Mendocino, CA cell-phone antennas rejected

[ILUVSOCAL]

Well, at least Edge is going to be allowed to get their sites up in Mendocino, but this is certainly not good news!


"Mendocino cell-phone antennas rejected

Supervisors deny proposal after public outcry to keep coastal hamlet 'peaceful'
May 26, 2004


By MIKE GENIELLA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT






Mendocino County supervisors voted Tuesday to keep the isolated coastal village of Mendocino free of cell phones.


On a 3-2 vote, the board rejected a proposal by U.S. Cellular that the company hoped would overcome local objections to the construction of the first cell phone antennas to serve the tiny tourist hamlet. The antennas would have been hidden in the decorative exterior of two 35-foot-high fireplace chimneys at the upscale Stanford House Inn, located along the Big River southeast of town.


Company representatives argued Tuesday that the high-tech "stealth design" would have camouflaged cellular and global positioning antennas, and associated electronic equipment.


The board vote after nearly two hours of debate cheered members of a group calling itself "Wireless Free Mendocino." The organization has launched a series of appeals of government decisions to allow cellular telecommunication facilities along the Mendocino coast.


On Tuesday, several Wireless Free representatives told supervisors that their opposition to the Stanford Inn project was largely because of its location in a residential area, and the proliferation of cellular communications facilities throughout the region.


But in final comments to the board, group spokesman Daney Dawson, a 30-year-resident of the coast, expressed sentiments that have sharply divided locals.


Dawson said many newcomers who have fled urban areas to live along the Mendocino coast want to be free of cell phones and other urban conveniences. Dawson said a growing number of tourists want the same "peaceful environment."


Besides its challenge to the Stanford Inn project, the anti-cell phone group has appealed a Fort Bragg Planning Commission decision that would allow replacement of an existing 63-foot-tall cellular antenna pole with an 85-foot-high tower in a PG&E storage yard on Walnut Street.


The California Coastal Commission in late March denied the group's appeal of a 2003 decision by county supervisors to allow Edge Wireless to install hidden cellular antennas below the deck of a residence on Brewery Gulch Road, located across the bay from Mendocino. Those antennas have not yet been installed.


On Tuesday, a board majority wanted to know why U.S. Cellular couldn't "co-locate" its devices at the Brewery Gulch Road site, a policy encouraged under current county guidelines.


U.S. Cellular representative Heinz Lumpp said his firm decided on the Stanford Inn location because there is inadequate space available for two hidden cellular communication devices at the Brewery Gulch residence.


But board chairman Hal Wagenet accused the competing telecommunication firms of "playing games," and not really wanting to share space to ease local concerns about the proliferation of telecommunication facilities.


Supervisor David Colfax, who represents the Mendocino area on the board, said he objected to the fact that the Stanford Inn site is located in a residential area, the least preferred under county guidelines. Despite the property being zoned for visitor accommodations, Colfax said, "At any given time, there are 80-100 people either occupying or working in that environment. If that isn't residential, I don't what is."


Supervisor Richard Shoemaker echoed the sentiment, and joined Colfax and Wagenet in voting to overturn the Planning Commission approval of the project.


Supervisors Mike Delbar and Patty Campbell voted to support the cell phone permit.


Referring to the proposed hidden cellular facility, Delbar said, "The company has done what we asked them to do. What more do we want?"


You can reach Staff Writer Mike Geniella at 462-6470 or mgeniella@pressdemocrat.com."

[Gamer03]

That isn't good news, especially if a cell phone is your only means of communication while traveling and you don't have a landline at your house.

[larry]

Who freakin cares if it's in a residential area??? I'm tired of repeatedly hearing that old argument from NIMBY's.

[dglively]

.... Yes, that's exactly what I said when I read the story this morning in the PD!

This is a fine example of public officials pandering to the vocal minority and their emotion base arguments. The sum of their decision is based on nothing more.

Referring to the proposed hidden cellular facility, Delbar said, "The company has done what we asked them to do. What more do we want?"

Apparently those council members voting against the site want another term in a cushy job.

[KevinJames]

I have visited that town within the last 8 months. It is true that there is no reception but it also true that the town is so insignificantly small, that it really doesn't matter. I mean, you could WALK the whole circumference of the town in less than an hour.) There are phones all over the place and once you are back on the main highway, there is service.

While I personally don't agree with the NIMBY attitude that Mendocino is taking, it really is not a big life-threatening inconvenience.

