If you're concerned about the growing number of cellular

communications towers dotting Fayette's landscape, the

county Planning Commission wants to hear from you.

Specifically, the commission will have a public hearing to

open discussion of a possible master plan for cell tower construction

at its next workshop meeting, Thursday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m.

"We need to come up with a master plan for Fayette

County, to come up with a compromise that provides for what the

telecommunications companies want and what Fayette citizens

need," Planning Commission Chairman Bob Harbison told the

county Board of Commissioners Wednesday.

The commission responded with a 180-day moratorium

on new cell tower requests to give the planning panel time to

study the problem. Thursday night, the Planning Commission

followed suit, tabling four requests for tower sites until its Oct. 1

meeting.

A rash of recent tower requests has met with a storm of

neighborhood opposition, with several requests turned down in

recent months. County ordinances currently allow communications

towers in its A-R (agricultural-residential) zoning category.

Companies can build towers up to 150 feet high without a public

hearing, or they can request special permits for taller towers in

A-R zones.

Neighbors have consistently argued that towers should be in

commercial or industrial zones. "It's a commercial venture and it

belongs in a commercial area," argued John Fredericks Thursday

night. Fredericks and a dozen or so of his neighbors voiced their

opposition to Powertel's plans to put a 180-foot monopole tower on

201 acres of agricultural property on Arnold Road.

The same company's request for a site on A-R property

on McBride Road met with similar opposition, though

Powertel's third request, for a site on 127 acres of A-R property on

Morgan Road, received no opposition.

Only one resident spoke in opposition to Air Touch

Cellular's request for approval of a 17.8-acre site in a commercial zone

on Ga. Highway 85 north. A resident objected because the site is

across the road from another tower.

All four requests will be considered Oct. 1 after the

Planning Commission has taken comment from the public and

communications companies in efforts to resolve the conflicts.

The county recently passed a new ordinance aimed at

encouraging several companies to put their antennas on each tower,

reducing the total number of towers needed. But that concept calls

for taller towers, and taller towers have met even stiffer

opposition than shorter ones.

Planning Commission Chairman Harbison said those

who want to comment on the problem should think about that

dilemma. "Do you want lots of 150-foot towers, or fewer very tall

ones?" he asked during last week's meeting.

The workshop will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 20 at the County

Administrative Complex.

<!--##############