Vital statistics: Cost $500,000, Design $200,000/Tower and Equipment $300,000
Both sides have made their respective arguments and all that’s left is for a decision to be made regarding a 100-foot cell tower in Sequim, Washington. Clallam County Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer said he will rule on the radio and cell tower camouflaged as a fir tree after January 1, reports the Peninsula Daily News.
In March, the county approved a conditional use permit and variance for the 100-foot tower, but a nearby homeowners group, formed in response to the proposed tower, filed a petition against Radio Pacific Inc., the landowner, and T-Mobile West LLC.
The group, Dungeness Heights Homeowners, claims the tower would be an eyesore, raised public health concerns and claimed nearby property values would decrease. According to the petition filed in response to the decision rendered in March, the group was formed “to protect the health of human and all lower life forms from harmful influences including electromagnetic pollution.”
Proponents of the cell tower, including KONP Radio Station manager Todd Ortloff, whose station would broadcast using the tower, said health and safety concerns are already addressed by FCC rules. Also, in its approval of the conditional use permit in March, the county had not been provided with any evidence that property values would decrease as a result of the tower.
At the most recent public hearing regarding the project, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez, representing the county, claimed that the cell and radio tower is the best use of that property.
“The highest and best use of that property is not a residence,” Alvarez said. “It’s actually a wireless tower.”
The tower will cost an estimated $500,000, which includes $200,000 in the design and construction of the camouflaged tower, and $300,000 for the radio and tower equipment.
January 3, 2017
Reader Interactions