Planning commission moves to soften cell-tower prohibition in town plan

Planner Luke presented the land-use chapter and flagged a policy that discouraged towers on scenic ridge lines; commissioners and residents urged changes to avoid blocking needed communications infrastructure. Luke said, "I was thinking we will just go similar to last time...the goals and policies have been updated," and asked whether the policy limiting towers should be retained. Heather Stewart proposed softening the language: "I would probably take out prohibit and put, something like heavily consider or consider," arguing that the plan should balance preservation with safety and service needs.

Commissioners agreed to remove a categorical prohibition and discussed adding a policy to identify appropriate locations for cell infrastructure that would provide coverage for Bakersfield residents while protecting key scenic viewpoints. The group also suggested adding implementation steps (maps and engineer input) to guide where carriers might place antennas. The planning commission will incorporate revised wording and mapped candidate sites into the next draft of the town plan for further review.