The Fayette County Commission turned down a request for a cell phone tower on Ga. Highway 92 north near Hickory Road, but the issue may not be resolved.

Thad Gillian, who represented Southeast Towers, presented the board a constitutional challenge before he started his presentation. The challenge is required should Southeast Towers decided to sue the board over its decision.

Gillian told the board the closest residence to the tower was 557 feet and Southeast had met all the other requirements for building a tower in Fayette County. Cingular would be the main server on the tower, and denying the request would cause a hardship for Cingular, he added.

But Heidi Bolton, who lives in the area of the proposed tower, disagreed.

“I have a Cingular phone and don’t have any problems,” she said.

Since the County Commission could face a lawsuit over the issue, most of the commissioners did not comment on the proposal before the vote. Commission Chairman Greg Dunn did say the board had received a petition from 18 people opposed to the tower and added the jury was still out on possible health concerns from a tower in a neighborhood. The board rejected the proposal unanimously.

In other action, the County Commission:

• Approved a rezoning request for nine acres on Sandy Creek Road from R-70 to Office-Institutional. Owner Thomas Own plans to build a medical and office park on the site near Fayette Community Hospital.

• Supported a rezoning request on New Hope Road for a 4.84 tract to change from A-R to R-70. Richard Love plans to develop two single-family homes on the site.

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