Marysville looks to keep cell towers in line

Published 11:00 pm Thursday, November 13, 2008

MARYSVILLE — The city is taking steps to make sure some cell towers aren’t any uglier than they have to be.

City officials are considering several new rules. One would require that any replacement or extension of a utility pole on public right-of-way for wireless communication purposes be no more than 20 feet taller than the old pole.

Some of the newer poles bearing wireless communication equipment have caused complaints in other communities for their overbearing appearance. Either they’re considered too big and tall for the surrounding neighborhood, or they contain several small dishes and protruding apparatus.

The new rules are a response to an increase in applications from wireless communication service providers for such poles, planning director Gloria Hirashima said.

In September an uproar erupted in Edmonds over a tower that was much larger than the conventional utility pole it displaced. The new nine-story-tall metal pole for T-Mobile is located on a residential street in the Seaview neighborhood.

“This is exactly the kind of thing we don’t want to have happen,” Hirashima said.

At the time, Edmonds’ code did not prohibit such poles.

Afterward, city officials began discussing new regulations.

The Edmonds pole is only 17 feet higher than the one it replaced, but is much larger at the base and made of gray painted steel, as opposed to wood.

In Marysville, another rule being considered would require that if utility poles are replaced, the new ones must be similar in appearance and materials to adjacent poles. And electronic apparatus must be flush with the surface.

Regulations for new poles on private property would stay the same, with structures up to 80 feet tall allowed in residential zones and 140 feet tall in other zones.

Planners have met with service providers to let them know the city is considering the new rules, Hirashima said.

The rules are expected to go the city’s planning commission early next year, and then to the City Council.

“You want to make provisions for (wireless communications) so we can all use the service,” Hirashima said. “It’s how do it so it best blends with the surrounding environment and community.”

Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.