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COUNTY HEARING JULY 6 Beacon Hill neighbors have the blues over proposed cell tower Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jun. 30, 2015 at 2:00 AM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jun. 30, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Social News Gathering for the seventh annual Beacon Hill Blues Festival east of Ashland Sunday, several hundred people were hoping a 120-foot AT&T cell phone tower would not be built on Beacon Hill, a scenic landmark and hiking spot for surrounding residents, which overlooks the festival.  The lovely, symmetrical hill shoots up from Steinman loop on old Highway 99, some 3.5 miles above Emigrant Lake. It’s crowned by a bunch of dramatic columnar basalt and is viewable by drivers coming down that long stretch of Interstate 5, after Callahan’s Restaurant.  That’s why AT&T wants it for a cell tower, for coverage on entry into Oregon. They passed all Jackson County’s requirements and got the go-ahead, but area residents are appealing at 10:30 a.m. Monday, July 6 ,before a county hearings officer in the Jackson County Courthouse auditorium at 10 South Oakdale Avenue, Medford. The application is in the name of Cingular Wireless, a mobile phone company that has been purchased by AT&T. Residents objections include aesthetics, history and loss in property values, but their lawyers have told them these don’t carry much weight in governmental decisions. It’s about the hard facts of science, geology, zoning and potential hazards from new construction.  AT&T proposes a seven-turn switchback going up the hill, sometimes called Steinman Butte and says, according to its geologists, that the soil is solid, seismically sound, not too steep and not subject to significant erosion. Residents have hired their own soils scientists and will present their report at the hearing, says resident Michael Albrechtsen, who is spearheading the opposition. AT&T says it will mask the access road with landscaping and will erect a “stealth tower” that looks like a large fir tree. Taking a break from the dancing and music, put on by the Ashland Blues Society, resident Heather Young said, “There are many reasons the tower shouldn’t be here on Beacon Hill. It’s called that because it had a light to warn military flights coming into the valley during World War II. It’s one of the first landmarks you see, entering Oregon. A neighbor has spread her son’s ashes up there. Then there’s issues of soils, runoff, erosion. A lot of water came down it in that last big storm.” Jokingly called the “mayor” of the Steinman community, Kim Faerber, a 32-year resident, said, that, to build the tower and maintenance bunker, “they’re going to have to rip into that mountain and all its sacred oak trees. It’s invasive to our monument and it’s our job as stewards of this mountain to fight it. It’s cost over $12,000 so far to oppose this.” As far as benefitting from better cell phone coverage, Faerber said, “None of us use AT&T, so it won’t help. It’s going to hurt property values and affect the neighborhood in a negative way.” Thirty-year resident Jennifer Massey, said, “It will destroy the mountain. The road up it has to be 12 feet wide with a 10-foot easement. It will chew up the mountain and wreck the view for everyone. Our geologist says there will be slides in rainstorms.” Resident Bob Crowley said the large tower, disguised as a fir, will be four times larger than surrounding oaks. Crowley just moved to the area in the last few months — and questions if he would have made the move if the tower were already in place. The Steinman bridge is notable to historians as the first automobile bridge built in Oregon and the only one that loops back on itself. Residents say the switchbacks and tower endanger the history and could send runoff and erosion onto the bridge, damaging it. It is faced by a ridge in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument a mile or so away.N John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected].   By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Jun. 30, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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