By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph City Council will decide at their Monday meeting whether or not a proposed 175-foot AT&T cell tower gets built in a residential neighborhood on the east side of town.
AT&T currently has equipment 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.
Therefore, AT&T has requested a conditional use permit for construction of a 175-foot tower at 3802 Karnes Road - behind Morton Lane.
Residents of that neighborhood spoke in strong opposition against the tower at the last council meeting on June 28, citing concerns about wildlife in the area, the negative aesthetic impacts of the tower and how the tower could negatively impact property value.
Longtime resident Everet Hoffman was one of them.
"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," he said, "and there's somebody who has an equivalent-type house, you're going to have to sell it for less than they are."
AT&T regional director Mike Chambers says the proposed tower site would provide the best service for customers in the area.
"I know AT&T has made every effort to do the best we can to find the best location for this tower," he said. "It does provide some very critical service."
To maintain service, AT&T has to relocate the new tower within a quarter-mile radius of the existing one, which is why they want to build the tower directly across the highway - behind the residential neighborhood on Morton Lane.
Occupants of that neighborhood see it differently, including 13-year resident of the area Robert Brown.
"I have one question for all of you," Brown said. "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.
Others are concerned about negative impacts on the wildlife that lives in the heavily wooded area where the tower would go.
Chambers says tower construction would only last 6-8 weeks, and would have little to no impact on the animals that live there.
"When people have a concern about wildlife, honestly, I can't think of a better use for the property," Chambers said. "If the tower is there, nothing else can really be done with the property. Our tower would only have a small truck or SUV back there to do maintenance periodically."
Even so, residents firmly believe that the tower would not fit the aesthetic of a residential neighborhood.
"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."
The new tower would 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."
Chambers argues that the proposed location is preferred, because AT&T believes the trees in the area will do a good enough job of concealing the tower.
"Our desire and really what makes this location attractive for us is that it's very heavily wooded, and therefore our base equipment and hut will basically not be seen by anybody."
St. Joseph mayor Bill McMurray motioned in the last meeting that city staff draft findings of fact, which must prove several things - that the tower would be concealed and minimally visible, that the tower is not visually compatible with the area and will negatively impact property value and that use of the tower would impact regular permitted uses of residential districts.
According to documents on the city website, AT&T "failed to meet the minimum requirements for issuance of a conditional use permit, and the permit request has been denied."
Council still needs to vote on the matter. A super majority, six out of nine members, would need to vote in favor of the permit in order for the tower to be built.
You can follow Tommy on Twitter @TommyKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.