County Officials Approve Cell Tower in Loma Alta Drive Wash

County officials approved a proposed 100-foot AT & T cell phone tower for a Loma Alta Drive wash area on Wednesday.

The project was considered by the county's Regional Planning Commission, and several members of the Altadena Town Council showed up to voice their approval of the project, along with one resident who said she supports it.  Several residents also showed up to express opposition to the project.

The proposed tower would be located in a flood control area adjacent to the Loma Alta neighborhood and would be designed to look like a pine tree (the picture at right depicts what it will look like when it is built).

Opponents expressed concerns about its proximity to their homes, citing concerns over the health risks over transmissions coming from the towers, potential fire hazards and the effects of the tower on property values.

The project received a full commission hearing after a permit officer recommended it rather than simply giving it his approval at a hearing last month.  He attributed the decision to concerns that AT & T had not done sufficient community outreach.

One of the opponents, Rose Malmberg, said at Wednesday's hearing many people still don't know about it.

"We went door to door Monday to tell our neighbors about this hearing, and people didn't even know it was being proposed," Malmberg said.

Gino Sund of the Altadena Town Council noted that the original proposal for the project was at a road intersection, and that moving it away from people's homes and into the wash had been done at the request of people opposing the original proposal.

He said the relocation of the proposed tower had resulted in feedback that was "overwhelmingly positive."

Okorie Ezieme, one of two Town Council representatives for the area where the project is to go, said he had polled residents on a local website and had received about 70 percent approval for the project.

He noted that AT & T cell phone reception in the area is poor, and the tower could help improve that.

Greg Middleton, the other area representative (and an Altadena Patch columnist) also spoke in favor of the project.

The decision could still be appealed, according to county officials.  An appeal would have to be filed by February 23.