With a 3-2 vote, California’s Tulare Board of Supervisors chose not to impose additional restrictions on AT&T’s cell tower plans. As the Porterville Recorder reports, the vote cleared the way for construction of the proposed 110-foot tower. The monopine pole will be placed approximately 1,000 feet away from Lombardi Elementary School, a decision that raised concern in some quarters.
“This is not unique to Tulare County,” stated Supervisor Pete Vander Poel. “I don’t want Tulare County to add conditions to towers making it more and more difficult.” He and fellow board members Eddie Valero and Amy Shuklian said that while they shared concerns for safety, the additional requirements under consideration were excessive.
“My concern is we’re going to be setting precedent,” added Valero.
Voting in favor of the additional restrictions were board members Larry Micari, and Dennis Townsend, who authored the challenge. Townsend wanted to see on-air testing conducted four times per year. If the AT&T tower passed the emissions test for FCC exposure limits, it would clear it until the next interval. Other providers in the region would also be held to this standard.
Though his motion for additional oversight was not adopted, Townsend said he understood why the measure did not carry, noting, “We really don’t want to put up a whole lot of restrictions.”
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