The Hall County Board of Commissioners Thursday night approved a pair of cell towers to be installed in the county with the aim of bolstering area coverage.
Voting on both cell towers was first raised at the June 21 commission meeting. At that time, Commissioner Gregg Poole opted to table both items to Thursday’s meeting, citing concerns about ambient noise and outstanding questions that still needed answering.
The original concerns were largely targeted at the T-Mobile tower, but in an effort to remain consistent, Poole postponed a decision on both towers at that time.
The commission's hands were essentially tied during the passing of the towers, as the federal government stated it would be "discriminatory" to not allow the cell towers, citing the fact that several other towers exist in the region surrounding the proposed locations.
"The Fed says we can't discriminate against them, but they can discriminate against us by telling us what we can and can't do, and put it [the towers] wherever they want to, according to whatever their tests are," Poole said. "So we don't have any way of testing them."
Thursday’s approval vote now allows Verizon and T-Mobile to begin the process of constructing their respective towers, which both reside in northern Hall County.
Original story published Thursday, June 22, at 6:28 p.m.:
The Hall County Board of Commissioners Wednesday night postponed the decision for a pair of cell towers to be installed in the county with the aim of bolstering area coverage.
The first of two towers is slated for installation at 6084 Highway 52 just west of Gillsville. The 53.96-acre tract of land is set to house a 255-foot self-supported lattice communication tower that will service T-Mobile users. The area is currently zoned as Agricultural Residential, and the applicant requested commission relief from two traditional standards for telecommunications towers in that zoning.
The current maximum height a tower can be in an ag-related zoning is 195 feet and with the T-Mobile tower set to be 255 feet, commission approval must be granted. Additionally, the lattice style of the tower will require approval, as traditional standards require monopole towers.
The second tower is planned for 5182 Odum Smallwood Road in northern Hall County. That 27.40 plot of land aims to host a 190-foot monopole communications tower that will service Verizon Wireless users in the surrounding area. The current zoning for that space is also Agricultural Residential.
Hall County commissioners reportedly approved a conditional use permit for the Verizon project in Dec. 2019, but the tower was never constructed. Conditional use permits require the correlated project to be started within 12 months of approval. Due to the time-lapse, approval on the Verizon tower has to be renewed, according to Hall County officials.
Hall County planning staff recommended approval of both towers ahead of the commission meeting, citing that both projects are appropriate uses of the land.
The Board of Commissioners Wednesday night chose to table both items, meaning their approval or denial vote will not come until July 27.
Both towers reside in Commission District 3, which is represented by Gregg Poole. The motion for tabling both items was put forward by Poole, who stated there are still outstanding questions regarding noise concerns emanating from the towers once they are completed. That original concern was primarily correlated to the T-Mobile tower, but in an effort to remain consistent, the commissioner elected to table both applications.
Zoning and land use attorney Mattaniah Jahn represents the party aiming to raise the T-Mobile tower.
“Other cell users who have weak or non-existent service can roam onto the T-Mobile network,” Jahn said. “The other thing it's going to do is by having a tower out there, it will make it easier for other carriers to come along and provide service out by Gillsville because they'll be able to just mount their antennas on the tower instead of trying to build their own.”
Jahn indicated the T-Mobile tower is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023, should everything go according to plan.
During the commission meeting Wednesday, one person spoke in opposition to the addition of the Verizon Wireless communication tower. The resident expressed concerns about electromagnetic fields (EMF) and the impact 5G has been said to have on neighboring residents.
The Hall County Board of Commissioners will vote on both communication towers at their regularly scheduled meeting on July 27 at 6 p.m. in the Hall County Government Center.
