The Dallas City Plan Commission on Oct. 23 approved a special use permit for a 95-foot monopole cellular tower at a South Boulevard site near Colonial Avenue, granting the permit for 20 years and removing the automatic-renewal language that had been proposed by staff.

The permit authorizes construction of a monopole tower intended to improve cellular coverage in the surrounding South Dallas neighborhood. Planning staff described the proposal as requiring a special use permit because the proposed tower height (95 feet) exceeds the 65-foot height that would be allowed by right in the base district; the presentation identified the tower’s location and that the facility would be fenced and subject to site plan review.

The vote followed a lengthy public hearing with supporters saying the tower is needed for reliable service, public-safety communications and local economic opportunity, and opponents raising safety and siting concerns because the tower would sit very close to existing homes.

“Reliable cell service is very necessary and important and not a luxury,” said Pastor Chris Simmons, who spoke in support and represented Cornerstone Baptist Church, one of the community organizations backing the project. Opponents said the monopole’s fall zone and emissions merited closer placement scrutiny; resident T.A. Snead told commissioners the tower would be “roughly 60 feet” from his house and asked, “Has anyone on this panel ... know of any 90 foot cell towers next to anybody’s house?”

Planning staff told the commission the applicant placed the monopole toward the rear of the property to reduce visibility and that the site plan shows a security fence around the pole. Commissioners also noted that federal permitting and technical reviews — including Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requirements and engineering reviews — are part of the broader regulatory process for towers and are outside direct local land-use authority.

Commissioners debated terms of the permit. The commission adopted staff’s recommended 20-year permit term but removed the automatic-renewal provision, requiring any future renewal to come back to the commission for review. Commissioner Wheeler Reagan moved approval for the 20-year period without automatic renewal; the motion passed. The meeting record does not include a roll-call vote tally in the transcript.

The permit is subject to the site-plan conditions that staff outlined at the hearing; the site-plan and permitting review will address screening, permitting details and any required compliance steps before construction.

What happens next: The commission’s approval grants the land-use permission for the SUP; the applicant must complete the city’s permitting steps and satisfy any outstanding federal or engineering reviews before construction can begin. If any of those technical approvals are not granted, the tower could still be prevented from being built despite the planning approval.