By DAVE HAMRICK
Staff Writer

If you're concerned about the growing number of cellular communications towers dotting Fayette's landscape, the county Planning Commission wants to hear from you.

Specifically, the commission will have a public hearing to open discussion of a possible master plan for cell tower construction at its next workshop meeting, Thursday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m.

"We need to come up with a master plan for Fayette County, to come up with a compromise that provides for what the telecommunications companies want and what Fayette citizens need," Planning Commission Chairman Bob Harbison told the county Board of Commissioners Wednesday.

The commission responded with a 180-day moratorium on new cell tower requests to give the planning panel time to study the problem. Thursday night, the Planning Commission followed suit, tabling four requests for tower sites until its Oct. 1 meeting.

A rash of recent tower requests has met with a storm of neighborhood opposition, with several requests turned down in recent months. County ordinances currently allow communications towers in its A-R (agricultural-residential) zoning category. Companies can build towers up to 150 feet high without a public hearing, or they can request special permits for taller towers in A-R zones.

Neighbors have consistently argued that towers should be in commercial or industrial zones. "It's a commercial venture and it belongs in a commercial area," argued John Fredericks Thursday night. Fredericks and a dozen or so of his neighbors voiced their opposition to Powertel's plans to put a 180-foot monopole tower on 201 acres of agricultural property on Arnold Road.

The same company's request for a site on A-R property on McBride Road met with similar opposition, though Powertel's third request, for a site on 127 acres of A-R property on Morgan Road, received no opposition.

Only one resident spoke in opposition to Air Touch Cellular's request for approval of a 17.8-acre site in a commercial zone on Ga. Highway 85 north. A resident objected because the site is across the road from another tower.

All four requests will be considered Oct. 1 after the Planning Commission has taken comment from the public and communications companies in efforts to resolve the conflicts.

The county recently passed a new ordinance aimed at encouraging several companies to put their antennas on each tower, reducing the total number of towers needed. But that concept calls for taller towers, and taller towers have met even stiffer opposition than shorter ones.

Planning Commission Chairman Harbison said those who want to comment on the problem should think about that dilemma. "Do you want lots of 150-foot towers, or fewer very tall ones?" he asked during last week's meeting.

The workshop will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 20 at the County Administrative Complex.