A proposal is pending for a large, multi-tenant wireless communication facility on Weyerhaeuser timberland near Bald Hill Road SE, Weyerhaeuser Truck Road SE, Clearwood Lake community, and Yelm.
The project includes an approximately 155-foot wireless tower, a 50-by-50-foot equipment compound, nine AT&T panel antennas, equipment cabinets, a 30-kilowatt diesel backup generator, new access improvements, six fiber vaults, and approximately 2,750 feet of utility and fiber trenching.
Our review of the application has identified numerous unresolved inconsistencies, environmental concerns, and missing approvals that deserve careful public scrutiny.
Among them:
The applicant’s biological report identifies a freshwater forested and shrub wetland approximately 275 feet north of the proposed tower site. The report also states that this wetland contains wood-duck priority habitat.
The report identifies additional potentially jurisdictional wetland features along the existing access road, close to areas where utility trenching and fiber-vault installation are proposed.
Thurston County Code contains a separate restriction concerning wireless communication facilities and associated structures located within 1,000 feet of wetlands, staging areas, or rookeries supporting certain protected or priority bird species. The application record does not yet contain a complete and clearly documented analysis demonstrating compliance throughout the full 1,000-foot area.
The County’s incomplete-application review states that wetlands and hydric soils are within 400 feet of the proposal and requires a Critical Area Review permit covering all components of the development and disturbance area.
The County also determined that the proposed tower may be located within or immediately adjacent to a designated landslide-hazard area. County staff stated that the revised site plan appears to show the top of the slope running directly through the proposed tower location and that LiDAR imagery indicates slopes of 40 percent or greater nearby.
The County further stated that antenna-support structures are prohibited within a designated landslide-hazard area and its buffer. If the tower cannot be moved outside that area, the applicant may be required to obtain a Reasonable Use Exception through an additional permit process.
The application documents do not consistently describe all elements of the project. Earlier plans included different antenna counts, radio-equipment counts, generator sizes, and fiber-route lengths. Some older documents describe the tower and compound as existing, while the current application proposes a new tower and new compound.
The revised construction plans state that the tower structural analysis, antenna-mount analysis, and related engineering will be provided separately. The public must be able to review the final project design before the County makes findings regarding structural safety, future collocation, setbacks, visual impacts, and compliance with the ordinance.
The applicant proposes to rely heavily on surrounding commercial timber for visual screening, even though the property is actively managed for timber harvesting. A narrow landscaping buffer may not provide durable or effective screening if the surrounding forest is logged.
The application also raises unresolved questions concerning environmental review, steep slopes, access-road construction, drainage, diesel-fuel storage, wildlife habitat, utility trenching, long-term landscaping, alternatives, collocation opportunities.
We are asking for a complete, transparent, and lawful review before irreversible clearing, road construction, trenching, foundation work, utility installation, or tower development occurs.
To protect the community’s rights, we need to retain an experienced Washington land-use attorney who can review the full administrative record, advise residents, submit formal objections, participate in any public hearing, question the applicant’s evidence, and preserve all available SEPA and land-use appeal rights.
Funds raised will be used for:
- Land-use attorney fees, including the initial retainer and ongoing legal expenses;
- Outreach to local residents concerning potential property-value impacts, environmental effects, neighborhood character, wildlife, water resources, and community concerns about wireless infrastructure;
- Public-hearing preparation and legal representation;
- Review of SEPA, critical-area, wetland, landslide, drainage, access-road, generator, utility, and fiber-construction issues;
- Independent wetland, wildlife, geotechnical, engineering, GIS, visual-impact, or other expert consultation where necessary;
- Public-record, document-copying, filing, service, and transcript expenses; and
- judicial appeal necessary to protect the community’s rights.
This is a local issue that may affect wetlands, priority habitat, steep slopes, water resources, commercial forestland, nearby property owners, rural neighborhood character, and the integrity of the Thurston County permitting process.
Please contribute, share this fundraiser with neighbors and help us ensure that the Yelm Clear Lake WCF proposal in the Bald Hill area receives the careful review required by law.
We intend to return any unused funds to donors on a proportional basis after the matter is concluded, less GiveSendGo payment-processing fees and any expenses already incurred.
Every contribution—large or small—helps us obtain qualified legal representation and gives local residents a meaningful voice in the process.
To take immediate action and learn how to participate, visit our website.
Julien, on behalf of the Bald Hill Pure and Clear Skies Association
Website: https://emfdangers.wixsite.com/stop5ginthebaldhill
Contact: no.5g.in.the.bald.hill.wa@gmail.com
