New cell phone tower to be built on Fox Island

Project means added coverage for area’s residents

Paige Richmond

of the Gateway

The Pierce County Hearing Examiner has approved a plan for a cell phone tower nearly 150 feet tall to be constructed on Fox Island.

The approval for the T-Mobile tower came last week after it was proposed earlier this year.

The project will provide extended cell phone service to Fox Island residents — which is part of the reason why almost no one has opposed it so far.

Natalie Kamieniecki, an assistant planner at the Hearing Examiner’s office, said there was no public comment at the meeting of the Peninsula Advisory Committee — a citizen group that makes recommendations on land use — and the Hearing Examiner meeting last week.

There has been no opposition from the Fox Island Community Recreation Association (FICRA), the unofficial governing body on the island. FICRA president John Ohlsen said his organization wasn’t directly notified of the proposed project. They instead found out secondhand from the Fox Island Historical Society.

The Hearing Examiner had contacted the historical society to confirm that the 25-foot by 45-foot proposed site — located past Kamus Drive near the Carr Inlet — was not historically protected.

For the most part, Ohlsen thinks the tower will be a much-needed addition to the community.

“Cell phone reception is kind of sketchy out there on the island, in that neighborhood,” said Ohlsen, who added that some residents have been known to drive to the fire station at the corner of 9th Avenue and Kamas Drive to make calls.

Plus, the proposed tower would be located in a wooded area, covered by trees between 110 and 150 feet tall, so no residents’ views would be affected.

The downside, however, is that the tower likely won’t be built for another two years, since final development plans still need to be submitted to the Planning and Land Services Department for review and approval.

The application, Kamieniecki said, “is now in the hands of the property owner and applicant to coordinate how they will move forward with the project and finalize agreements in accordance with the decision.”

County Hearing Examiner

Cell phone towers aren’t the only sort of projects approved by the county’s Hearing Examiner.

The examiner holds public hearings — that is, meetings where members of the public can offer input — for decisions on how private and public land is going to be used. Things like system variances, conditional use permits, shoreline permits and applications to subdivide land are all controlled by the Hearing Examiner.

For more information on upcoming hearings, visit www.co.pierce.wa.us/PC and select “Planning & Land Services” from the drop-down menu.

Reach Reporter and Columnist Paige Richmond at 253-853-9243 or by e-mail at paige.richmond@gateline.com.