By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
Residents of an east St. Joseph neighborhood made their voices heard Monday - put the cell tower somewhere else.
At least a couple dozen area residents made their way to Monday's city council meeting for a public hearing on granting AT&T a conditional use permit for the construction of a 175-foot cell tower at 3802 Karnes Road.
AT&T currently has a tower on top of Missouri American Water’s tower just off Interstate 29 near Karnes Road. However, AT&T can’t come to terms with Missouri American to stay at that location due to a clause in the agreement which would force AT&T to remove its equipment following a 90-day notice.
AT&T, represented Monday by regional director Mike Chambers, contends that the proposed tower site would provide the best service for customers in the area.
To maintain service, AT&T has to relocate the new tower within a quarter-mile radius of the existing one, which is why the provider wants to build the tower directly across the highway - behind a residential neighborhood on Morton Lane.
Occupants of that neighborhood see it differently.
"I have one question for all of you," said Robert Brown, a 13-year resident of the area, as he addressed council. "I mean, would you want that (tower) in your backyard? It'd be right in my backyard."
Residents who live near the proposed site are concerned the tower would be unattractive and lower property value. AT&T has studies from St. Louis and Kansas City that show property values don’t decrease due to a cell tower, but residents have referenced studies that say the opposite.
"I think what is clear, after looking at some of the reviews, is that in St. Joseph, if you have a house and it has a cell tower looming in the backyard and you want to sell it," said resident Everet Hoffman, "and there's somebody who has an equivalent-type house, you're going to have to sell it for less than they are."
Others are concerned about negative impacts on the wildlife that lives in the heavily wooded area where the tower would go.
"We don't want a cell tower in our neighborhood," said Linda Hundley, who lives across the street from the proposed site. "It doesn't fit. They're going to tear up what's back there, take the trees out and erect this giant eye sore."
Some residents have health concerns, though the tower being proposed would comply with the FCC's radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposure guidelines developed to protect the public from RF-related health risks.
The new tower would also be equipped with Band-14 for FirstNet service - high-speed broadband communication for first responders. Residents understand that need and its importance. They just want AT&T to consider other options.
"We are a residential neighborhood," said Jayne Katakis. "We enjoy our homes, and we spend our hard-earned money on that place. We just want you to take that into consideration please, because it will affect our property value."
At the end of public comment, St. Joseph mayor Bill McMurray made four motions that city staff draft findings - findings that the tower does not reduce visual degradation of the area, that the tower does not meet visual compatibility standards, that the proposed tower does not comply with applicable law and city code, and that use of the tower would impact regular permitted uses of residential districts.
All four motions passed 9-0.
The findings must be fact-based, and will be presented to council before their next meeting on July 12. That's when council is scheduled to vote on the conditional use permit for the tower.
Due to the amount of submitted letters from residents opposed to the tower, the council needs a super majority, six out of nine members, to vote in favor of the permit in order for the tower to be built.
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