Planning commission pauses vote on 189-foot cell tower after residents raise safety, property-value and process concerns

Freebird Communications asked the Cobb County Planning Commission on May 6 to approve a special land use permit for a 185-foot telecommunications tower (189 feet including lightning rod) at the northeast corner of Acworth Due West Road and Jim Owens Road. The commission held the case for more community engagement and additional materials.

The applicant’s representative, Greg Spence of Fortified Telecom Services, said the tower was needed to add capacity and coverage in northwest Cobb County and that Verizon had identified the site as the minimum height and location required. “The revised design is in line with precedent previously set in the county as well,” Spence told commissioners.

Why it matters: Residents living nearest the proposed tower told the commission the structure would sit within a few hundred feet of homes and a child-care center and could harm property values and create…