Sprint/Nextel applied for a conditional use permit to allow for the construction and operation of a cell phone tower that would stand 104 feet tall and consist of a mono pole structure with an 11 and a half by 20 foot equipment shed at the base of the pole. The site location is zoned C-2 and allows for wireless communications facilities with a conditional use permit. The term of the lease is 30 years. The Jackson Municipal Code gives the Planning Commission authority to place conditions on the project to minimize aesthetic impacts of the proposed structure, and that is exactly what the Commission did at Monday’s meeting.

Phillip Haughton a contractor for Sprint/Nextel said the tower design and the site were chosen carefully. He said the pole will be painted olive drab green and will have the structural capability to have as many as 3 carriers use it. He said, “In Jackson you don’t have very good cell coverage. Presently our network goes as far as Martell.” He said that Sprint/Nextel wants to expand their service and move it into the Jackson area at the request of customers. He also said that while the mono pole cell tower may be unattractive it will increase safety as a 911 call from another wireless carrier can go through the facility.

Haughton said the site proposed is an appropriate site and is the best site in order to ensure that cellular customers receive the best coverage.  Commission Chair Terri Works pointed out that the wireless towers can come in different forms, like the flag pole near the Ledger Dispatch, the mono pine near Ione as well as using Church Steeples, she asked City Planner Susan Peters if there are books that present different designs so the City can pick a few of what they think are acceptable designs that cellular companies can pick from. She also asked Haughton if he knew of any other designs, he added a palm tree and windmill like structure to the mix. 

Eventually the Commission decided on a windmill looking structure. Haughton said that the design requires that the antennas move down 10 feet, but it will still be able to be used by other carriers they just won’t get as good as coverage, as if the tower were a mono pole. The tower will consist of a 3 legged lattice tower with a wind turbine on top, the Commission felt it was more suitable to the surroundings than the mono pole or even the mono pine tree. The tower was approved with the conditions that it be a wind mill styled facility and that if the tower becomes no longer operational that it will be taken down within 6 mos. The latter already exists in the City code, but the Commission wanted to make it very clear by adding it to the conditions. Commissioners Works, Garibaldi, Sexton and Butow all voted in favor of the tower, while Carleton voted against it because he said he favored the mono pole design.