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Council Creates a Cell Tower Invasion It’s astounding that residents have to mobilize to protect their homes. Cell towers are the latest monstrosities being foisted on neighborhoods. What’s the purpose of city government if not to protect residents from this type of invasion? I’m thankful the planning commission on May 22 voted down a cell tower, which was evidently unnecessary for reasonable signal coverage. I’m appalled with the amount of money the city is paying a consultant to create a master plan for cell towers. On May 22 the consultant advocated for the cell tower in a small neighborhood park close to homes and adjacent to a school. Isn’t this exactly what the consultant should prevent? The consultant was lobbying for the cell tower against strong opposition from the neighbors. The residents presented a convincing case with credible information, and the consultant and his so-called expert were outmatched. Can anyone believe our city council allocated “up to $200,000” last November for a cell tower master plan? The consultant also gets a huge commission on a go-forward basis for each cell tower he places on city property. Each lease could cost a cell company approximately $2,000 a month. Multiply that times 60 months for the first five years and apply the commission of 30 percent. Then apply 20 percent to the same amount for the second five years. The contractor could get $60,000 per lease if the cell tower is on city property for 10 years. The consultant estimates another 70 cell sites will be needed in Mission Viejo. If half the cell sites are on city property, he would get more than $2 million in commissions on top of $200,000 for creating a cell tower master plan. How did this happen? Mayor Lance MacLean put himself and Councilman Frank Ury on an ad hoc committee. They came up with the contract and pushed it through the city council. Instead of a responsible master plan and a minimum number of cell towers to generate revenue for the city, a consultant has a huge financial incentive to place as many cell towers as possible. Neighborhoods that organize against cell towers might prevail, but those who don’t mobilize will be steamrolled. It cannot get much worse than taxpayers being bilked for bad advice that degrades a neighborhood. Connie Lee |
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