Tower returns

A monopine cell phone tower proposed for the Elks Lodge (pictured) but nixed by the Chico Planning Commission got a reprieve Tuesday (Aug. 7), when the City Council agreed to hear an appeal of the denial at its upcoming Sept. 4 meeting.

The commission denied the tower on the basis that it wasn’t needed because the council had approved a nearby tower at the Hooker Oak ballfields. That project has been held up by litigation for eight months, however.

The council voted, 4-1 (Vice Mayor Ann Schwab dissented, and Councilmen Steve Bertagna and Tom Nickell disqualified themselves), to hear the appeal “as a matter of fairness,” in Mayor Andy Holcombe’s words.