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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistorical Records - Miscellaneous (91)N PAGE 11B Hardy Road tower denied Cable TV may be answer for northwest Tucsomans TV viewers in the far northwest portion of Tuc- son will probably have to look to cable TV for im- proved reception if a ruling made yesterday by the County Planning and Zon- ing Commission is accept- ed by the Pima County Supervisors at their July 17 meeting. The commission voted unanimously to deny Chan- nel 4 (representing Chan- nels 9 and 13 also) a zoning Change it had requested that would have permitted the stations to build a 100. foot translator tower (re- transmitting facility) in a residential area at the east end of Hardy Road. Residents of the neigh- borhood bordering the Pusch Ridge National Wil- derness Area argued elo- quently that the proposed facility would be an eye- sore, obstructing the natu- ral views for which they purchased their costly homes in the first'place, Channel 4 maintained that the Hardy Road site was the only one available that would enable the sta- tions to adequately deliver their signals to poor recep- tion areas surrounding the town of Oro Valley. It was testimony by John Teal, president of Tucson FM Engineering Inc., however, that was largely responsible for the com- mission's final decision. Teal offered expert engi- neering studies — refuting those of Channel 4 — show- ing that a site owned by his company in the Tucson Mountains was a viable alternative to the Hardy Road site. Once Teal showed his hand, according to com- t missioner Betty Westmore- land, the commission de- t termined that "Yes, there i is an alternative site to the c Hardy Road site, one that will not discomboobalate a neighborhood." c For their part, the resi- a dents of the neighborhood a involved stood their ground forcefully and with obvious style. Arrayed against e them were some of the biggest guns the three tele- n vision stations could mus- t ter. "We can't afford to keep paytngTawyers," said area resident Jean Pryor. "`The lawyer we contacted rec- ommended that we just come down here and tell the commission in our own words how we feel. We don't have a lot of money." How they felt was ex- pressed by a number of the neighbors, none more ef- fective than Martha Par- ham, an animated young woman who told the com- mission, "The purchase of a home is the biggest in - vestment a human being will make in his li#e. I hope you don't take that lightly, I don't." She added, "I would lose money if I suddenly had to put my house back on the market with that tower next to it." Area residents again may have to come to their own defense when the Board of Supervisors votes ;probably on July 17 — on whether or not to accept the commission's recom- mendation to deny the zon- ing change. Representatives of the TV stations are then ex- pected to make a last-ditch appeal for approval of their requested zoning change. Commissioner Westmore- land pointed out that while the supervisors "usually" accept the commission's recommendation, they don't always. r�� u CHEAP SHOT? — Anoth er 100 -foot tower back it the news is the one whict the City Board of Adjust• ment, on May 24, granted radio station KRQ permis- sion to build on top of the 22 -story Arizona Bank Building Plaza downtown. The owner of radio sta- tions KWFM and KEVT, Alvin Korngold, filed suit in Superior Court Monday to block construction of the tower charging that its signals would interfere with Korngold's operations and that the tower would pose a hazard to occupants of the building and to pass- ers-by if it fell down. Bill Phalen, owner of radio station KRQ, says hat the solid steel tower — Mich will be anchored to he beams of the building tself — "has as much hance of falling as the top floor of the building." Phalen called the suit "a heap shot," adding, "He's fraid of the competitive dvantage I'll have when the tower is completed." Leon Dombrowski, gen- ral manager of KWFM, said, "Our consulting engi- eers reported to Alvin hat the location of the tower would create a lot of interference due to the proximity of our studios and shut us down." Dombrowski said he didn't know anything about the unsafe construction of the tower as claimed in the suit. Korngold himself lives in Las Vegas where he owns radio station KLAV, also in competition with Phalen stations there managed by Bill Phalen's brother Rick. Reached yesterday, ; Korngold declined to dis- cuss the suit, instead refer ring all questions to his lawyer. Korngold is a former Tucson resident and unsuc- cessful 1987 Republican candidate for Pima County attorney.