Cell tower plan gets mixed signals

A few months ago, real estate broker John Duckett put a blindfold on his brother and drove him to the Southside.

Everything had changed. The once crime-riddled neighborhood dotted with blighted buildings is now a trendy arts district in the midst of a revitalization.

But a 180-foot cell tower could change all that, neighborhood residents and developers say.

On the other hand, proponents of the tower say growth in the Main Street neighborhood over the last two years has driven the need for more wireless coverage.

Larry Wells, president of Wireless Properties Inc., the company behind the tower, went before the Board of Zoning Appeals earlier this month seeking approval.

The tower would go up on a piece of property at the corner of Washington Street and Rossville Avenue. A chain-link fence topped by barbed wire surrounds a school bus and broken-down cars scattered around the lot, which is owned by developer Tag Bailey.

“As much as we use them and need them, it’s an eyesore,” Mr. Duckett said of the tower.

He owns property on the corner across from Mr. Bailey’s lot and has preliminary plans to build a mixed-use residential and retail development there. The proposed cell tower has caused him to worry about investing in a large project across the street from a 180-foot tower, he said.

But Mr. Wells said if the tower goes up, the property now filled with abandoned cars would be cleaned up and maintained, and the chain link would be replaced by fencing with green slats.

“It would be just our standard cookie-cutter tower, how we normally build towers,” he said.

Wireless Properties ran into problems after it proposed putting a cell tower on the side of Missionary Ridge. The state issued a permit, then revoked it in 2007 after outcry from residents in the area. Mr. Wells is pursuing the matter through federal court. Currently, the company is awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals.

The tower in the Main Street area has not caused the amount of controversy the Missionary Ridge tower did, he said, but the company still has encountered problems.

Mr. Wells said he was told that, because of the tower’s proximity to Main and Market streets, the tower must be approved by the Historic Zoning Commission before it could be approved by the zoning board.

Not so, said Mr. Wells, who had his attorney, Richard D. Crotteau, send a letter to the city attorney disputing the requirement of a historical review. Wireless Properties is waiting to hear from the city attorney, but zoning approval was delayed until the historical review can be completed.

Gregg Juster lives on Main Street and owns property near the site where the tower would be built. He said he understands the need but also wishes there was an alternative location.

Both sides of the dispute agree on one thing: Each would be willing to talk about a compromise. Mr. Wells said he is willing to consider disguising the tower or possibly looking at other sites.

“If he wants to talk, all of us would be willing to talk,” Mr. Duckett said.