Radio Towers Gain Approval Commissioners Also Ok Indoor Riding Stable

South Spokane County developers got full sway Tuesday night as county commissioners approved controversial radio towers and an indoor riding stable.

Citadel Broadcasting Co., which owns KGA-AM and KJRB-AM, now has the legal right to move five 400-foot towers from the Moran Prairie to an 80-acre pasture near U.S. Highway 195 and Stutler Road.

Commissioners Steve Hasson and George Marlton rejected neighbors’ concerns that the towers would interfere with wetlands and emit dangerous radio waves.

Board Chairman Phil Harris supported opponents.

“The board cannot disregard the fact that radio frequency interference is almost exclusively a matter of federal regulation,” Hasson said. “Further, it is not demonstrated to a scientific certainty that radio frequencies have a negative effect on human health.”

In other action, developer Thornton Fletcher will be allowed to build a private indoor riding stable at 2205 W. Gibbs Road near U.S. Highway 195.

Commissioners disagreed 3-0 with neighborhood concerns that the stable would adversely impact their quality of life and the environment.

The board also voted to keep the county’s door-to-door pet licensing program, although with some changes.

High school-age youngsters hired as summer canvassers will not be allowed to levy penalties against owners of unlicensed pets or to collect commissions on licenses they sell.

“Over time, we’ve noted that some of our vendors are aggressive, that there’s been confrontation, that it’s akin to search and seizure,” Hasson said.

“Our job is to serve the public, and it’s pretty hard to serve them when we’re in your face.”

Commissioners unanimously approved Hasson’s recommendation.

, DataTimes