It's

once more around the mulberry bush for proposed

changes to Fayette's ordinance governing

communications towers.

The

county Planning Commission will discuss the

proposals again during a work session tomorrow

night. During its business meeting April 6, the

commissoin had planned to pass the proposals on

to the County Board of Commissioners. But after

an hour of discussion with representatives of the

American Towers company, commissioners decided

they need more time to think.

"I'd

like just a little bit more time," said

Planning Commission member Jim Graw before making

a motion to table the matter.

American

Towers attorney Jim Ney told commissioners

there's no way his company can fulfill its

federal obligation to provide coverage in Fayette

County for cell phone companies with the county's

ordinance and proposed amendments.

Frustrated,

Graw said the county has no independent expert to

turn to in checking out Ney's statements. "I

want to find an expert that'll be our

expert," he said.

Ney

and other industry representatives have asked the

county to allow towers closer together and closer

to homes. Currently they're required to be two

miles apart and 1,000 feet from the nearest home

(except in the major highway corridors, where

towers can be as close as one mile), and that in

effect prohibits any more towers in Fayette, said

Ney.

"We

have major coverage gaps [in the county,] areas

where you simply can't make a call," he

said, pointing out that the Federal

Communications Commission requires that cell

phone companies provide equal coverage throughout

the nation. "If you don't open up enough

areas for reasonable coverage, I think you open

up the ordinance to [court] challenge," he

added.

Enacted

just last year, the law is so restrictive that no

new towers have been permitted in the county.

After

talking about the ordinance in its March 23 work

session, the Planning Commission had agreed on

changing the distance between towers to 1.5

miles, and allowing towers to be within 750 feet

of the nearest home, but Ney last week said

that's not enough of a change.

He

gave commissioners a series of maps showing all

the existing towers as well as some proposed new

ones, and said a 1.5-mile separation would

prohibit the new towers, prohibiting cell phone

companies from providing complete coverage.

But

commission member Bill Beckwith pointed out that

the group also was considering doing away with

the current prohibition on variances for towers.

"In cases where there is a hardship, they

could proceed with that avenue," he said.

Beckwith

and commission vice chairman Fred Bowen both

voted to approve the changes and send them to the

County Commission, but Graw voted against the

motion. With only three members present, barely a

quorum, a unanimous vote would have been

required.

Beckwith

and Bowen then voted in favor of Graw's motion to

table.

The

group will discuss the ordinance again tomorrow

at 7 p.m. at the County Administrative Complex.

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