The tree of persistence

LIHU‘E — An old Japanese proverb says that “money grows on the tree of persistence.”

After several attempts ending in denials, Sprint/Nextel is close to receiving permits for a cell phone antenna on top of a tall monopole designed to look like a pine tree.

The county Planning Commission on Feb. 22 denied Sprint/Nextel a permit, but a month later reconsidered the decision. On Tuesday, a motion to again deny the permit failed on a 2-4 vote.

The commission deferred further action to May 10, when representative Carl Young will come from O‘ahu for the seventh time to try to convince commissioners to grant Sprint/Nextel the necessary permits.

However, while the cell phone carrier’s giant monopine could certainly be dubbed the tree of persistence, it is arguably not a money maker.

“The reason we are choosing this location, this is basically the only place it works,” Young said.

Young is proposing to site the 145-foot artificial pine tree by Halfway Bridge, where a three-mile stretch of the highway represents a challenge because of the topography and other issues. He said there are no financial benefits to build the pole there, but cell phone carriers are mandated by federal law to provide coverage to the entire highway.

“Every cell phone company is required to build their own tower,” he said.

A federal grant designated to help rural communities to get coverage would help Sprint/Nextel to cover costs, said Young, adding that if the money is not used it may not be available again because of potential cuts in federal funding due to the current financial crisis.

Additionally, he said, there are many natural trees in the area measuring 110 to 150 feet.

Only AT&T has coverage in that area, according to Young.

During the tsunami warning on March 11, many AT&T customers experienced system failure and were unable to use cell phones. Young said the AT&T system is overloaded. To make matters worse, AT&T is in the process of acquiring the T-Mobile cell phone carrier, which Young said would stop AT&T’s progress for a long period.

If there’s a natural disaster, the area near Halfway Bridge will have no coverage, he said.

Meanwhile, Verizon has secured permits for a 150-foot monopine in a spot south of that area, near the Tree Tunnel, and has an agreement with landowner Grove Farm to place another monopine by Kaua‘i Humane Society in Puhi.

Young said co-locating Sprint/Nextel and Verizon antennas on the same monopine is not an option for Verizon, and Grove Farm is not willing to discuss a second monopine at the humane society because of its agreement with Verizon.

Placing the monopine in any other spot would represent more costs because of lack of access to materials and utilities necessary to build and maintain the monopine.

County planner Ka‘aina Hull said he has received communication from Verizon that they haven’t built the antenna in the approved area because they have been working in conjunction with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to address their concerns.

“Whatever the reason is, it hasn’t happened,” Commissioner Hartwell Blake said. “It’s eminent.”

Persistence

Young appeared for the first time before the commission on Jan. 11. But the tower’s height — 165 feet — was too much to win the commissioners’ approval.

Two weeks later Young came back with a proposed reduced height of 150 feet. The meeting dragged on too long and Young had to catch a plane back to O‘ahu before commissioners could discuss the issue further.

The commission on Feb. 22, following a Planning Department recommendation, denied the permit. Hull said the proposed site is a scenic corridor, and the monopine would adversely affect the area.

On March 22, Young was back at the commission’s meeting, this time with a request to reconsider the permit denial. He proposed reducing the height further to 145 feet.

The commission on a 4-2 vote granted the request to reconsider, but deferred its decision because Planning Director Michael Dahilig said there was a need to prepare a report.

On April 5, Young returned to Kaua‘i, but again had to fly back to O‘ahu before being heard after other agenda items dragged on for most of the day.

On Tuesday, a motion to deny the permit failed, with Commissioners Jimmy Nishida and Jan Kimura voting against the motion. But Dahilig asked commissioners to defer the issue so he could prepare a set of conditions suitable for the applicant.

Young is now looking at May 10 as a potential date to come back to Kaua‘i again and try to get the permits approved by the commission.