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--> --> Some Highway 66 residents are fighting the placement of a cell tower in view of their homes, similar to this one along Highway 99 in Talent. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA Neil Creek residents against cell tower plan By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings A group of rural residents in the Neil Creek Road area will fight Jackson County's recent approval of a proposed cellular communications tower near their homes. "I thought the county planning commission was there to protect the public from applications like this," cell tower opponent Elizabeth Eatinger said. The proposed 125-foot tower outside of Ashland would be built on a small knoll between Emigrant Lake and Neil Creek Road about 2.5 miles southeast of the city and would be visible from both Interstate 5 and the Greensprings Highway. "It's basically a 12-story industrial tower," Eatinger said. "It effects everyone." In September, Eatinger and other residents presented the county a petition with 77 signatures of people who oppose the cell tower. Residents were granted a public hearing in front of county hearings officer John Eads to give input on the county's consideration of the tower application. Residents were concerned the tower would be visually jarring for themselves and people driving on I-5 or Hwy. 66 - both considered to be Outstanding Scenic Roadways by the county. They also believe the company applying for the tower, AT&T Wireless Services of Oregon, Inc., did not look hard enough for alternative sites. Eads did not see things their way, however, and in his decision granting the application, wrote, "I find that it cannot be denied based solely on the fact it will be visible from portions of I-5 and the Greensprings Highway." He also opined that AT&T has shown "by a preponderance of the evidence, it considered reasonable alternatives to locating (the cell tower)." However, AT&T Wireless must take steps to mitigate the impact of the tower by painting it with earth-tone colors and directing lighting fixtures away from neighbors. Eatinger said she will take the matter up with the state Land Use Board of Appeals. "We don't feel this was the correct decision," Eatinger said. "His justification is not sufficient in my opinion." "You cannot paint a 12-story tower so that it has minimum impact on the landscape." The Neil Creek Road neighbors are not isolated with their cell tower concerns, according to Jackson County Planning Manager Alwin Turiel. There have been a number of recent cell tower applications approved in recent years in the Southern Oregon and Northern California area as wireless companies attempt to fill in spotty areas of coverage in the I-5 corridor, she said. Last year, the county heard complaints from Talent residents and city officials angry that a cell tower had been allowed immediately outside the Talent City Limits. But local governments are required to favor most cell tower applications because cell towers are considered a public utility facility similar to a water or natural gas line. Also, the county ordinance relating to such applications was written before the upsurge in cell towers, and therefore did not fully address them, Turiel said. "Cell towers are an issue in this county as they are all over Oregon as people are concerned with their visual impact." Turiel said. "We're not the only county with this problem." County staff are presently working on a new ordinance which will deal more directly with cell towers. Turiel estimated the new ordinance should come to the County Board of Commissioners over the winter. "It should address some of these concerns," Turiel said. "It'll give people a lot more substance to discuss (when appealing cell tower applications), and I think it will help." Too late, however, for the Neil Creek Road neighbors, who must take their case to LUBA. "We're not against cell phones or cell towers - most of us have cell phones," Eatinger said. "We just think this is an inappropriate siting. "Looking up from the road to my house it would look like a mutant antenna," she said. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing