Politics & Government

Save Mt. Diablo Warming up to Company's Request for Long-term Lease on Lime Ridge Cell Towers

Sprint-Nextel modifies its initial proposal as it seeks to extend its lease with the city for land around the peak in Lime Ridge Open Space.

In a letter to the city, Save Mt. Diablo notes improvements in Sprint-Nextel's request to extend its lease of land in Lime Ridge Open Space to operate cell phone towers on the peak. But the environmental  group also believes that "issues remain unaddressed," notably involving the protection of two new plant species that are unique to this one-acre area. 

The City's Park Recreation and Open Space Commission Monday evening will consider Sprint-Nextel's request to establish a long-term license agreement with the city--through 2017. The company is currently on a month-to-month lease.

The city could earn $4,072 per month. The amount for the initial five-year term, $210,561, would be paid in full upon execution of the agreement. 

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Save Mt. Diablo initially opposed Sprint-Nextel's lease extension because the company also wanted to expand communications facilities and add equipment to the site. Several towers now stand there, along with a storage shed, and they are surrounded by a chain link fence. 

The group, the largest environmental group in Contra Costa County, also wanted measures put in place to preserve two new plant species recently discovered on the peak: the Lime Ridge Navarettia and the Lime Ridge Woollystar. "These plants are not known to occur in any other location, making the peak of Lime Ridge incredibly sensitive habitat," says the letter, by Tony Bristol, land conservation associate. A PDF of the letter is attached. 

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Sprint-Nextel has backed off from a plan to add new equipment and enlarge the telecommunications facilities, which Save Mt. Diablo notes is an improvement on the original plan. The group, however, suggests the company move the towers to different locations on the site to minimize the visual and environmental impact and to reduce the size of the area that needs to be fenced in. 

Save Mt. Diablo also suggests certain measures be taken to protect those rare plants, such as the city hiring a botanist to regularly check on the plants and marking the areas where they are growing, so that Sprint-Nextel workers won't inadvertently tromp on them. By taking these measures, the city and company could avoid the necessity of undergoing a study under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 

"Overall, the contract extension for the Sprint-Nextel communication facility ... contains a number of improvements from the previous version of the proposed agreement with the city," the letter says. 

The city and Sprint-Nextel have been trying to work out a lease extension since 2008. Since 2008, the city has been working closely with community stakeholders, including the Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation and Save Mount Diablo to develop terms "that mitigate potential impact on the surrounding open space areas" and protect the "biological sensitivity of the area," according to a staff report.

Staff has asked commissioners to give feedback before preparing a final report to send to the City Council. 


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