Public hearing on cell tower permitting is Nov. 15

The Camas Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the permitting of wireless telecommunications facilities within city limits.

The hearing will be held Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., at City Hall, 616 N.E. Fourth Ave.

After listening to citizen comments during the Planning Commission hearing, city staff will then create a report and proposed amendments to the city’s current laws, which allow cell phone towers in residential areas within a specific set of criteria.

As the process moves forward, public hearings will be held May 16, 2017, in front of the Planning Commission, and then another in front of the City Council on June 19, 2017.

The work plan was formulated as part of the City Council’s Sept. 6 approval of an emergency moratorium on any new wireless telecommunications towers within city limits. It is scheduled to last until Aug. 7, 2017, giving city staff and council time to conduct a review of the wireless telecommunications ordinance and consider any changes.

The moratorium has no impact on Hearing Examiner Joe Turner’s Aug. 5 approval of a 175-foot cell tower that will be built on Prune Hill. Wireless facilities already approved before the moratorium are vested in the city’s current code.

That ruling is currently being appealed by Glenn Watson and Friends of Prune Hill through the Clark County Superior Court.