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2001-765-Minutes for Meeting October 03,2001 Recorded 10/11/2001DESC COUNTY OFFICIAL ECORD MARYHSUESPENHOLLOW, COUNTY RCLERKS Q�00+'��5 'TSO. COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL 10/11/2001 03:53:48 PM Board of Commissioners 1130 N.W. Harriman St., Bend, Oregon 97701-1947 (541) 388-6570 • Fax (541) 388-4752 www.deschutes.org Tom De Wolf Dennis R. Luke MINUTES OF PUBLIC HEARING Mike Daly DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2001 Before the Board was the Continuation of a Public Hearing on Appeal No. A -01- I1 (CU -00-129) regarding Mericom Corporation's Request for a Conditional Use Permit to Establish a Wireless Telecommunications Facility in the La Pine Sewage Treatment District. This public hearing was a continuation of the public hearing previously opened on Wednesday, August 22, 2001. Present were Commissioners Tom De Wolf, Dennis R. Luke and Michael M. Daly. Also present were Laurie Craghead, Legal Counsel; Damian Syrnyk, Community Development; representatives of the applicants; and several citizens. Chair Tom De Wolf opened the meeting at 4: 00 p.m. Chair DeWolf indicated that the opening statement had been read at the August 22, 2001 public hearing, and asked that it not be read into the record again. He reviewed the introduction; but stated that the burden of proof and applicable criteria, hearing procedure, order of presentation, pre -hearing contacts, and challenge for bias, prejudgment or personal interest had been read at the August 22 hearing. Commissioner Luke asked if the letter presented to the Board by Linda Moskowitz was a part of the record. Laurie Craghead replied that she thought the written record had been previously closed. Minutes of Continuation of Public Hearing Page 1 of 5 Pages Mericom, Inc./La Pine Special Sewer District Cellular Tower Wednesday, October 3, 2001 Quality Services Performed with Pride The recording secretary checked the minutes of the August 22, 2001 hearing, and read the following to the Board. "The hearing will be left open until September 4 at 5:00 p.m., with rebuttal due by September 11, 2001 at 5:00 p.m. The oral portion of the hearing will remain open until October 3 at 4:00 p.m. and the Board will decide at that time whether to continue receiving oral testimony." Chair DeWolf indicated that since Ms. Moskowitz could simply read the letter into the record, he was inclined to allow the letter to be submitted into the record in its written form. (Copy attached as Exhibit A.) Michelle Rudd, attorney for the applicant, asked that since the Board is willing to accept Ms. Moskowitz' letter, she has written information to submit as well. Damian Syrnyk then gave a brief overview of the issue. Michelle Rudd stated that part of reason for continuing this hearing was that the Commissioners previously indicated that they may not have had enough time to consider the information already received. She added into the record information, which she stated might be duplicative, on four separate sites that were considered when Mericom did its alternative sites analysis. She further indicated that it is important to consider the zoning, since the La Pine Sewer Treatment District allows utility facilities necessary for public service, pursuant to ORS 215.283. She said she believes the state would interpret ORS 215.283 to include this type of facility. Since Deschutes County has folded state statute into its ordinance, Deschutes County is bound by the state's definition. She also explained that letters of intent have already been submitted, and emphasized the fact that the tower operator and the two providers that have given Mericom their letters of intent have an existing business relationship and nationwide master leases that govern these. Most of the details have already been worked out to facilitate doing this project quickly. She further stated that in terms of the necessity for public service, this is addressed in the materials that are already in the record. She also explained why it is necessary for the tower to be above the treeline. She said that they have applied for a conditional use permit, as that is what they were initially told by the County to do. Minutes of Continuation of Public Hearing Page 2 of 5 Pages Mericom, Inc./La Pine Special Sewer District Cellular Tower Wednesday, October 3, 2001 Andrew Newton, the operations manager for the La Pine Special Sewer District, spoke. He said he had submitted information previously, but wished to reiterate that the sewer district did go through a public process, with two advertised public meetings, and there were absolutely no arguments received against the cell towers. He explained that one of the benefits to the sewer district would be revenue, as $700 per month is a sizeable amount of money for a small district, and would easily make a payment for a maintenance truck. There has been no communication from anybody at any time in the La Pine community who has had any adverse things to say about this cellular tower. LUKE: We need to clarify this. There was adverse public testimony at the public hearing before the Hearings Officer. SYRNYK: We did receive oral and written testimony in opposition. DEWOLF: The thing I would like to point out is that whether or not virtually everyone in La Pine is in favor or opposed, it depends on why they are in favor or opposed. Because if it doesn't deal specifically with the criteria in our ordinance, it's irrelevant. So, it doesn't matter to me if you like it or not, or if the sewer district is making money or not, as those are irrelevant issues. I can't base any decisions on those things. Being no further testimony offered, Chair De Wolf then closed the public hearing. LUKE: I have a written statement to read into the record. (He then read his statement to the audience; a copy is attached as Exhibit B.) Therefore, I would move to approve this application, subject to the conditions as proposed by the applicant, the Hearings Officer and staff as shown in the record. DALY: What are those conditions, could you tell me quickly? Minutes of Continuation of Public Hearing Page 3 of 5 Pages Mericom, Inc./La Pine Special Sewer District Cellular Tower Wednesday, October 3, 2001 SYRNYK: This is based on staff reports. One is based on the applicants obtaining the necessary building permits from the Deschutes County Building Division prior to commencing construction of the facility. Two, the property owner shall remove the facility if it is left unused or is abandoned by the wireless providers located on it for more than one year. This is a requirement of our ordinance. Finally, the applicant shall site and shield all exterior lighting, including security lighting, so that it is directed downward to meet County requirements. DALY: I'll second Commissioner Luke's motion. DEWOLF: Your motion is subject to the development of those agreements, correct? LUKE: Yes. DEWOLF: So, before we sign anything, we would see those conditions, and if we don't agree with them, we will get back together and discuss them. That is the result of this motion, correct? LUKE: The conditions will be in the written decision. DEWOLF: With that understanding, then we're going to work with each other on this, correct? CRAGHEAD: Correct. VOTE: LUKE: Yes. DALY: Yes. DEWOLF: Chair votes yes. Being no further action taken by the Board, Chair Tom De Wolf adjourned the meeting at 4: 30 p. m. Minutes of Continuation of Public Hearing Page 4 of 5 Pages Mericom, Inc./La Pine Special Sewer District Cellular Tower Wednesday, October 3, 2001 DATED this 3rd Day of October 2001 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. TA DeWp-lf, Ch is R. Luke, Commissioner ATTEST: Mlch el M. Daly, Cmissioner lnuv�— �fzq� '?In Recording Secretary Attachments: Exhibit A - A letter (3 pages) from Ralph and Linda Moskowitz dated October 2, 2001. Exhibit B - A statement (2 pages) read into the record by Commissioner Dennis R. Luke, detailing his reasons for his decision on this issue. Minutes of Continuation of Public Hearing Page 5 of 5 Pages Mericom, Inc./La Pine Special Sewer District Cellular Tower Wednesday, October 3, 2001 R11 FROM: LINDA MOSKOWITZ TO: DAMIAN SYRNYK DATE: 10/2/2001 TIME: 5: 16:26 PM PAGE 2 OF 4 Ralph and Linda Moskowitz 20195 Winston Loop Bend, OR 97701-8990 389-4468 rlmosk(a,aolxom October 2, 2001 Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1130 NW Harriman Bend, OR 97701 RE: Mericom CU -00-129 Dear Commissioners; r—,r% Ir -7, a f 0ca-i 0 3 2001 �4 ct-,-tw D - f __- I'm not sure if I will be able to make the public hearing at 4 PM this Wednesday regarding the Mericom tower in LaPine, so I just wanted to make a couple of comments. Some of the concerns brought up with your oral decision regarding the SBA/Sunriver tower on September 12 may also relate to this application. There seems to be an impression that opponents feel that these towers are ugly and shouldn't be seen at all. Although most opponents, including myself, may feel that these towers are unsightly, we also know it is unrealistic to think that the towers can be sited so as to be invisible. Tower builders, such as Mericom, SBA, American Tower, etc, wish to build the least expensive tower they can and make them as tall as they can in order to lease out the most space on the tower. They seem to be unwilling to work with the community to mitigate the visual impact of these structures because it would not serve their purpose or profit margins. My stand on the issue of visibility has always been that we can welcome this technology into our community, but must at the same time try and limit its impact on our natural landscape as much as possible. In this case, Mericom's own photo simulations show the that least attractive antennas would be used on a 125 -foot monopole that would still be highly visible from various points along Highway 97. Even though the LaPine Sewer District site may be an appropriate place for such a facility, its high visibility should still be taken into consideration. Denying this facility at a height of 125 feet with the proposed antenna design would not deny other facilities from being built in the area that