Commission recommends approval of 120-foot White Antelope wireless tower despite strong public opposition

The Navajo County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a special use permit to construct a 120-foot multi-carrier monopole communications tower east of Snowflake, despite numerous public comments urging postponement or denial.

County staff summarized public input: the planning office received 15 comment submissions (plus two received after the packet deadline) raising concerns about radio-frequency emissions, effects on humans, birds and livestock, security and lighting, potential pesticide use during construction, proximity to school bus stops and mailboxes, and property-value impacts. Staff told the commission the project complies with zoning standards and that under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 local jurisdictions cannot regulate communications facilities based on RF environmental effects if the facility complies with FCC regulations.

Reg Destry, agent for SBA Communications, said engineers placed the site at the intersection of Concho Highway and White Antelope Road to provide coverage along Concho Highway and that the compound is about 100 by 100 feet on a 51.16-acre parcel (Willis Ranch LLC). Destry said the proposed compound exceeds setback requirements, would sit more than 2,200 feet from some homes to the east, and had been the subject of neighborhood outreach; he said the applicant would consider minor intra-compound shifts but that moving the site across a wash would bring the pole closer to other residences.

Multiple residents with self-described chemical and electromagnetic sensitivities spoke in opposition. Susan Malloy asked the commission to postpone further work and allow neighbors time to study mitigation, saying several residents are "vulnerable to exposures." Kevin Dunn, a local real estate agent, testified the tower could depress specialized housing values and offered possible mitigations such as moving the compound location, undergrounding collection lines, or relocating mailboxes. Others described long-term health improvements since relocating to the area and expressed fear a new tower would worsen conditions.

A commissioner said the commission is "kinda tied" by federal regulations and could not deny a permit based on medical claims alone. A motion recommending approval of SUP24-006 to the Board of Supervisors, subject to staff-recommended conditions, was made, seconded and passed; the Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the item on Sept. 24.

The record includes multiple community appeals for further study and possible site adjustments; the commission’s recommendation does not change federal regulatory authority or the Board’s final decision.