County Supes approve new cell phone facility 

Three new Sprint/Nextel cell phone antennas are slated for downtown Los Osos after county supervisors turned back an April 1 appeal.

The 3-1 vote, with Jim Patterson opposing and Bruce Gibson out recovering from heart surgery, came despite the testimony of about a dozen Los Osans who oppose the move. They questioned whether the facility would bring down property values, harm wildlife, and endanger the health of people living nearby. Several also said that there's no need for the facility because cell phone reception is already fine.

But a Sprint attorney argued that the supervisors had no grounds for turning back the facility.

He noted that supervisors rejected a request three years ago for aesthetic reasons the newest version would be hidden from view.

To reject the newer version, he argued, would "send a terrible message to the industry."

Opposition to the cell phone antennas was led by Los Osos resident Judy Vick.

The fight is only the latest battle by neighbors against proposed towers. Similar fights have happened in Cambria and on Toro Creek Road west of Atascadero.