Communications Tower on Kapteyns Street

Please note an application for this project has now been submitted and a land use project page has been created. Please refer to the Planning Project page for land use information. 

1/12/22 Update

Clackamas County first responders began the switch to a new digital emergency radio system on January 11, 2022. Read the full news release from the Clackamas 800 (C800) Radio Group . Following the switch the C800 Radio Group plans to analyze signal coverage data in West Linn and determine if a need exists for an emergency communications tower in the West Linn area. Clackamas County will organize a community conversation on the need for an emergency communications tower in the West Linn area, depending on the outcome of the signal data collection. 
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2/8/21 Update

Council held a public hearing on annexation and zoning of the ODOT property at 19676 Kapteyns Street on February 8, 2021. At the hearing, the Council voted to approve the annexation and zoning. 

Clackamas County staff are continuing to gather information and organize a community conversation on the topic of the need for an emergency communications tower in the West Linn area. Once the date and details are confirmed we will provide further communication on the topic.

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1/21/21 Update

Council will be holding a public hearing February 8 on the annexation of ODOT’s property at 19676 Kapteyns Street. Annexation would ensure that any future development on this property would be regulated by West Linn’s Community Development Code. 

Former Mayor Axelrod and Council sent a letter to ODOT (posted below) on December 22 regarding the proposed annexation and the future of this property. On January 20, Mayor Walters received a response from ODOT and Oregon State Police. Their letter promises a cooperative approach to annexation, emphasizes the importance of the existing facility on the site, and lays out initial terms for potential sale of the property. City staff will work with legal counsel and the City Council soon on next steps regarding the property. 

Additionally, City Manager Gabrielatos, Acting Chief Mahuna, and Deputy City Manager/Community Development Director John Williams met with Lauren Mac Neill, Director of Clackamas County Resolution Services. Ms. Mac Neill is heading the effort to organize a West Linn/Lake Oswego community conversation regarding whether a tower is needed in the area, and if so where it might be located. At this point Ms. Mac Neill is gathering background information by meeting with each of the cities, with emergency providers, and with interested residents. This will enable her to make proposals on how to structure the promised conversation. City staff are providing her with contact information for neighborhood representatives to assist with these conversations. Ms. Mac Neill is also connecting with the C800 Radio Group to understand their timeline for gathering the data about existing service which is needed to inform the conversation. It is the understanding of the City that no further action will be taken by C800 regarding the Kapteyns property, or any other site, until these conversations happens. Ms. Mac Neill indicated that she hoped to be able to provide an update by the end of January to all interested parties about a timeline/structure for this meeting. We will continue to keep the community informed as these conversations happen and we learn more.

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1/5/21 Update

On January 5, City staff submitted an application for annexation of 2.3 acres of unincorporated island property. The application is currently under process review by staff. The first step in the process, a pre-application conference, has been waived to expedite the process. The Community Development Director, under the authority prescribed under Community Development Code Chapter 99.030.B(4), waived the need for a pre-application conference for a City initiated proposal to annex 2.3 acres owned by ODOT at 19676 Kapteyns Street (ANX-21-01). It was determined the time sensitivity of the issue, the high-level of community information/input that was to happen, the fact the City Council is the decision-making authority for this application, and the public hearing format that will afford an opportunity for the community to provide comment, made the pre-application conference unwarranted. 

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12/22/20 Update

At the Special Meetings on December 14, City Council voted unanimously to send a letter to Clackamas County Commissioners and Board of Directors expressing their concern, and the concern of the community, about the possibility of a C800 Communications tower being placed on Kapteyns Street. Council also noted they would like an additional letter to be drafted and sent to ODOT, the current property owners, to share their interest in purchasing the parcel of land. At the Special Meeting on December 21, the letter was presented to City Council, and after review and discussion, Council again voted unanimously to have the letter sent to ODOT. 

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11/24/20 Update

City staff met with ODOT to discuss their interest in annexing the property where the proposed C800 Emergency Communication Tower was set to be sited. ODOT advised the City to move forward with a standard annexation process, but has not concluded if they will support or oppose it. They understand the community and Council desire to annex the property and are focused on maintaining use of the existing radio equipment tower on the site that is used for ODOT communications. ODOT is the property owner of the parcel where the C800 Radio Group is proposing an emergency communication tower. The City is moving forward with the annexation process. 

Clackamas County and C800 have committed to a community conversation in 2021 involving the cities in the planning work and the emergency communication needs of the area; we hope to hear more from the County and C800 on the specifics of this community involvement soon. C800 has put all sites in Lake Oswego/West Linn on hold until that meeting and subsequent discussions occur.

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Background Information

Clackamas 800 Radio Group (C800) was formed as a cooperative intergovernmental agency in 2000 and covers a service area of 1,879 square miles with a service population of 412,821 (2019). The organization provides public safety communications benefiting law enforcement, fire fighters, emergency medical service providers and the public they serve. In 2016 Ballot Measure 3-476 was approved by a 71% margin and authorized $59M in bonds to replace and upgrade the public safety radio communications system serving Clackamas County. As part of this upgrade, the Clackamas 800 Radio Group was proposing to build a 180' tall emergency communications tower at the end of Kapteyns Street on ODOT-owned property within West Linn. However, this property is an unannexed island within the City limits and remains under Clackamas County zoning and jurisdiction. C800 submitted a land use application for the tower to Clackamas County that has now been suspended. The new tower would replace the two ODOT towers currently on the site.

Soon after finding out about this application, City staff and West Linn City Council asked Clackamas County to put a hold on the land use application process while the West Linn community provided input and the City understands and explores options for the proposed tower install.  West Linn Council requested our legal counsel study the possibility of annexing the property so it would fall under the jurisdiction of West Linn codes and land use process. City staff also reviewed details of the application with Clackamas County staff. 

Clackamas 800 Radio Group gave a presentation to West Linn City Council on August 3rd, 2020. You can access a video recording of the presentation below, including the presentation materials that show site details and a visual representation of the proposed tower. Clackamas County land use application materials can also be found below. C800 also made contact with both the Hidden Springs and Maryhurst Neighborhood Associations which are adjacent to the site, please ensure you are on your neighborhood association mailing list to connect with your neighborhood association on this topic.

The week of August 10, 2020, Interim City Manager John Williams met virtually with Clackamas County Administration and staff of the Clackamas 800 Radio Group (C800) regarding the Communications Tower on Kapteyns Street. Given the large volume of community concern and press generated by the August 3rd Council meeting, there was consensus to return to the C800 Board with a staff recommendation to suspend their plans to install a tower at the Kapteyns Street location. C800 Manager John Hartsock made this recommendation to the C800 Board. The C800 Board agreed to put any further discussion of a tower in the West Linn/Lake Oswego area on hold until January 2021 at the earliest. This will allow C800 additional time to study signal coverage in better detail in the West Linn/Lake Oswego area and convene a community conversation on emergency communications needs in the area. In the meantime, West Linn staff will continue to provide Council with process options for possible annexation of this island property.