LIHU‘E — A month after denying a cell phone carrier a permit to install a 150-foot pole by Halfway Bridge on Kaumuali‘i Highway, the county Planning Commission on Wednesday granted Sprint/Nextel a request for reconsideration. “Sprint is proposing to reduce
LIHU‘E — A month after denying a cell phone carrier a permit to install a 150-foot pole by Halfway Bridge on Kaumuali‘i Highway, the county Planning Commission on Wednesday granted Sprint/Nextel a request for reconsideration.
“Sprint is proposing to reduce the height, again,” consultant Carl Young said. “It’s been dropped down to 145 feet.”
The commission on Feb. 22, following a recommendation from the Planning Department, denied Sprint/Nextel the necessary permits to install a 150-foot pole resembling an artificial pine tree on the proposed location.
“It was just too massive,” Planning Director Michael Dahilig said at the time. “We think there’s another way.”
Young, representing the cell phone carrier, on Jan. 11 had asked for a 165-foot monopine, but came back on February with the 150-foot monopine proposal, after being told by commissioners to modify the proposal.
The 15-foot reduction wasn’t enough to convince the department or commissioners, and the request was denied. On Wednesday Young proposed the extra five-foot reduction, using that as the reason for the request for reconsideration.
“We did want to come forward and try to request this pole one last time,” Young told commissioners on Wednesday.
‘Very critical’
3-mile stretch
The proposed site for the 145-foot pole is a three-mile stretch of the highway, which Young said “may become very critical, as the recent events of the tsunami have brought to light.”
He said the March 11 tsunami warning — prompted after a major earthquake-generated tsunami swept over Japan’s northeast coast — caused over-reaction and panic on O‘ahu and California, plus traffic gridlock on the Big Island.
Young said it’s only a matter of time that the Islands are hit with a natural disaster, especially with the global phenomenon El Nino being projected for 2013 through 2015.
“They’re projecting large waves and potential hurricane winds,” he said.
In case of a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Iniki in 1992, that three-mile stretch of the highway would have no coverage, according to Young.
“Currently, AT&T (cell phone carrier) does have coverage. However, during this recent incident, there was no coverage because their system is not able to handle,” Young said. “The introduction of the iPhone has caused their system to lock.”
Many AT&T customers on Kaua‘i have said their cell phones were inoperable in the hours preceding the estimated arrival of the tsunami in Hawai‘i. Some said their AT&T cell phones only worked again several hours after the tsunami hit Hawai‘i.
“In the event of an emergency, this three-mile stretch that takes five minutes to travel, will not take five minutes. It’ll take an hour,” he said. “If something happens there will be problems.”
The area has a fixed emergency phone. “Other than that it will be cell phone coverage,” Young said.
The commission on a 4-2 vote approved the request for consideration, but deferred its decision because now there is a need for a Planning Director’s report. The issue will likely be on the commission’s agenda on April 6.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@kauaipubco.com.
