Anna council approves 120-foot telecom monopole for Urban Crossing after residents urge better internet

Anna — The City of Anna on Tuesday approved a specific-use permit to replace an existing 60-foot lattice telecommunications tower on the common lot in Urban Crossing with a 120-foot monopole designed to accommodate multiple providers.

Planning manager Lauren Mackey told the council the proposal replaces an existing 60-foot tower and that the monopole would be “designed to accommodate at least 4 providers” and “no lighting installed on the tower except as required by law.” The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval with conditions, including removal of the existing lattice tower.

Why it matters: dozens of Urban Crossing residents told the council they have poor in-home internet and dropped calls, and they said the new tower would bring reliable cellular and 5G-based home internet service that some providers are not otherwise willing to deliver. Supporters said better service would help residents who work from home and improve public safety communications.

Several neighbors spoke in favor. Ashley Theriault, who lives at 3024 Urban Way, said the neighborhood’s internet is “pretty, pretty bad” and that paying more for lower quality service has hindered remote work for her household. “When we decided to move to the house… my husband works from home, 99% of the time,” Theriault told the council, saying the neighborhood largely supports the proposed tower.

A representative for the applicant, Hemphill LLC, said Verizon Wireless is the anchor tenant and the tower is designed to host additional providers. Ralph Weingarten, representing the applicant, said the site fits the neighborhood because existing transmission easements and a 60-foot transmission corridor already create a visual presence. He also reported that the separation distance required by city ordinance between telecommunications towers would be met; he said the measured spacing between the proposed location and a competing SBA tower was 2,961 feet, nearly double the ordinance’s 1,500-foot minimum.

Council members and applicants also discussed whether fiber or future high‑speed wired internet could make the tower redundant. A Hemphill representative said the tower would remain valuable even if fiber became available because wireless towers also provide voice and cellular data service that wired providers do not. “Even if there is fiber internet in the community that becomes available, they’ll still need this location for cell service, at a minimum,” the representative said.

FAA lighting was also discussed. Weingarten and the applicant said the tower is under the 200-foot FAA threshold and not near an airport approach surface, so lighting would not be required.

The council voted to approve the specific-use permit unanimously, 7-0. The applicant told the council construction could begin this summer with a target to be “on air before Christmas.”

What’s next: the city will issue the building permit and the applicant must complete FAA and any federal notifications before construction. The council attached conditions identical to the Planning & Zoning recommendation, including removal of the existing 60-foot lattice tower and adherence to the approved site plan.

For background: the item originated as a specific-use permit request for a telecommunications tower on the Urban Crossing HOA lot. The proposal replaces an older, smaller tower with a monopole intended to serve the subdivision’s in‑building signal needs and public-safety communications.

Votes at a glance: City Council — approve specific-use permit for 120-foot monopole (Urban Crossing HOA Lot A, Lot 19 R). Vote: 7-0, approved.