Alfalfa residents don’t want a cellphone tower marring their views of the landscape, and they’re asking the Deschutes County Commission to enforce county code to make sure one isn’t erected.

“Verizon and other providers have managed to keep up with the latest technological advancements and provide comprehensive cell coverage in outlying areas like ours without erecting 100-foot monopoles in residential neighborhoods and alienating entire communities,” David Warren, who lives near the proposed site, said to the commissioners during a June 13 public hearing in Alfalfa. “The fact that AT&T cannot provide reliable 3G coverage in our area is not our problem; it’s theirs.”

American Tower Corporation and AT&T Mobile applied last year for a conditional use permit to erect a 100-foot cell tower on property at 25070 Alfalfa Market Road.

The hearings officer denied the company’s application in March based on its failure to meet criteria set up under two county codes, both of which require applicants to consider the visual impact in the area surrounding the tower.

“The applicant shall site the facility in a manner to minimize its impact of scenic views and shall site the facility using trees, vegetation and topography in order to screen it to the maximum extent practicable from view from protected roadways,” reads the county code. “Towers or monopoles shall not be sited in locations where there is no vegetative, structural or topographic screen available.”

American Tower Corporation submitted an appeal to the decision and claims the proposed site is the only one available that provides adequate coverage within the search area.

“There is a significant gap in service between Bend and Alfalfa, north to Powell Butte and south to Highway 20,” said Mark Shipman, anAmerican Tower Corporation employee. “If we shift the tower, the entire coverage cloud would shift, and it will take away the coverage from where it’s needed.”

The proposed site is off Alfalfa Market Road, and the surrounding area is essentially flat, with few trees. The trees in the area reach nowhere near 100 feet tall, and several homes, most on 10-acre parcels, dot the landscape.

“It’s the applicant’s duty to find a site that meets the requirements, and the code states that towers or monopoles shall not be located where there is no camouflage available,” said Kevin Harrison, principal planner with Deschutes County Community Development. “That statement stands alone even if no neighbors object to the placement.”

The commission plans to announce its decision on Aug. 6, said Commissioner Tammy Baney. Either side can submit evidence to back its claims, but the deadline for doing so is Friday.

“Our code is not clear as to how much the vistas matter,” Baney said. “Determining that will be a contributing factor in our final decision. This is important because it will have an effect not just on this tower placement, but on how we interpret the code in similar cases in the future.”