Township board authorizes contract talks with Diamond Communications to add towers on parkland amid public concern over 5G nodes

The Woodlands Township Board of Directors voted April 23 to authorize contract negotiations with Diamond Communications to market and manage potential cell-tower sites on township parkland and to proceed with the required public-notice and public-hearing steps before any specific tower is sited.

The board’s action directs the president and CEO to negotiate lease terms and execute agreements in final form as approved by township legal counsel, and to fall back to the next-ranked respondent if negotiations with Diamond are unsuccessful. Staff emphasized the decision is a procurement/negotiation authorization; specific towers would be subject to separate engineering, environmental reviews and public hearings.

Why it matters: township staff said the proposal responds to documented coverage challenges and capacity shortfalls across The Woodlands. Diamond’s proposal (as summarized to the board) included per-site base rents ranging in staff examples from about $15,000 to $30,000 per year depending on contract structure, tiered revenue-share escalators up to a 55% share in Diamond’s model if multiple carriers sign on to a single tower, and signing-bonus ranges (per-tower contingent payments described in respondents’ bids) reported in the staff presentation between about $50,000 and $500,000 depending on assumptions and number of approved sites.

Staff and the selected consultant showed a before-and-after coverage map for the township that the presentation said would convert many of the area’s “challenged” cells to green (adequate coverage) if the proposed network of up to 10 towers is built. Staff listed tentative park sites including Rob Fleming, Bear Branch, Cattail, Tamarack, Lakeside and others, but said the locations shown are conceptual; each proposed site would undergo site-specific due diligence (soil, RF engineering, easement review) and a public-notice and hearing process before final approval.

Public concern and board Q&A: multiple residents who spoke during public comment urged the board to limit small, street-level 5G nodes in residential yards and to involve residents earlier. Windward Cove residents raised economics and property-value concerns about nodes placed near homes; resident Barry Henson presented aggregate property-value impact estimates and told the board “there’s a whole bunch of tax money that is collected from Windward Cove” and that residents “should have some say” when installations could affect neighborhood property values (public comment). Fred Tresca, a Windward Cove HOA board member, urged advanced neighborhood notice before node installations. Dr. Hilton, a resident who identified himself as a physician, urged the board to distinguish the terminology — “node” versus “tower” — and told the board, “The science does not support that” when residents raised health-safety claims about the equipment.

Staff cautioned that many small-cell installations occur in road rights-of-way controlled by county or utility permitting and are governed by federal and state telecommunication law; in those instances the township has limited ability to block installations. The board discussed asking Entergy and Montgomery County to coordinate notice to township staff when carriers request power or easements on streetlight poles so staff can engage early with neighborhoods about installation look-and-feel and siting.

Next steps: the board authorized staff to begin contract negotiations with Diamond Communications and to return to the board with final lease terms and site-specific recommendations; any individual tower or site will require a public hearing and mailed notice to nearby properties as part of the zoning/site-approval process.