Unfortunately, for members of the Columbus City Council sometimes there aren’t second chances. Last August, members of the Council voted to approve a contract with Verizon to build an 80-foot cell tower camouflaged as an evergreen tree in a residential area.
But after meeting with The Center for Municipal Solutions, Council members regretted their previous decision and the Council’s Public Property, Safety and Works Committee voted unanimously to work with the consulting company to revise the city’s ordinance for cell towers and wireless equipment.
“I wish we had your information before we voted on this issue,” said Dennis Kresha, a member of the Public Property, Safety and Works Committee, during Monday’s meeting. “I think it would have made a big difference.”
Robert Naumann delivered a presentation to the Council on behalf of the Center for Municipal Solutions and said the firm’s aim is to make sure the community “has all the information they need to make a fully informed decision on that facility.”
The Center for Municipal Solutions has worked in 38 different states and with more than 1,000 communities. Naumann claimed the firm works to bring about a win-win for carrier and community, but acknowledged the wireless industry is typically not a fan of the company.
“The wireless industry is not going to like us,” he said. “They don’t like us.”
Naumann said that while municipalities cannot “zone out” cell towers using local ordinances, there are ways local governments can exercise control in the zoning process, like encouraging carriers to co-locate and installing equipment on city-owned property.
January 13, 2017
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