(MT) – AT&T’s attempt to erect a 150-foot cell phone tower in Rhododendron
hit a snag.

At a public land-use hearing, Feb. 18, in Oregon City, AT&T withdrew its
application following a well-organized line of resistance formed by Mountain
residents.

But the communications giant is not yet on life support. It has an opportunity
to submit additional documentation March 11, but would still need to
withstand an opposition response that would come two weeks later.

The tower’s proposed site is on Benchwood Lane, up Lolo Pass, and is on the
property of Scott Michaels and Leticia Grau.

Mike Gudge, of Rhododendron, and a member of the opposition group “Don’t
Cell Us Out” was explicit regarding his feelings about the cell tower.

“The tower is a visual nightmare and I hope will never happen to our historic
Barlow Trail area,” he said.

Noah Grodzin, of Cascadia PM, representing AT&T, submitted written
testimony at the hearing citing the need for coverage along Hwy. 26 in the
Welches-Rhododendron area. Grodzin verbally agreed to limit the tower to
100 feet and camouflage it as a Douglas fir.

The list of individuals and organizations opposing the tower were voluminous,
and include: Gudge, Dan Padberg, Dave Monette, Don Mench, Terry Leggett,
Paul Keller and Dave Fulton; as well as the Mt. Hood Corridor CPO, the City of
Sandy’s Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of Clackamas County CPO
groups.

Mench, CPO president and chair of its land use committee, made a point by
point objection to the tower, citing county planning and zoning codes.

Hoodland Fire District Chief Mic Eby attended the hearing and took a step
back from his original position he had taken at a recent CPO meeting.

“I went along with the application because we want any location that
improves coverage, even a little bit,” Eby said. “But we would rather the
antennae was at the fire station or somewhere that provided more extensive
coverage to much more of our area that receives no cell coverage.”

Eby emphasized the need for cell phone coverage to facilitate the
department’s emergency response capabilities.

The applicants concession to drop the height of the tower from 150 feet to
100 feet was prompted by Monette’s obtaining photographs from a balloon
test conducted 50 feet from the potential cell tower location.

Volunteers held an orange weather balloon at two heights (150 feet, and 100
feet), the latter being the zoning limit for the property on Benchwood Lane.

“Don’t Cell Us Out” members took photos from nearby residences – from
Barlow Trail Road, the Zigzag bridge, and on the south side of the Sandy River
off Fahie Road and McKenzie Ridge. Lisa Galbraith also took photos showing
the balloon was visible from Hwy. 26 which has scenic highway designation.

The pictures worked.

Michaels, the property owner of the proposed site, wrote in an op-ed
commentary in The Mountain Times that he thought the tower would provide
the best coverage up Lolo Pass, into the Salmon River watershed, to the
Resort at the Mountain, and along Hwy. 26 from Wildwood Park to
Rhododendron.

“Brief study of a good topo map clearly demonstrates this to be a very good
site,” he wrote.

Fulton, treasurer of Mt. Hood Corridor CPO, and Pat Sharp, vice-president of
Villages at Mt. Hood, both contended the county should do more to support a
community-wide solution to cell phone coverage and other communication
needs of all the stakeholders.