would have less visual impact. My previous testimony in this case and other cases has shown that there are numerous alternatives to tall, unsightly towers. I hope that just because the hearing room isn't filled with citizens opposed to this tower that you don't think that no one cares if this application is approved or denied. You FROM: LINDA MOSKOWITZ TO: DAMIAN SYRNYK DATE: IU/L/LUU1 I IME: M:10:40 YM riu.t .a yr o a usually start hearing complaints from the citizens once something like this gets built and they actually get to see its visual impact. This is why we rely on you to look out for the best interest of our community. I know the County tries its best to notify the public of hearings such as this, but being a part of that public that got involved in this issue, I can tell you most people don't even know about the Public Notice section of the newspaper and what it's for. I never did. Also, the current ordinance doesn't lend itself to notifying very many people that could be affected by this tower. The ordinance only requires people that live within 2000 feet of this site to be notified. That's not many when you consider the location of this site. More people would be affected by the visual impact of this tower than just those within 2000 feet. Mr. Daly is concerned about public safety. I agree with him that cell phones have become invaluable for the public's safety, but Central Oregon isn't without cell phone service now, so we shouldn't be pressured or fooled into thinking we have to allow structures into our community that are unsightly and unnecessarily highly visible in order to provide cell service or PCS service. Nothing is going to stop this technology from coming to Central Oregon and nothing should. Competition between the various providers is picking up steam. Qwest is now entering the picture and wanting sites for its antennas. We need you to tell them that this community wants this technology but also wants to preserve its natural beauty. That's why we live here and why tourists enjoy this area so much. Please uphold the decision of the hearings officer or at least require Mericom to shorten the tower and to use only flush -mounted panel antenna as was used by VoiceStream on Pilot Butte and CellularOne on Laidlaw Butte. Thank you. Sincerely, Linda Moskowitz FROM: LINDA MOSKOWITZ 10: LJAMIAN bYRNYK DATE: I UIZIZUU i I IME: 0: 10:40 f -M rAq.9t i car FACSIMILE COVER PAGE ITO: Damian Syrnyk From : LINDA MOSKOWITZ Seat: 10/2/2001 AT 5:16:22 PM Pages: 3 (INCLUDING COVER) subject: CU -00-129 DAMIAN, I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE 4 PM HEARING ON OCT. 3. COULD YOU PLEASE SEE THAT THE COMMISSIONERS GET A COPY OF MY LETTER. I WILL TRY AND BE THERE, BUT IT DEPENDS ON HOW LONG A 3PM APPOINTMENT LASTS. THANKS. LINDA MOSKOWITZ MERICOM The applicant is not a wireless telecommunications facility (WTF); however, unlike previous applications, the proposed development can become a WTF through the addition of conditions of approval based on the following: 1. The proposal is for a facility on EFU land which has specific statutory criteria: ORS 215.283(d), which requires utility facilities to be uses permitted outright requires an analysis under ORS 215.275. ORS 215.275 requires an alternatives sites analysis which different than what's in the Deschutes County Code for conditional uses. 2. Additionally, although the service provider was not an applicant, the applicant provided substantial scientific and other evidence specific to the service provider, such as specific data was to why the particular search ring was chosen for the particular service provider. 3. Further, there was substantial evidence of a long-term business relationship between the service provider and the tower builder. Thus, the letters of intent from Washington -Oregon Wireless (now Alamosa PCS), a Sprint -PCS affilate, and Verizon was/is evidence of a fairly firm commitment for that particular service provider to locate on this particular tower. S:\Commissioners\Dennis\2001 Documents\Mericom Decision - 10-3-Ol.doc 4. This substantial evidence, coupled with a condition of approval that a lease with Alamosa PCS be in place before any construction of the tower begins, and with the additional conditions proposed by the applicant immediately prior the close of the record, results in the applicant being a wireless telecommunications facility. Thus, as a WTF, it is a utility facility. 5. This application differs significantly from the SBA application which the Board denied earlier, in the amount of scientific and other data submitted by the applicant to the County specifically related to the service provider. That evidence also includes substantially more evidence regarding the use of existing vegetation for screening. Therefore, I would approve this application subject to the conditions as proposed by the applicant. Read by Dennis R. Luke at the Public Hearing of October 3, 2001, regarding the La Pine Special Sewer District telecommunications tower proposed by Mericom, Inc. S:\Commissioners\Dennis\2001 DocumentsWericom Decision - 10-3-01.doc