Avoids need to build new tower elsewhere

A plan to expand the footprint of a cell phone tower won the approval of the Peachtree City Council last week.

Council granted a variance so the tower, located next to Carmichael-Hemperly Funeral Home on Senoia Road, could host an antenna for an additional cellphone company. That process, called "co-locating," allows Sprint to avoid the need to build a separate tower in that area, a company official said.

Although the council is typically reticent to grant variances, this one makes sense because it avoids a need for a new tower, said Councilwoman Judi-ann Rutherford. The variance allows Sprint to add ground-based equipment at the tower beyond what is currently existing.

Staff recommended approval of the variance. Council approved the variance 5-0.

Meanwhile, council tabled a second variance that was requested to build a cell phone tower in the city's industrial park was tabled by council. City staff contend that the proposed location is just inside a protected zone that limits the height of structures so they don't interfere with operations at Falcon Field.

Council wants a more concrete map of that zone to determine whether or not the tower site is subject to the height restrictions. If so, the tower could not be located there because it would not be large enough, according to a representative for T-Mobile.

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