I understand Mr. And Mrs. Duckham’s dilemma with the proposed cell tower obstructing their view of the mountains (Smoky Mountain News, June 27, pg.6), but feel that they need to look at the big picture when calling in the county commissioners to halt its construction.

As a builder and developer with 10 years of labor and earnings tied up in our Unahwi Ridge Community development project in western Jackson County, I know first-hand the impact a tower has on the viewshed. I see such a tower every time I gaze from our property toward the Balsams. Until a year or so ago, we enjoyed, and indeed planned our community around, the lovely unobstructed vista to the east. Seemingly overnight, the steel rose from a prominent green knob smack in the middle of our verdant panorama. From the stories I gathered, the “service provider” had leased the site from the owner for a 20-year period for a price of $600,000, a pretty nice chunk of change for a relatively benign use of someone’s land.

I would find it difficult to argue with the landowner that my enjoyment of the view should be worth more than a measly $30,000 per year into his/her pocket. I remind the Duckhams that here in Jackson County we lack a comprehensive zoning or land-use policy (including tower placement), the same condition that permits them to develop their property into million-dollar estates, permits the rest of us to use our land as we see fit, and make a profit. In this respect, they should be glad that the neighboring Jacksonville, Fla., land-owner has opted for a tower instead of a trailer park, junkyard or some sort of trashy theme park, all of which would probably be within the limits of the law as it now stands.

I agree with them that the county needs to address this issue, and many of the other ramifications that growth and development have brought and will continue to bring to our region. On the other hand, one couple’s dashed dreams does not a crisis make. I urge the Duckhams to consider the thousands of communiques that will be made possible by the tower, from emergency reports to 911 to the builders’ business calls, which will be necessary for the construction of homes on the Duckham’s development, and for the arrangement of everything from tee times to tea times by Cashiers residents, to a multitude of business transactions, all of which are deemed more important to those concerned than someone else’s view from their deck.

I appreciate Commissioner Stacey Buchanan’s willingness to commit county time and money to the Duckhams’ concern, but I also ask that he leave the shining armor in the closet where it has been stored. This issue has been floating around for some time now and should have been addressed previously along with a comprehensive zoning and land-use policy. Sometimes it takes a weeping constituent to motivate those entrusted with directing our future. I commend and agree with commission Chairman Jay Denton for his resistance to apply a knee-jerk reaction in this case, and feel that he is correct in his assertion that this instance will affect future conflicts but that this particular case is essentially a done deal.
Leases have probably been signed and construction has begun, all within the confines of existing county ordinances. These are the joys and hardships we must endure where few regulations exist. It may be time for the county to examine further limiting individual rights and use of private land.

I feel sorry for the shattered dreams the Duckhams have planned for and held dear. I’m less concerned that the views from some high-dollar summer homes will be imperfect. It may be that this is an opportunity for the county and the Duckhams to rethink what it is that is really important for the future and where it is we want to go in regard to personal freedoms and land-use controls. I have little fear that Mr. Duckham’s “worst nightmare” will cause him to lose his financial investment or seek a tall building from which to throw himself. Rather, the next time he picks up his cellphone he may find himself a little more incensed as to what this convenience may actually be costing his neighbors in terms of their views of the mountains. The hardest of lessons often hit the closest to home.

I suspect this issue will take a little time to sort out for Jackson County residents as they wrestle with whose rights carry more weight and what is in the best interest of the community and county at large.
Regardless of the outcome on the cell tower question, I feel that there are even greater issues facing these mountains, including improving air and water quality, and limiting the negative effects of continuing growth and development. Without breathable air and clean drinkable water, no views will matter to anyone. These larger issues are worthy of our tears; anything less is wasted salt water.

(John Beckman is a builder, organic farmer and Operations Manager at Unahwi Ridge Community in Jackson County. Contact can be made at www.unahwiridge.com)

 

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