Planning Chairman Paul Dubois knows what he would like to do—he says there are too many unanswered questions and that he would like to see the ordinance return to staff for additional scrutiny.

But that's not the direction the planning commission chose to take. The commission, in a 6-1 vote, decided to send the draft ordinance on to the town council for review. According to Dubois, the council wanted to see the ordinance before the one-year moratorium on new telecommunications facilities expires on June 30.

So the council members will review the ordinance at their June 2 meeting. The council could approve the draft as it is now written—the proposed ordinance and standards as two separate documents—or extend the moratorium for up to another full year.

Immediate approval does not seem prudent, considering the ongoing opposition of town residents, mostly from the Live Oak Manor Park neighborhood where installation of cellular antennas on a PG&E tower has been proposed.

This controversy has been ongoing in town, but it reached a crescendo last spring when MetroPCS approached the planning commission with a proposal to install cellular equipment and antennas on and around the PG&E tower located on Lester Lane at one of the entrances to Live Oak Manor Park. The commission voted 6-0 to recommend that the town deny the cellular company's request.

MetroPCS appealed the decision to the town council, and the council imposed the one-year moratorium last June to buy time to study the issue. But that time is quickly running out, and while progress has been made in the development of the ordinance, there are still residents who are not satisfied with the language of the draft.

For example, one of the goals featured under "Purpose and Intent" reads: "Ensure that a competitive, varied and high quality wireless communications service infrastructure is provided to serve the Town's residents and business community while also considering the health, safety and general welfare of the community in the delivery of this communication service."

Opponents of the ordinance consider that goal to be the very essence of the problem—they believe the town is putting the interests of the cellular service providers ahead of those of the residents.

Most of us are now cell phone users, and the thought of improved coverage and better service is appealing. However, it's not acceptable to impose on our neighbors to create those improvements.

This issue needs more attention so that an amicable solution can be reached. The council needs to extend the moratorium on new telecommunications facilities in order to make that happen.