T-Mobile is aware that getting all the clearances it needs could take up to six months and is moving ahead with plans to erect a 65-foot cell tower on the grounds of the San Ignacio Golf Club. When completed, the structure would occupy a fenced enclosure near a maintenance shed and be disguised to resemble a pine tree. The Arizona golf course already hosts a 58-foot cell tower in its parking lot.
When asked if he had concerns about a new cell tower, the Green Valley News reports that one individual noted, “I would say this probably doesn’t affect us because in order to see that cell tower, you’d have to look through the cell tower that’s already on the golf course parking lot now.”
Both T-Mobile and the Homeowners Organization for the surrounding communities have been diligent in keeping residents informed. The earlier tower gathered the same sort of wary reaction in some quarters as neighbors expressed fears about property values and compromised views. The initial cell tower was approved in 2016, and this second tower is likely to experience a similar arc.
“We’re very early in the process,” said Bill O’Malley, chair of Green Valley Council’s Planning and Architecture Committee. “There will be lots of chances for input before it eventually would go before the Board of Supervisors for action. We do appreciate the applicant has come to us very early in the process,” he told the Green Valley News. “They have not started any of the process with Pima County yet and they purposely came to us to seek input from neighbors.”
T-Mobile has said it will continue to work with the local community and will be able to address service gaps by building a second cell tower in the area. “While there are other cell towers in the vicinity, this proposed site will improve T-Mobile’s coverage and speeds in the area for both 4G LTE and 5G service,” read the company’s official statement.
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