Developer Raises Concern Over Tower Cell-Phone Tower Meets New Rules, Some Still Object

US West Vector is hoping to set up a 150-foot cellular phone tower at 808 West Mullan - the first time one will be constructed under a new city ordinance.

Although the tower complies with the ordinance, business people involved with the nearby Montrose planned community say it shouldn’t be built.

“As planner and developer of the Montrose Community, we have serious concerns for not only the future residents of Montrose, but also the entire regional community of Post Falls,” wrote Jim Frank, president of Greenstone Kootenai, Inc., in a letter read to the commission. The Montrose Community is a planned development of 1,613 homes located at Chase and Pole Line roads.

In the past, residents have balked at cellular phone towers being located in their neighborhoods. When AirTouch Cellular planned to put a 150-foot tower by a city soccer field near Idaho and 21st streets this spring, angry neighbors petitioned to stop it. And a flashing strobe light on a tower near Interstate 90 brought complaints from locals until the company that owned the tower turned the light off.

Before the Nov. 4 City Council meeting, the city had no legislation covering the communication towers. The new ordinance went into effect Thursday. It still requires tower owners to apply for special-use permits unless they locate the tower where another already exists.

The tower proposed by US West Vector complies with the new ordinance, which requires sight-obscuring screens six feet high and the use of colors and materials “harmonious with the character of the surrounding neighborhood and environment.”

The ordinance forbids the use of lights unless required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Although the US West tower complies with the ordinance, vocal opponents still complained about it to the Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday night.

Gary Schneidmiller, who owns the land on which Montrose is planned, objected in a letter to the commissioners about the unattractiveness of the proposed tower.

“The location is clearly in conflict with the spirit of the recently approved Montrose planned community,” he wrote.

Frank, whose company is based in Spokane, urged the commissioners to force cellular companies to locate new towers with existing ones and to ignore the “special interests involved here.”

Around 20 people attended Wednesday’s meeting, but Diane Duncan, chairwoman of the Planning Commission, wondered if more would have complained about the proposed tower if Montrose had been full of homeowners.

But Ron Des Jarlais, owner of Post Falls Muffler, a store located near the proposed tower site, said he had no problem with the location of the tower, especially since the land is zoned for such a use.

Others who addressed the commission included residents and business people who urged the commission to approve the tower because of the need for cellular phones.

Debbi Olson, one of the owners of the property, pointed out that cellular towers have only a minimal impact on the city services - they produce no pollution, generate little traffic and don’t affect the city’s water or sewer systems.

“We feel that as the property owners, the city shouldn’t deny us this tenant. Our property is correctly zoned for this usage,” Olson said.

The Planning Commission tabled the issue until its Dec. 9 meeting.

Meanwhile, it asked US West Vector to provide more technical data, including other areas where the tower could be located.

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