Editorial

City needs to stand firm on cell towers

In the battle between cell tower builders and the Sisters community, we worry that the mayor and city planners have taken the wrong side.

There is no easy solution, to be sure. Cell phones are an increasingly important public utility. We will all have to accommodate their impact in our lives. Government has an important role in managing the tradeoffs.

But the City of Sisters has taken a misstep. Their job is not to facilitate the building of towers in a way that maximizes the profits of the large national corporation that will reap the rewards. Their job is not even to provide marginally cheaper cell phone rates for users.

Their job is protecting local values, including the view, that still provide a significant foundation for the Sisters economy. The loss of those values has a real cost. It is not fair for that to be borne primarily by the residents of Sisters, to the primary benefit of those who do not work or live here.

On the other hand, it is perfectly all right for cell phone users to pay a slightly higher rate. They benefit from the service.

The local government should be protecting the local community. It is entitled to do so according to a recent Supreme Court decision that has given cities the right to site and manage cell towers in a way that minimizes their impact. The City needs to switch sides.

ED