Install a cell tower on Sakai parkland | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Published 9:46 am Wednesday, August 31, 2016

To the editor:

I was struck by the rendition of the top of the “SeeStack” tower appearing on the front page of the Aug. 29 issue of the Bainbridge Review.

While some thought may have gone into the basic design of the tower it seems to lack several fundamental requirements as a candidate for development. First of all, it is completely out of place as an overtly large object that has no relation to the forested area from which it springs. Secondly, if the only point is for a visitor to enjoy a view from the highest point on the island, it doesn’t achieve that since just a few miles north on Madison Avenue the top of the tower would be lower than the natural landscape by at least 50 feet.

The tower reminds one of an obtrusive cell tower; the unsightly structures that are universally shunned by local neighborhoods. There is little need for any such structure in a park that locals and wildlife can enjoy.

On the other hand, it is possible to build a cell phone tower camouflaged as a tree that has none of the objections of an ordinary tower. It could be a valuable addition to Bainbridge Island done in a way that is minimally invasive both to the public and local wildlife.

There are cell towers made to look like trees of all shapes and sizes. I have lived in a forested neighborhood with a very large “ponderosa pine” that seemed to fit very well with the surrounding trees and bothered no one.

Cell tower “trees” can be considerably taller than surrounding trees and not appear out of place as long as they mimic a local species. The antennae themselves can be made of material that are nearly invisible and yet are essentially loss-less to the cellular signal. A “cellular tree” has a relatively small foot print and would leave room for almost any other proposed development in Sakai.

In any case, I trust the Sakai park evaluation committee will carefully evaluate the design of the property with the environmental nature of the park in mind for all to enjoy.

RICK HOLBEN

Bainbridge Island