Commission recommends cell tower disguised as bell tower despite neighborhood opposition, 6-2

The Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval, 6-2, of a special use permit for a wireless communications facility at Crossland Baptist Church (Z2023034) after staff concluded the proposed stealth design would provide service and conceal equipment better than an alternative by-right tower configuration.

Nick, county planning staff, described the proposed design as a bell-tower “stealth” installation sited on church property in the Buckeye area. Staff recommended approval subject to conditions A–J and noted the facility would set back at least 160 feet from the nearest existing residence. Staff also reported receiving eight letters of opposition from nearby property owners and a letter of support from an owner beyond the 300-foot buffer.

Bill Koning of SmartLink, representing AT&T, described the search for an effective site and said the church location allowed a fully concealed design that could serve multiple carriers: “We’ve had a lot of success around the valley… doing the bell tower type design, which is fully stealth,” Koning said. He told commissioners engineers had rejected more distant commercial parcels as unable to meet the coverage objective.

Multiple nearby residents testified in opposition. Kurt Bates, who lives directly north of the proposed tower location, said the structure would be “right up the front doors” and that it would “hurt my resale” and be “devastating for us as a family.” Sarah Dolan of Blue Sky Organic Farms, which lies west of the church parcel, said the farm hosts livestock and educational programming and expressed concern that the tower could disrupt farm equipment or livestock.

Commissioners discussed federal limitations on health-based objections. Staff advised that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and subsequent federal rules prevent local jurisdictions from considering public-health claims when making zoning decisions and that the federal eligible-facilities rules can allow by-right colocation or height increases in certain circumstances. Commissioners who supported approval noted the stealth design is smaller and more concealed than some by-right alternatives; two commissioners voted no.

The commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for final action. The staff report and the list of conditions A–J are added to the project record.