BOC says ‘no’ to cell phone tower

County commissioners voted 4-1 Monday to deny a request by Maralee Dickson for a conditional use permit for a cell phone tower. Wesley Jordan provided the lone vote for the tower.

Dickson said the tower would be placed in a Christmas tree field as far away from other houses as possible. She said appraisers told her that the tower would not harm surrounding property values. And a cell tower representative likened the potential radiation from the structure to a baby monitor in the room.

But opponents of the tower said that there is plenty of information on the web disputing the safety of the towers. They said the tower harm’s the rural character of the area and that it will prove an eyesore to surrounding residents.

“A 250 foot tower is not why we moved here,” said Bob Adamson, noting that the tower is the equivalent of a 25-story building.

One opponent noted that she was approached by the cell phone company about locating the tower on her property but turned them down, knowing that her neighbors would not approve of the plan.

In other matters Monday, the board approved four routine zoning requests, such as a request to opening the door for a man to allow his son to build a home on his property. The board named Karen Harrison to the library board of trustees. They also agreed to allow county employees to use a personal leave day or take time off without pay on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.