wildwood Canyon Park, and the appeal was granted. In May of 2010, Lazer filed an amended application, requesting the smaller 43-foot monopole instead. Again, the Planning Commission approved the project in November of 2012, only to face another appeal from CPRL.
When CPRL’s second appeal was denied by the Board of Supervisors, the group sued, and the county was ordered to cancel the project until an Environment Impact Report could be prepared. The county prepared the EIR in compliance with the court order and the California Environmental Quality Act, but according to Redlands Daily Facts, CPRL argued in their appeal that the EIR does not comply with the court order. The board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the appeal at a meeting on February 13, which may end ten years of legal conflict and allow Lazer to move forward with bolstering their listener base.
February 15, 2018
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