Cell tower battle goes to county

The fight over a proposed AT&T cell phone tower went before a Deschutes County Hearings Officer on Tuesday, October 6.

AT&T is proposing an 80-foot tower on Bradley Butte off Highway 126 east of Sisters. Opponents, including neighbors Frank and Kathy Deggendorfer, argue that the tower will degrade scenic views in the area and infringe upon the nature of the historic Wilson Homestead on their property.

AT&T has modified its plans to mitigate neighbors' concerns, dropping the height of the tower from 100 to 80 feet and agreeing to disguise it as a "monopine."

Karen Green noted in opening remarks that county code does not allow her to take scenic values or visual impact into account in her decision. With that off the table, opponents argue that AT&T has not adequately demonstrated that the chosen location, which is on land zoned for exclusive farm use (EFU), is the only viable option available.

On that score, Don Larson of Cascadia PM, the site acquisition company handling this portion of the project for AT&T, opened his testimony with an apology.

He noted in written and oral submissions that a previous statement in their application, "AT&T's investigation of possible site locations within the Wild Horse Ridge subdivision was not successful because there were no Wild Horse Ridge property owners interested in having a wireless facility on their parcel" was "not factually accurate at that time because, except for the president of the Wild Horse Ridge Subdivision Home Owners Association, no property owners had been contacted due to the restrictions in the covenants, codes and restrictions of the subdivision."

Larson said that he had subsequently investigated the possibility of siting on the summit of Wild Horse Ridge and that, in fact, there was no interest.

However, Darryl Zucker, then president of the homeowners association, testified that the board would have considered a change in CC&Rs and that he did not feel that Larson was truly interested in trying to site on Wild Horse Ridge.

"Quite honestly, he was trying to get me to say we didn't want them up there," Zucker said.

Larson said that the company would have chosen Wild Horse Ridge due to its height, had there been a willing property owner.

Larson said the same of Hinkle Butte, testifying that AT&T "terminated negotiations when the property owner presented onerous lease terms, which were way outside the norm, and that were set forth as non-negotiable."

Lease negotiations are considered private and not part of the public record for the hearing, so what those lease terms were was not stated. Kathy Deggendorfer noted that price alone cannot be the determining factor in where a tower is cited.

Larson noted that other locations along Highway 126 were investigated but all were found to be within a landscape management zone and were thus ineligible.

AT&T is seeking to expand its coverage along Highway 126 and areas north of the highway using as few new towers as possible, Larson said.

Jared Black, of Bend, testified in favor of improved communication infrastructure in general, saying that it is necessary in order for many professionals like him to live and work in Central Oregon. Other citizens have told The Nugget that they support construction of the new tower.

Green left the record open for new information and will render a decision at a later date.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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