Supervisors OK new cell towers

By Jane DeGeorge
Eagle Reporter

Published: June 12, 2008

Two new 199-foot tall “monopole” cell towers will soon be up in Shelby and Radiant.

At a June 4 meeting, the Madison County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1, with Supervisor Bob Miller casting the lone no vote, to approve two special use permits allowing the construction of these new towers, according to officials.

Following the board’s approval of the permits at the June 4 regularly scheduled joint supervisors and planning commission meeting, the board voted 4-0 to approve a site plan for the towers, with Miller abstaining, he said.

One of the permits will let Verizon Wireless construct a tower on property owned by Hunter Hall Weaver off the southbound lane of U.S. 29 near Shelby. The other permit will allow Community Wireless Structures to build a tower on property owned by Robert and Joycelene Brockman off Route 621 near Radiant. The construction of these monopoles would also include small equipment shelters.

Miller initially presented motions to deny these permits based on multiple references within Madison County’s Comprehensive Plan that officials would work to protect the county’s scenic views and not create additional 199-foot tall towers, he told The Eagle.

(The county’s comprehensive plan – which was last updated and approved in 2006 – is a state-mandated planning document that includes the county’s goals, objectives and strategies regarding its controlled development.)

Miller’s motions to deny these permits died due to a lack of a second by a fellow supervisor, he said.

Supervisors Chairman Eddie Dean told The Eagle earlier this week that he voted in favor of allowing the two new cell towers because the applications satisfied the county’s current zoning ordinance.

Prior to the board’s approval of the towers, the Madison County Planning Commission voted 10-1, with Commissioner Jackie Eisenberg casting the lone no vote, to recommend that the supervisors approve the permits and site plans for these two towers, according to Commission Vice Chairman and Secretary Mary Breeden.

At the June meeting, the supervisors also voted 4-1 – with Miller voting against – to approve a permit allowing Community Wireless Structures to extend an existing 180-foot monopole on property owned by Commissioner William Wallace Sanford off U.S. 15 near Locust Dale, according to Miller.

The planning commission had voted 10-0 to recommend approval of this permit, with Sanford “stepping down,” which means he did not vote or participate in the discussion, since he had applied for the permit, Breeden said.

A special use permit application to allow Verizon Wireless to construct a 199-foot tall monopole on property owned by Georgia A. Booker, et al, off Route 638 and the southbound lane of U.S. 29 near Brightwood was tabled after the planning commission recommended its denial.

The commission voted 6-4, with Commissioners Jackie Eisenberg, Kevin McGhee, Pete Elliott, Bud Kreh, David Jones and Bruce Parker voting in favor of denying the permit and Commission Chairman Rodney Lillard, Vice Chairman and Secretary Mary Breeden and Commissioners Ray Goodall and James C. “Lucky” Graves voting against the denial, according to the commission’s vice chairman and secretary. Commissioner William Sanford abstained from this vote.

The Madison County Board of Supervisors and Madison County Planning Commission’s next regularly scheduled joint meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. July 2 in the auditorium of the County Administration Center at 414 N. Main St. in downtown Madison.