LAKE COUNTY – The Board of Supervisors is expected to give its decision on a cell phone tower appeal at today's meeting and, along with that finding, will consider a temporary moratorium in wireless communications facilities such as cell phone towers.

In May, Upper Lake resident Cheryl Little Deer filed an appeal with the board regarding a Planning Commission decision to allow a US Cellular tower along Highway 20 near Upper Lake.

Among other issues, Little Deer said she was concerned about the safety of cell phones and wireless towers.

Other community members raised concerns about the county not having a coordinated telecommunications plan, which would aid the board in reaching decisions on wireless facilities.

The board held two sessions to take public comment on the appeal, one May 15 and the second June 19. At the latter meeting, the board decided to take the issue under advisement and issue a finding of fact within 45 days.

At the time, District 3 Supervisor Denise Rushing also suggested the board should defer the cell tower until it had a plan to address the community's concerns.

Just what the board's decision will be on the US Cellular tower won't be known until the meeting Tuesday. The board's finding of fact was still with County Counsel Anita Grant by the end of the business day Monday.

Grant said she couldn't discuss the board's findings until after the Tuesday meeting.

However, she did say that the moratorium ordinance – which the board asked her to draft for its consideration – grew out of questions and concerns supervisors had in looking at the appeal.

The interim ordinance would temporarily halt the county approving applications dealing with construction, modification or placing of wireless communications facilities, Grant's staff report to the board explains.

Grant cited government code that allows counties to adopt such urgency measures. The code reads: “If a city council or county board of supervisors deems it necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare, it may adopt as an urgency measure an interim ordinance prohibiting any land uses that may be in conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal that the council or board, or its planning commission, is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time.”

In this case, the ordinance states that the board and county staff need time to review the issues surrounding wireless facilities in order to amend the county's zoning ordinance.

Those issues include – but aren't limited to – determining if adequate coverage already exists, analyzing project alternatives, setback requirements and aesthetics, according to the ordinance language.

The ordinance would set in motion a 45-day period – from July 25 through Sept. 8 – during which no applications for wireless facility installation, modification or construction would be approved.

Only those applications completed on or before July 25, or facilities used for public safety and homeland security purposes – and installed by authorized federal, state or local public safety agencies – could move forward, the ordinance states.

In order to go into effect, the ordinance must receive at least a four-fifths board vote, Grant reported.

The board's decision on the cell tower is an untimed item on the Tuesday agenda. No time has been set for consideration of the moratorium, which is being placed on the agenda as an addendum.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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