Tower site hits roadblock in California county

Controversy is brewing over a wireless tower site in Sonoma County, Calif., that allegedly has operated without a valid zoning permit since 1999.

At issue is whether the site skirts local zoning laws. The 140-foot tower is located on English Hill in Sebastopol, Calif., on land owned and occupied by amateur-radio enthusiast Bruce Donecker. Donecker is a retired electrical engineer who has lived on the land since 1973. The tower was constructed for amateur use under a county building permit filed in March 1974.

In August 1994, the Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA) denied a five-year use permit application to convert one of three amateur towers on the site to a freestanding commercial facility.

In November 1994, after an appeal, Donecker said he received a five-year conditional-use permit to convert the tower from an amateur- to a commercial-operated facility, while still supporting public-safety communications for the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Transportation and ambulance services in south and northwest Sonoma County.

The permit was subject to restrictions on the number of antennae, panels and microwave dishes that could be placed on the tower and subject to further review in 1999 when a countywide telecom ordinance was expected to be finalized, according to BZA records.

The land currently is zoned for agricultural and residential use only, said Dave Hardy, a supervising planner at the Sonoma County Permit Resource Department. He said Sonoma County zoning regulations define minimum criteria applicable to telecom facilities.

“Big, tall towers in this district aren’t allowed unless you can’t go anywhere else,” Hardy said. “They haven’t made that showing.”

CalSites — a two-person shop in Santa Rosa — manages the site. Owner and amateur-radio operator Allen Ferrera holds the master lease for the towers and sublets to tenants. Ferrera said he is serving amateur, public-safety and commercial operations while awaiting permit approval, but insisted he and Donecker have followed permit-application procedures for renewal, paid appropriate fees and waited more than seven years for a response from the Sonoma County BZA.

Sonoma County officials have let Donecker and CalSites operate without incident until recently, when the two asked the zoning board to change the pending permit application to include commercial antennas in order to support Verizon Wireless services, Ferrera said. Instead, in their latest ruling, county zoning commissioners unanimously rejected his request for a conditional, commercial permit extension.

Ferrera added he is confused by the controversy because there has been no official notice that the tower runs afoul of local zoning laws nor have they received a notice of violation. In addition, the BZA declared that the addition of commercial antennas would not have an effect on the environment and scenic views, he said.

Government bureaucracy and incompetence led to the current situation, Ferrera said. In addition, neighbors moving into the area — buying houses averaging $800,000 — have complained the tower is unsightly and an eyesore against the rural northern California landscape of 85-foot Cypress trees. Depending on the board’s ruling, these commercial services will not be allowed to operate from the English Hill tower, and public-safety agencies may be forced to find another telecom site to support first responder communications.

Moreover, if CalSites loses its appeal, the tower will remain and revert back to the amateur permit, Ferrera said.

“The tower’s not going anywhere,” Donecker said. “That’s what makes this whole situation idiotic.”

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is reviewing an appeal from CalSite, which has requested a permit to continue operating amateur, public-safety and commercial services in its current location. A ruling is expected in January 2007.