THOUSAND OAKS : Decision Delayed on Radio Tower

The Thousand Oaks Planning Commission has delayed a decision about a 150-foot-high radio tower that would be built by Cal Lutheran University because the university failed to notify all residents who live near the tower site.

About 30 neighbors of the proposed hillside tower, many carrying flyers opposing it, attended the commission’s Monday meeting.

The commission delayed action on a permit because at least three Santa Rosa Valley residents did not receive notice of Monday’s hearing. But commissioners did hear public testimony about the adequacy of an environmental report on the tower, which Cal Lutheran wants to use for a campus-based FM radio station.

Several residents told the commission that the report did not adequately address concerns about the visual impact of the tower or the possibility that it may interfere with radio and cable TV reception.

Neighbors of the site contended that the antenna would ruin the view of the undeveloped hillsides for area residents, drivers along Olsen Road and hikers in adjacent Wildwood Regional Park.

The university has proposed to build the tower on Montclef Ridge overlooking the Santa Rosa Valley. According to the environmental report, the ridge is about 740 feet above Olsen Road and about 365 feet above Santa Rosa Road.

Montclef Ridge is included in the city’s Scenic Highways Element, which aims to protect ridgeline views from development. But antennas are exempt from this restriction.

The commission asked its staff to amend the environmental report to reflect the residents’ concerns. The public hearing on the report was continued to Nov. 18, the same date the commission will consider a permit for the antenna.