SPRINGDALE : Cell towers at schools put on hold
Posted on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
SPRINGDALE — The Planning Commission backed off on an ordinance the Springdale School District needed to complete a deal with Verizon Wireless to erect cell phone towers disguised as flagpoles on six campuses.
Agreeing that the proposal might be too broad — it would allow disguised cell phone towers on all commercial and public properties — commissioners tabled the proposal, a move Verizon said would create a “train wreck” for its summer construction schedule.
Attorney Tracy Wooden, representing Verizon, asked the commission to expedite the approval process and even suggested taking the ordinance straight to the Springdale City Council.
But commission members refused.
“It’s too quick,” Commissioner Fadil Bayarri said, shortly before the 6-2 vote tabling the ordinance.
The five-year deal with Verizon would pay the district $ 1, 000 per month for each tower, for a total annual income of $ 72, 000 with a 3 percent yearly increase.
Plans called for towers at Har-Ber High School, Central Junior High, Parson Hills Elementary, Smith Elementary, George Elementary and Elmdale Elementary. At Har-Ber, the tower’s utility box would look like a monument sign in front of the school.
The towers could be as tall as 100 feet, and American flags would be flown at the top of all of them. But for the deal to be possible, the district needs the zoning ordinance. Now, the district and Verizon must wait until the June meeting of the Planning Commission, and by then, it might be too late for Verizon to get the towers built during summer vacation, Wooden said.
The commission, however, did rezone four school properties, therefore making it legal to place the towers on campus should the ordinance ever pass.
Springdale Realtor Philip Taldo spoke against the ordinances, saying the zoning proposal was too broad and that the design guidelines, also tabled, were not well conceived.
“It’s kind of like trying to hide an elephant under a hat,” Taldo said.
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