MORE CELL PHONE TOWERS?

The explosion in the use of cellular phones has led to an increased need for communications towers throughout the Cape Girardeau area in order to handle increased demand on the system.

However, some residents are concerned about towers being built in residential neighborhoods.

City Planner Kent Bratton said the city doesn't keep data on the number of towers erected around town.

"There are a lot more than you would think," he said.

There are no set guidelines governing where cellular towers may go, Bratton said.

Companies wishing to erect a tower must seek a special-use permit from the city. The City Council, after hearing recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission, will consider requests on a case-by-case basis.

During the last two council meetings, neighbors of a city property at 2815 Perryville Road vigorously protested a plan by Ameritech Cellular to install a tower on the site.

After tabling the proposal on Nov. 16, the council, on a narrow 4-3 margin, approved the project on Dec. 7.

Councilman Melvin Gateley, who voted to grant Ameritech's request, said the council must look at the overall issue more closely as the number of tower requests increases.

"I wouldn't want to have them everywhere," Gateley said. "Just because I supported this request, doesn't mean I'm going to support every one of them. We have to look at each request to see how it affects each residential area."

Councilman Jay Purcell said that although there was no compelling reason to deny the request, because he wouldn't want a tower next to his home, he wasn't going to vote to allow one near someone else's.

"I'm not anti-tower; they are very important and we do need them," Purcell said. "But we need to find a way to minimize cellular towers, especially in residential areas."

Purcell would like to see cooperation among the various cellular service providers to share space, rather than each company erecting its own structures.

However, he is not sure that the companies would work together or if the city has the authority to make them do so.

Jewell Cox, whose home at 2002 Evergreen is about 300 yards from the city's Perryville Road property, was one of several residents to express concern over the tower.

"We are very much opposed to putting it in a residential area," Cox said.

Among the concerns were that the tower would be an eyesore and diminish property values and could endanger residents if it collapsed.

Especially troublesome to Cox is that a flashing red light will be placed upon the tower. He and other opponents feel it will shine into neighboring homes at night, providing an unwanted distraction.

"The City Council didn't seem too receptive to our concerns," Cox said. "Although three did vote no, four voted for it."

Dennis Paul, a representative of Ameritech, told the council that the 140-foot-high lattice-type tower is designed to withstand 90 mph winds. In the unlikely event of a collapse, Paul said it would not fall at its base, but between one-half and two-thirds of the way up, posing no danger to residents.

The light, he added, was requested by local hospitals to aid their helicopters in nighttime navigation but is not required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The tower, he said, is needed to close a gap in cellular phone coverage in the north area of town.

Joe Strack of 2827 Perryville Road concedes that a tower in the area is needed.

"I use 1,100 minutes a month on a cellular phone, and I agree the reception there is terrible," Strack said.

However, he feels building a tower in a residential area is inappropriate.

The property on which the tower is being built is also the site of the city's water tower. The tower, work on which started Tuesday, will take up a 30-by-50-foot area of the property.

Ameritech will pay the city $269,695.25 over the next 25 years to lease the site. The city also has the right to install equipment on the tower for its own communications needs.

Most cellular phone towers in Cape Girardeau are on private property, providing no revenue to the city.