County commission OKs new high-speed phone lines along Skyline County commission OKs new high-speed phone lines along Skyline (July 07, 2004)

By Marion Softky
Almanac Staff Writer

The march of high technology keeps raising low-tech issues. Like whether it's OK to hang fiber optic cables on old-fashioned power poles to get high-speed Internet service to the folks living on Kings Mountain.

The San Mateo County Planning Commission answered the question with a tentative yes on June 23. By a 3-2 vote, it approved a project of SBC to run new high-speed phone lines 4.5 miles along Skyline Boulevard, from Route 92, south as far as Fisher Investments, adjacent to Purisima Canyon. The new lines would also serve local residents who live north of the Skyline area served by Comcast.

Half a dozen mountain residents, who can't get DSL, supported the project. "We're some of the orphans of San Mateo County. We need high-speed Internet access," said 29-year mountain resident Stephen Johnson. "The benefits to the community far outweigh the environmental concerns."

The county planning staff recommended denying the permit because the poles and cables are highly visible along stretches of Skyline with scenic views toward the bay and ocean. The power lines, which are already there, are located within the Skyline Scenic Corridor, and half a mile is in the Coastal Zone. The staff saw no valid reason that visible sections of the line could not be placed underground.

The Committee for Green Foothills also supported placing the visible sections underground. "It is clearly more costly to underground utilities, but there are clear public benefits to undergrounding that outweigh these costs," wrote Lennie Roberts.

Ken Fisher, who instigated the project and is contributing to the cost, argued that high-speed Internet benefits the environment by allowing people to work at home and not commute. "It's bad for the environment not to push high-speed Internet," he said.

Mr. Fisher is a historian of Kings Mountain and supporter of the Committee for Green Foothills, as well as founder and CEO of Fisher Investments, and a regular columnist for Forbes Magazine for 20 years.

Fisher Investments needs modern Internet access to handle the investment business carried out in its two offices, located on Kings Mountain and in San Mateo, explained James Scanlon of the company. "We have six projects on hold because there are not enough data lines," he said.

The issues were complicated because PG&E's power lines already run along Skyline, and carry SBC phone lines for most of the length. In wooded areas, the lines are not visible, and placing them underground is not feasible over some canyons.

The SBC proposal would use a combination of overhead and underground lines, explained SBC representative Larry Foss. As proposed, it will cost $342,000; to place the whole line underground would raise the tab to over $2 million. "If any of the other utilities go underground, we would be delighted to participate," he said.

For most of the overhead section, the new cables would be lashed to the existing telephone cables. "There's very little visual impact," commented Commissioner Ralph Nobles.

At Mr. Nobles' suggestion, the commission asked SBC to underground an additional half mile of line in a scenic stretch with a view toward the ocean, where there is no present phone line on the existing power poles. Mr. Foss agreed.

Although not definitely opposed to the compromise, Commission Chairman Jon Silver and Commissioner David Bomberger wanted more time to study the issue. They voted against immediate approval at that meeting. "The best solution is to underground all utilities," Mr. Silver said.

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