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Anna council approves 120-foot telecommunications monopole for Urban Crossing
Summary
The City Council approved a specific-use permit to replace a 60-foot lattice tower with a 120-foot monopole in the Urban Crossing subdivision to improve cell and 5G coverage; council vote was unanimous 7-0.
The Anna City Council voted unanimously on May 27 to approve a specific-use permit allowing a 120-foot monopole telecommunications tower on the common lot of the Urban Crossing homeowners association.
The tower will replace an existing 60-foot self-supporting lattice tower and is designed to accommodate at least four providers. Council members approved conditions from the Planning & Zoning Commission and staff requiring a monopole design, removal of the existing 60-foot tower, no lighting except as required by law, and construction per the approved site drawings.
Planning Manager Lauren Mackey told the council the applicant proposes to remove the smaller, existing structure and install a 120-foot monopole on the HOA lot to address service gaps. Staff and the Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval with conditions. Ralph Weingarten, speaking for Hemphill LLC, the tower developer, said the site’s anchor tenant is Verizon Wireless and that the design would accommodate additional carriers in the future.
Multiple Urban Crossing residents testified in favor of the permit at the public hearing, citing slow and unreliable internet service, dropped calls and problems working from home. “We’ve been living in the dark, digitally speaking, for over eight years now,” said Benny Esau, a resident at 3040 Crossing Drive. Several neighbors said fiber and fixed broadband providers had refused to extend service to the subdivision.
Hemphill’s representative told council members the site meets separation requirements in the city ordinance and that the FAA does not require nighttime lighting for a tower under 200 feet and outside approach zones. Council members pressed developers about how the tower would interact with future fiber service; Hemphill said the monopole would still be needed for voice and mobile data even if fixed fiber became available, and that operators typically market additional internet products off such towers.
Councilmember motioned and the council voted unanimously to approve the specific-use permit; the record shows a 7-0 vote.
Construction and timeline questions: the applicant estimated permitting and government notifications could take 30–45 days and said late summer or early fall construction was possible, with “on-air” service a target before the end of the year. The applicant expects Verizon as the firm commitment and said they would market the structure to other carriers, and that the new tower would be 5G-capable.
Copies of the staff report and the conditions adopted by the council are part of the official record.
