Planners set to research cell tower construction rules

By Lisa Majors-Duff

That was the question of the evening when county planners gathered Tuesday to continue their discussion of the various ways to design a law to restrict cell tower construction.

In answer to member Page Bernstein's question, member Greg Scott said the county should strive for the fewest towers necessary to provide complete coverage for Jackson County. Achieving that objective will be the goal of a four-member planning board subcommittee comprised of Chairman Mark Jamison, Greg Scott, Brenda Patterson and Raymond Bunn.

Planners were given the task of drafting an ordinance Aug. 2 after commissioners approved a 90-day moratorium on cell tower construction. That action is due to come to an end Nov. 2.

"This is something we need to do a good job on," said planning board Chairman Jack Debnam, who proposed allowing a smaller group to develop the cell tower ordinance. Such a move would be beneficial, he said, because another five-member group of planners is preparing for a second round of Smart Growth meetings, and still another portion of the board will be reviewing the county's ordinances and updating them as needed.

If the agreement is that citizens want cell tower service in all parts of the county, height of towers will become an issue, Jamison said. Most in the industry agree that tower height can become a trade off when it comes to limiting numbers of towers. Taller towers mean fewer are necessary, but shorter towers mean more are required.

Board members also briefly discussed what language might be required to enforce a cell tower ordinance and who would responsible for enforcing it. Other concerns included the need for a yearly inspection to ensure roads to towers are not violating the county's soil erosion law and how large a lot needs be to accommodate a tower.

"I have a feeling the county attorney will have to look at a lot of this stuff," Jamison said.

Planning board members are scheduled to meet again at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, at the Justice Center. They will hear a report from the cell tower subcommittee during a special meeting Monday, Sept. 10, also at 6 p.m. at the Justice Center.

Back to Archive: 08/23/01.