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It may be a faux tree, it may be a tasteful pole, it may even be an objet d’art, but a 50- to 55-foot cell phone tower will rise at the corner of Peak Lane and Golden Oak Drive in Portola Valley, on the same parcel that houses a 750,000-gallon water tank owned by the California Water Company.
Neighbors concerned about views, radio frequency radiation and seemingly uncared for landscape screening urged the Town Council last night (Oct. 13) to reject a conditional use permit application for the tower from T-Mobile West Corp. But with the federal government disallowing concerns about radiation and property values, and tipping the scales in favor of closing “significant” phone coverage gaps — which T-Mobile asserts there is in Portola Valley — the council had very little room to maneuver.
The vote was unanimous, with Councilman John Richards absent. The council had many factors to consider, but T-Mobile’s evidence of a significant coverage gap, and a concurring finding from the town’s independent analyst, made the decision more or less inevitable under federal law.
“I would place a heavy weight and a much higher priority on that (concurring) evidence,” Councilwoman Ann Wengert said.
“Our consultant found a gap,” Councilman Ted Driscoll said. “It’s hard for me to see how we can prevail in litigation if our consultant is contradicting us.”
Mr. Driscoll asked about a lawsuit. In such cases, T-Mobile transfers the case to a national law firm, said Paul Albritton of the San Francisco firm Mackenzie & Albritton, who was representing T-Mobile at the meeting.
Ms. Wengert noted that this case is likely to be just Round 1. “We are in the middle of a telecommunications revolution,” she said. “Communications are not only changing, they’re changing rapidly.”
The tower doesn’t have to be an eyesore, Councilwoman Maryann Derwin said. A Web search, she said, turned up towers that are windmills, water towers and works of art.
Asked for examples, Ms. Derwin, in an e-mail, recommended a search for Montjuic Communications Tower, which yields an image of a stunningly dynamic structure by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
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Tree and flagpole towers can help disguise the tower. A few of those and other ideas at this link:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/08/tower/source/1.htm
I hate to show my ignorance of cellular communications, but if this tower is placed in PV, does that mean we are all going to have to make a shift to T-Mobile from our current carriers?
Please don’t use one of those horrible fake trees. They are really ugly.
Dupi –
No…having attended the meeting last night, T-Mobile is in the minority in terms of providing cell coverage for PV residents. This decision has nothing to do with forcing residents to accept any service other than the one they choose. There was a discrepancy in terms of whether there were “significant” gaps in coverage and the Council was derelict in not postponing a decision and seeking further facts and corroboration. The Council “wussed out” on this one. Apparently T-Mobile’s “threats” carried some weight and scared the Council.
It was just pointed out to me that the Council had only 150 days to make a decision and they were beyond that time on an extension. Unfortunately it looks like timing was an issue that required a response. My apologies to the Council for not taking that fact into consideration. However, there is never enough time to make the wrong decision and T-Mobile’s threatening and “bully-style” behaviour/demeanor should have prompted the Council to be more pro-active and responsive to the general community’s concerns.
Correction to a statement in the Almanac article, I believe the reference to the Cal Water tank should have read 750,000 gallons not 750 gallons.
Joseph E. Davis,
You prefer the bare towers to the ones on the photos? They may not be lifelike but certainly they look better than a plain tower.
What is your suggestion?
Thank you, Gene, for that correction.
Why not just forbid cell phones? More the “Peninsula” way and I loathe
seeing people talking on those things in public. Odd how those who use cell phones think that speaking loudly is pleasant for others.
“More the “Peninsula” way and I loathe”
Then it’s a good thing you don’t live here, isn’t it?