Reviewing requests
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 2:01 PM PDT
Tami Hart Argus Observer
NEW PLYMOUTH
A vocal contingent of New Plymouth residents, who argued against the placement of a cell phone tower in New Plymouth, sparked the withdrawal of the conditional use application by Snake River PCS.
Monday, the New Plymouth Planning and Zoning Commission listened to public testimony regarding the proposed 100-foot tower Snake River PCS hoped to situate at the high school track on South Plymouth Avenue. Barbara Choate, PCS Supervisor, told the commission there are a lot of bare spots for cell phone service in New Plymouth, because of the terrain. The Snake River PCS's goal, she said, was placing the tower in New Plymouth for better coverage.
The New Plymouth School District would also have netted $400 per month in a lease payment from PCS.
Resident concerns centered mainly on the possible health effects of cell towers. The location of the proposed tower and its impact on property values was also presented as a worry, as some residents said they felt there were other more viable locations for the tower.
Ron Meacham, who lives in the proposed tower zone across from the track, said he was not against the tower itself, just the location. After conducting Internet research on the possible health risks, Meacham said there was enough information to show there were risks associated with the towers.
"I don't want it down there," Meacham said. "The site will also devaluate my property. I think the council should look into it more."
Meacham also said the school district should have done more research on the issue.
"Kerby (school superintendent John Kerby) said they only had information from Farmers Mutual Telephone Company and they didn't do any other checking," Meacham said.
Jolene Shipley, a member of the school board, testified the information the school board received was from the telephone company.
"Under no circumstances do we want to harm children or neighbors. If FMTC is willing to move the facility, we're all for it."
Shipley added the $400 the district would receive is not worth the grief it would cause the community.
After hearing more testimony, Choate stood up and said she was withdrawing the conditional use application.
"This was in no way meant to cause grief to anyone," Choate said and added the company would resubmit the application at a later date for a different location. Other public hearings at the planning and zoning meeting included a zone change application and a conditional use application for the New Plymouth Rural Fire District. The zone change application is to change the zone from Residential B to Commercial D for property situated at 324 Southeast Ave. The commission approved both requests by the fire district, on the condition the perimeter lighting on the parking lot is pointed toward the building.
Dallas Hawker, chief of the New Plymouth Rural Fire Board, said the zone change is necessary in order to park fire equipment on the property. The fire trucks can be parked inside the building the way the zoning stands now, but with the department trying to build a larger station to include Bureau of Land Management equipment, the rezone is necessary. The conditional use permit is necessary, he said, before the department can begin to build a new facility, when it receives the funding.
The commission also approved a conditional use permit presented by Cameron Mahler, to allow the property situated at 212 W. Maple to be used for church services. The commission was concerned about adequate parking according to city code requirements, and made that a condition of the permit.
The commission sent a non-favorable recommendation to the City Council until a number of questions were answered on a city impact area amendment requested by Lorrie and Leeroy Tracy and Robert Smith. Twenty-six people testified against the amendment at the public hearing on the matter and raised a number of concerns regarding water and sewer services and a host of other issues associated with the project.