I have to stop and reflect on the the decades and generations of people that came before. Then, I remember one trip I took as a teenager with friend. We were both living in SoCal at the time. This was in December. Our first stop was Death Valley. Then we headed north following the backroads up the Calif/Nevada boarder and ended up in Weed, CA. Then we came back down the coast. I survived in spite of 1) nearly losing control of the car while down-shifting on a snowy road (I had no prior experience driving in snow), 2) getting the car stuck down a dirt road I should have never gone down (So what if the sign said: "Unsafe." I was a teen and invincible); 3) having to walk 5 miles north on hwy 1 to find the nearest tow-truck to get my aforementioned stuck car.

Cell phones were unheard of back then (for the general population) and everyone still lived enough to spawn a whole generation of cell-phone-carrying yuppies. Now-a-days, I don't even leave the house to travel less than 1.5 miles to the local grocery store without taking my cell phone and I have to ask myself "WHY!"

[AnthroMatt]

Colfax said, "At any given time, there are 80-100 people either occupying or working in that environment. If that isn't residential, I don't what is."

So they are either occupying or working? That actually doesn't sound very residential to me if the number of people is less than 100 (and I am sure that's a generous estimate) AND people are working there. Unless they are working from inside their homes, has the definittion of residential changed to mean "wherever there are people"?

[larry]

I think there are just a bunch of nut cases there kinda like how it is in some parts of San Diego County.

[chefofthefuture]

Originally Posted by KevinJames Now-a-days, I don't even leave the house to travel less than 1.5 miles to the local grocery store without taking my cell phone and I have to ask myself "WHY!"

Yup, it's true. It's weird how I have similar feelings about accidentally leaving my cell phone at home and forgetting my keys or wallet.

Anyway, back to the mendocino thing... that town is just going to be NIMBY, so let them. I don't live there, so I can't really complain about it. It is somewhat annoying when I vacation there, but they know it's not going to stop people like me from spending boatloads of money in their town. I think if there was any actual threat to it affecting tourism, they'd put up cell towers in a heartbeat.

[ILUVSOCAL]

It doesn't surprise me, Mendocino has turned into another Aspen or Jackson, full of NIMBY's, yuppies and richies, overpriced for the average folk, Mendocino belongs in San Mateo County, not in Mendocino County lol. We RARELY go there (Redwood Valley is inland, about half way between Willits and Ukiah), and then it's only for a case my dad is working on or driving through, I'd much rather take the Skunk over to Fort Bragg, or drive over to Westport or Point Arena, much less snobbiness Mendocino is such a beautiful and historic town (along with famous on TV, as Cabbot Cove, Maine on "Murder She Wrote"),it's a shame that there is this dark side lurking. Instead of fighting towers, they should spend their money getting jobs to that town and making housing affordable! Mendocino, full of Yuppies, and Beemers and Volvo's oh my Bay Areaitis is spreading, we need a cure! Reminds me of Half Moon Bay, I remember when I was a little kid and we lived in San Bruno back in the 70's we used to drive over there on the weekends, now you would hardly recognize it, the character it had has been invaded by million dollar homes and country club attitudes. Back to Mendocino County, it also makes me very mad that our glorious county leaders give in to any group with a song and a dance, okay, my rambler has come to a stop, for now

[dglively]

Originally Posted by ILUVSOCAL ...my rambler has come to a stop, for now

... Although, I must agree with you. I grew up in Healdsburg, it now aspires to be another Mendocino.

[ILUVSOCAL]

Many places in Mendocino County or Lake County aren't as hostile to antennas as Mendocino (with the exception of a few homes on Spanish Mountain overlooking Ukiah, or in the Hopland area), at least not lately, they often put them up with very little attempt to hide them, at most putting them in a stand of trees (and we have TONS, Redwoods, Pine, Fir, Oak, Madrone, Manzenita, on and on) or colocating on someone else's tower. I'm over in Redding right now working a case with my dad, there are huge towers all over the place, and right out in plain site!! In fact, most of the valley, whether in Redding, Chico, or elsewhere on I-5, or highways 70 and 99 huge towers stand right out, no missing them, often with 2 or more in the same place. Many have several providers on each one, man, I wish they could do that in places like Mendocino or the NIMBY's areas like Santa Cruz or So Cal.

[Rasputin]

I had to deal with one of those groups when I was working with a company who wanted to build a Wireless broadband network on 802.11b in and around Mendocino County. The NIMBY group got the project rejected for putting up the access points. I also remember they had another project I worked on running wireless cable shot down in sonoma county. This was all years ago it was a pain.