Afton stealth tower passes final review

• Afton's mono-pine

The Afton stealth tower has received countless criticism from the neighbors on Afton Hills.

Talk about it

The controversy surrounding the infamous stealth tower in Afton could finally be put to sleep now that the tower as been certified to meet all of the conditions of its conditional use permit.

The mono-pine was approved in May of 2008 and was erected last winter in the Afton Hills neighborhood.

During the Oct. 20 Afton City Council meeting, council members received a presentation from staff, and the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, that the public safety radio communications tower has passed final review by staff and the city’s building inspector.

CUP conditions

Several of the conditions attached to the tower’s CUP were: the tower shall blend in with the surrounding areas, no lights or other illuminating objects will be attached to the tower, the tower will not produce excessive noise, additional screening will be provided to supplement and augment the existing vegetation, there will be no co-located antennas and the tower should not be more than 15 feet taller than a tree within 24 feet.

Since the tower’s approval last year, there has been a lot of frustration from the neighboring properties regarding the tower. Several neighbors frequently attend the city council meetings to express their displeasure.

During the Oct. 20 meeting one of the neighbors, Susan Sando, spoke to the council about the tower relating to two specific areas — the tower height and the lack of screening around the base of the tower.

Currently the tower has some small bushes planted around the base.

Captain Steve Pott from the Washington County Sheriff’s Department attended the meeting and spoke to Sando’s frustrations.

Pott said the tower was measured, but not by an independent party, and the screening on the base was not a requirement of the CUP, but the bushes that are there should grow in size.

Council member Bill Palmquist also expressed some disappointment with the screening around the base since he felt the bushes were too small.

“They aren’t hardly doing anything,” Palmquist said. “But as long as they are going to grow.”

Kispert can be reached at akispert@woodburybulletin.com

Tags: local government, stealth tower, washington county, public safety, city council, news, afton