Despite some homeowners' objections, the Casa Grande City Council recently okayed construction of a tower to handle cellphone calls.
The Tierra Palmas neighborhood will be the site of the tower, which will be located at Trekell and Kortsen roads, at the intersection's southwest corner. Davis Commercial Properties, which applied for permission to build the tower, has already made several modifications to mitigate some of the homeowners' concerns.
The company has reduced the tower height to 70 feet from its original 80, and has agreed to move it about 50 feet further from residences than first planned. It has also agreed to drop the maximum wireless facilities to just one, down from the original five. Finally, the tower will be constructed so that it looks like a palm tree, and Davis will plant three more trees, each at least 35 feet high, to help the tower blend in. Officials considering measures like this can use flyer printing to keep the community informed about the project.
Davis' willingness to work with the community pleased some of the council members, but many homeowners remain concerned. After a series of public meetings, the council acknowledged that the community members' concerns are valid, but are outweighed by the fact many residents in the area the tower will serve currently have trouble making phone calls. This can be disastrous when they cannot get a signal to dial 911.
The final vote was 6-1 in favor of construction.
