The Oconee County Planning Commission voted 6-4 on Monday night to recommend to the Board of Commissioners that it deny Robert W. Strickland a permit to construct a communication tower on his property just outside the Eastville community in the northwestern part of the county.
About 15 people turned out to oppose the tower, saying it would adversely affect the value of their properties. They asked that the tower be built on commercial property rather than on the Strickland property, which is zoned for agriculture.
Jennifer Blackburn, representing Verizon Wireless, which wants to lease 14,400 square feet of the 25-acre Strickland property to construct a 190-foot cell tower, told the opponents there was no commercial space available in the area where the tower is needed.
Planning Commission members questioned Blackburn on the company’s decision to seek permission to build a new tower rather than put its equipment on an existing tower and on the decision to serve the area of the county selected rather than others in the county also with weak cellular signals.
The issue now goes to the Board of Commissioners, which is scheduled to take up the matter at its meeting on Oct. 8.
For more on this story, go to Oconee County Observations.