Cell tower moratorium discussion to continue

By Lisa Majors-Duff

The public hearing was scheduled following pleas from Cashiers area residents upset at the prospect of a cell tower being constructed on Laurel Knob. They requested last month that board members immediately impose a moratorium on such construction and even offered to pay the county's legal fees if the cell tower company filed suit.

Board members, while sympathetic to the residents' concerns during the June 21 meeting, did not agree that a moratorium aimed at the Laurel Knob tower was the right direction to take, especially after hearing from their lawyer.

"We're looking a lawsuit in the face," county attorney Raymond Large said last month. A moratorium, a lawsuit or anything else that would prevent cell towers in Jackson County would be a good idea, a speaker said Monday night, adding that such steps would be supported and encouraged by many in the area.

"There's no question that we live in a uniquely beautiful area," said Mark Lassiter. "To line the mountains with cell towers would be a huge travesty. We would appreciate you considering a moratorium; it would be in the best interest of the mountains."

Cashiers Realtor Eddie Madden admitted the county board can do little at this point to prevent the Laurel Knob tower, but he continued to support a moratorium, which would give the county time to study ways to lessen the visual effect of such structures.

"We still need to consider camouflage, height requirements, co-location and landscaping around towers," Madden said, "all of which the county can require."

Speaking on behalf of several property owners in the Cashiers area, including Dan and Mary Duckham, who are planning a development in view of the Laurel Knob tower, Madden initiated the cell tower moratorium conversation last month. An admitted heavy cell phone user, Madden encouraged commissioners to view a moratorium as a positive way of controlling growth.

"There's very little we can do to stop growth; in fact, I'm in the business of encouraging it," he said. "But we want the best growth possible; we want to encourage people to do right by their property."

Dick Darnell, who described himself as a tile mason in the Cashiers area, appealed to the commissioners' sense of aesthetics and tax values in his request for a moratorium. "I imagine that everyone within sight of this cell tower will come before you and ask that their homes be revalued," Darnell said. "(Laurel Knob) is a beautiful site. Cell towers should not be allowed; nothing should."

This type of telecommunications technology is on the way out, Darnell said, pointing out that satellite technology could soon replace the need for towers.

"This thing is a real bailiwick, a sucker punch to the people of Cashiers," said Darnell, who also insisted that a structure of this size would be dangerous and especially susceptible to "chaos theory." Storms or a "couple swings of a baseball bat" would be enough to bring it down, he said. According the county's building inspections department, SBA Towers Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., applied for a permit for a structure on Laurel Knob to house the tower's electronic equipment on June 12. The county does not require a company to secure a permit to construct a cell tower, nor does it place restriction on such structures.

Should the county board be in favor of a moratorium on cell towers, Large recommended it not exceed 365 days.

"I wouldn't recommend more than a year, and six months would be preferable," he said. The county currently has a moratorium in place restricting construction of asphalt plants. That action followed an outcry from Qualla residents opposed to such a facility being proposed in their neighborhood. Commissioners asked the county economic development group to investigate the issue and recommend action within a year.

Before adjourning the public hearing, board Chairman Jay Denton reported that the cell tower issue would be up for discussion again at the board's next meeting Thursday, July 19, during a 5 p.m. work session at the Justice Center.

Back to Archive: 07/12/01.