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City Seeks Limits On Cell Phone Towers

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By CHRISTIAN M. WADE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 17, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - City officials want to limit the number of cellular telephone towers in the city.

Where they differ is on whether the local government should retain nearly exclusive rights to allow the towers to go up - and to collect substantial revenue from cell service providers.

Tuesday night, the council tabled a proposed ordinance that would have eliminated the ability of small businesses, churches and other private property owners to rent their land for that purpose.
New Port Richey officials aren't looking to completely ban cell phone towers; that's prohibited under the Federal Communications Act of 1996. But the proposal severely restricts where they can go up.

The ordinance would prohibit construction of new towers in commercially zoned areas, designated C-1 and C-2, but would allow them on city-owned tracts and in light industrial zones.

The city's charter already prohibits cell towers in the downtown and in residential areas.

For most council members, it's an issue of aesthetics.

'They're unsightly,' Councilman Bob Consalvo said before the board met Tuesday evening. 'That's the biggest concern.'

During their meeting, some council members questioned why the city wants to take away the rights of property owners to have the towers on their property, while giving that right to the local government.

'I could see that this might create a monopoly,' Ginny Miller said.

Rob Marlowe, for one, said he wants to fine tune the restrictions to allow certain kinds of communication towers, such as those used by ham radio operators.

'I want to see us protect the hams,' the councilman said. 'In a natural disaster, they're a lifeline.'

There are now two cell phone towers in the city, and they're in industrial or remote locations. One is on commercial property off Voorhees Road; the other is west of U.S. 19 on Palmetto Road.

Both would be grandfathered in under the proposed ordinance, but the owners would not be allowed to rebuild them if they were taken down or damaged by a storm.

Federal laws prohibit local governments from preventing the installation of cell towers in municipalities where dead cell zones exist, so the city technically cannot ban a tower.

Most attempts to ban towers have resulted in litigation from service providers, and courts have been reluctant to allow them unless the communities demonstrate a hardship.

Unlike traditional telephone or cable lines, cell phone transmitters can't be buried underground and need to be high enough to relay signals without obstruction.

Many service providers are looking to expand their services with better reception and new services, such as video and e-mail, which require more towers and antennas.

In 2006, there were more than 1,790,000 cell towers nationwide, according to industry figures. For the past four years, more than 15,000 towers have been installed annually.

'We look at areas where there's a need,' said Chuck Hamby, a spokesman for Verizon Wireless. 'And improved technologies mean that we no longer need to cluster them.'

Verizon is one of a number of wireless firms turning to 'stealth technology' to disguise cell towers. They can hide antennae in church spires, flagpoles and even fake trees.

'You wouldn't even know they're there,' Hamby said. 'They blend right in.'

Reporter Christian M. Wade can be reached at (727) 815-1082 or cwade@tampatrib.com.

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