Almost no one showed up to testify before the county Planning Board yesterday against a 116-foot cellular telephone antenna pole for downtown Clarksville -- except the neighbor across the road.

That neighbor turned out to be Columbia, or at least, the developer of the unincorporated city.

"It would dominate the skyline of the planned expansion of Pheasant Ridge," said David E. Forester, vice president and development director for River Hill, the 10th and last village being developed in Columbia by the Rouse Co. Pheasant Ridge is one of the village's two neighborhoods.

At issue was a petition for a special exception for Southwest Bell Mobile Systems Inc., which operates the Cellular One system, and a variance allowing the pole to exceed the height limit of 40 feet in a commercially zoned area.

"This an equivalent height of a 12-story building," Mr. Forester said.

Saying they recognized the need for improved cellular communications, board members voted 3-1 to recommend that the county Board of Appeals grant the special exception and variance. The Board of Appeals is scheduled to hear the case March 29 before making a final decision.

POLICE LOG

* Clarksville: 13600 block of Gilbride Lane: More than $300 in equipment, including electrical parts, plumbing and ladders, was stolen Monday from a house under construction.