Company Proposes Smaller Phone Tower

A cellular-telephone company has shrunk a proposed 75-foot-high antenna atop Black Mountain to 17 feet tall in an effort to win regulatory approval today from Ventura County officials.

Environmentalists, as well as officials with the county and the city of Ojai, had opposed the original Nextel Communications cell tower because it soared high above the ridgeline. However, officials said the latest version--redesigned with opponents’ input--has allayed any aesthetic concerns.

The county Board of Supervisors is scheduled to decide today whether to approve the revised plan.

A mock-up of the smaller tower has sat on Black Mountain for the last two months and is not visible to the naked eye, officials said.

County officials last year denied the company the permit to build the tower, prompting Nextel to file a lawsuit against the county. However, the compromise plan was reached during negotiations over the litigation.

Earlier this month, Ojai officials unanimously agreed to support the design of the smaller tower.