Planning commission approves Greenville cell tower application

A cell tower application for 200 Fox Run in Greenville has been approved by the Muhlenberg Joint City-County Planning Commission, at a public hearing on Jan. 28 at City Hall in Central City. All members were present for the vote, which was approved 7-1, with one commissioner abstaining.

This was the second attempt by the commission to approve the application. At a meeting on Dec. 17, the commission voted 3-2 to oppose the application, with several members absent. The Dec. 17 vote was rescinded at a Jan. 14 special called meeting of the commission, upon appeal by Pike Legal Group, representing AT&T in the matter.

At the Jan. 14 meeting, commission chair David Rhoades asked the board members to provide evidence of any facts which would find the application in default. Without anyone offering evidence, the group voted to rescind the previous vote by a 5-1 margin.

On Jan. 28, a large crowd of nearly 40 were present for the noon meeting, including members of the Greenville city council, the Muhlenberg County fiscal court, Greenville officials, police and members of the public. A group of neighbors to the site were also present, to again state their objections during the public hearing, as they did at the December meeting.

As the meeting began, Rhoades asked those who wanted to speak to restrict their comments to the application alone, and said the board was not there to consider location, property values, health or environmental effects or any other topic.

Retired county attorney and neighboring land owner Ralph Vick spoke against the application, saying he was objecting to the procedure of the committee, and asked to submit various items into the record, including certified plats and real estate market value analysis.

Vick said the commission is not there to rubber stamp the application, but rather to regulate land use pursuant to the Muhlenberg County Comprehensive Plan of 2019. “Your first obligation, given the comprehensive plan, clearly cites you are to consider the safety of the people,” Vick said. “I recognize I am not permitted to now assert health and environmental issues that I have, although multiple studies do agree.”

Health and environmental impacts, as well as effects on property value were objections Vick brought to the Dec. 17 meeting, which persuaded commission members to vote against the application.

At the Jan. 28 meeting, Vick attempted to point to ways in which the application was at odds with the county’s comprehensive plan, including commercial use in a residential area, and use of residential roads for commercial purposes, during construction and maintenance of the tower. He also said the application was “wrong and erroneous” because it did not take into account alternative locations.

Rhoades dismissed Vick’s attempts to steer the conversation into market values and land use, and said Vick’s comments had nothing to do with the application itself.

“That’s not what this board’s responsibility is to do,” Rhoades said. “This board has no influence on where the cell tower goes.” The board is only there to determine if the application was filled out correctly, and all steps were followed, he said.

Terry Long, a neighbor to the tower site, spoke to the commissioners, raising his concerns about work that has already been done. Fiber optic cable has been installed in preparation for the cell tower, which Long called a poor business decision by AT&T, and asked if members of the commission had assured AT&T that the site would be approved.

As David Pike of Pike Legal Group began to address the commission, members of the audience began to shout questions at the attorney. This prompted Rhoades to gavel the public hearing to a close. “This is not going to get out of control,” Rhoades said, and he moved the meeting to a vote.

Rhoades again said the commission is not responsible for deciding if the cell tower has negative effects on health or property values, only to decide whether or not the application itself was properly filed. “Anything beyond us is a civil matter,” Rhoades said.

The commission held a roll-call vote. Commissioners who voted to approved the application were Jonathan Armour, Wesley Harris, Troy Walker, Lucien Cicney, Shannon Coombs, Leon Bastin, and D. D. Sparks. Voting against the application was Bob Baker. Wade Walters abstained.