Towering monstrosity

The city is on the verge of replacing the ugly 439-foot, lattice communications tower on Council Crest with another equally ugly one (think Erector-set ugly).

Unless neighbors step up with a better idea (think "sculpture") at a hearing to be held Monday, August 27, at 9:00, 1900 SW 4th Avenue, we are stuck with this antennae-laden monstrosity in one of Portland's most cherished parks.

Bureaucratic tunnel vision is missing a great opportunity. The staff report is about as imaginative as an I-beam. The report, which is worth reading, imperiously and mindlessly blows off serious neighborhood concerns.

Interestingly, beautiful towers are popping up all over the state — in the form of windmills. The sleek stanchions topped by turbines and blades seem perfect for the new emergency communications tower. And because they are clearly being mass produced, they may be cheaper than the spindly folly planned for Council Crest.

If blade noise isn't a problem, the tower might even incorporate a wind-power generator, which would help the environment, set a civic example and produce revenue (how about for undergrounding utilities?).

Certainly the idea is worth investigating.

If you can't attend the hearing, you can e-mail your comments to the senior planning officer on the case, Sylvia Cate, referencing the Council Crest tower.

(Thanks, by the way, to Deb Scott's blog, Stoney Moss, for alerting me to the hearing.)