CITY EXPLORING CELLULAR PHONE TOWER REGULATIONS

New regulations on the construction of cellular phone towers could be coming to Cape Girardeau.

The city's Planning and Zoning Commission crafted tentative rules at a special meeting Thursday. The commission will fine tune the proposal at its July 11 meeting, but may not have a final recomendation at that time.

Any recommendation must be approved by the City Council and would be subject to modification.

City Planner Kent Bratton said federal communications law limits the scope of regulations municipalities may impose. Bratton said there are at least 20 cellular phone towers already erected within the city limits, but not all existing towers have been identified.

The tentative regulations would apply to proposed towers taller than 50 feet. Towers could be no taller than 200 feet. Towers could be placed on existing buildings, but 200-foot rule would apply the combined height of both structures.

Towers would be restricted to areas zoned for industrial or commercial use. They could be no closer than fall distance to a public road. For example, a 100 foot tower would have to be 100 feet away from a road.

New towers couldn't be built within one mile of an existing one, unless the applicant could prove another tower was needed within the area.

The city would be allowed to lease public property for a tower as a way to generate revenue.

Owners of towers no longer in use would be required to remove such towers at their own expense. At the time a permit is granted, a tower owner would be required to post a financial guarantee to ensure the funds would be available for removal.