Linn County sends proposed cell‑tower zoning amendment back to planning and zoning; allows People’s Telecommunications to pursue conditional use permit

Linn County commissioners on Aug. 4 agreed to send a proposed amendment to county zoning code section 16.4.11 back to the planning and zoning board for rewording and asked that People’s Telecommunications be allowed to proceed with a conditional use permit application for an 80‑foot telecommunications tower in the Tanglewood area.

The amendment under discussion would clarify how the county regulates radio, cellular and broadcast towers, including a 110 percent setback rule measured from property lines. Planning and zoning staff said the draft language currently identifies a 100‑foot threshold; residents and at least one commissioner said the wording is confusing and raised concerns that towers shorter than 100 feet could be installed without the public review that a conditional use permit (CUP) provides.

Planning and zoning director Ben (first name given in the record) told commissioners the proposed text was written to match existing code verbiage and…