CELL TOWER SLATED FOR COMMUNITY PARK

― ALAYNA WAGNER ―

Community activists have been working for months to find an acceptable solution for the location of a new AT&T cell phone tower to service Folsom Ranch. The issues involving the tower included blocking views for homeowners who had paid a premium, proximity to homes and schools with health concerns, and the desire to establish a new best practice of “commercial first” for all future cell phone towers within city limits.

The question about relocating the cell phone tower to the future Community Park East was previously rejected by the Parks & Recreation Commission, with staff objecting on the basis of difficulty designing a park around an existing tower. However, the issue returned to the commission in November, with staff reversing their earlier recommendation on the basis that the tower would be temporarily placed in the park, and then relocated when the park is developed at a later date. The relocation plan would be to attach the tower to a sportsfield light, to make it blend in better with the park. Design changes were made to make the tower more attractive, moving away from the faux-tree plan to a water tower facade. The commission voted in favor of this compromise. The approved location is at the northwest corner of the Community Park East parcel.

A temporary cell phone tower can be moved according to negotiable contract terms, but traditionally, if the tower is to be moved within 10 years, the city will pay the relocation costs, which is estimated at up to $250,000. If the relocation occurred after 10 years, AT&T would cover the cost. There was a suggestion from Commissioner Alayna Wagner to renegotiate this typical rule that AT&T would cover the cost of relocation when the park is developed, regardless of whether that occurs earlier than 10 years.

Residents have questioned why the city seems to have a preference for cell phone towers to be placed on city property, and that question has not been formally answered. However, the city has well-known revenue problems facing it and the city council has directed staff not to build new parks if they are not revenue- neutral. This means that the city is unlikely to develop a park unless, like upcoming Benevento Park, it is built with programming and amenities that can cover its maintenance costs, which are approximately $30,000 per year, per park. The revenue from a cell phone tower is right around this same figure, depending on negotiations.