Lake Norman Publications

Cornelius approves new 200-foot cell tower 



The sight lines of neighbors off Jetton Road was a primary concern for Cornelius commissioners when voting on a taller cell tower. /Courtesy of town of Cornelius

CORNELIUS – Cornelius town commissioners were split in a vote in the year’s first regular meeting Jan. 4 in approving a nearly 200-foot cell tower off Jetton Road.

In a conditional rezoning to replace an existing 115-foot tower that houses Verizon and AT&T signals, Commissioner Jim Duke led the charge in arguing the enhanced coverage wasn’t worth the negative impact on the town’s aesthetics. He’s been wary of the proposal since the outset, with numerous neighbors speaking out against it at the second public hearing Dec. 21.

“They don’t want this,” Duke said then. “It doesn’t fit in our community. I’m going to vote no, hopefully I get three of these guys to vote with me. I’ll let you listen to the community.”

Duke got colleague Denis Bilodeau to join him in opposition, but the other three commissioners voted for the project. The Duke Energy-owned property already houses electricity substations.

For Commissioners Tricia Sisson and Thurman Ross, the public safety angle was the deciding factor. They said they didn’t want boaters in trouble on the lake or first responders to be without a strong signal in the peninsular areas of town. 

The representatives for applicant PeakNet demonstrated that Verizon customers in those areas lacked the 4G signal strength found at the eastern side of town. The new tower was requested by T-Mobile, whose next-closest T-Mobile towers are in northwest Huntersville and near the Home Depot on U.S. 21.

“This is the backbone of the system,” said Tom Johnson with the Williams Mullen law firm.

Sisson said it was the toughest decision she’s made in her 13 months on the board.

“This area is in fact in need of improved cell service,” she said. “With many more residents working from home, and educating their children from home, the internet is our lifeline. We simply cannot do our jobs or provide for our families without it. When our wireless networks go down, we must rely on our cell service.”

Last month, Johnson reviewed the neighboring vantage points of the current and proposed towers, noting the closer one gets to the site, the more trees block the site lines. The tower would not be lit nor get the “tree-costume” treatment.

Commissioner Mike Miltich took the visual a step further, using a drone to point out the taller tower will only be visible in backyards in a limited row of homes in the Lake Norman Cove at Jetton community. He and Sisson noted that they believed the wooden utility poles that are common throughout town are much more of an eyesore.

“But we’ve gotten used to it,” Miltich said.

Using Victoria Bay for a study, certified general appraiser Michael Berkowitz said homes values in the community with views of a nearby tower were not impacted. He had not done an analysis of market impacts on a lack of – or lower grade of – cell service.

The two conditions were added from the public hearings. The existing tower on the site must be  decommissioned and removed no more than 120 days after completion of the future tower.

And if at any point in time the new tower or any antenna becomes inactive for a period of 180 days, the antennas are to be removed.

Bilodeau’s stance was that while stronger signals are warranted, an alternative site should be found for the new tower. 

“Maybe there’s other solutions,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve done our job to investigate. We keep falling back on ‘it’s not in our purview’. … I don’t think we’ve done our job looking at other options.”

Atrium offices proposed near Antiquity

Medical offices for Atrium Health have been proposed for Zion Avenue, across from Antiquity.

MVP Properties wants to rezone 1.76 acres at 20042 N. Zion Ave. for a one-story building containing a maximum of 16,000 square feet. The building, on land currently zoned as Town Center, is intended to be devoted to professional and general office uses; and medical, dental and optical uses and clinics, Senior Planner Aaron Tucker told commissioners.

The rezoning will go to the Planning Board Jan. 11, but a second public hearing is yet to be scheduled.

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