Image courtesy of city of Vestavia Hills
A simulated photo of what a small-cell tower would look like on Crossgate Drive in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.
The Vestavia Hills City Council voted to approve the installation of controversial small-cell 5G towers for the Crossgate community Monday night.
The plan was approved unanimously after months of delays that occurred following opposition to the towers raised by many residents from Crossgate during a City Council meeting last summer.
Following passage of a federal law establishing 5G network access across the United States, telecommunications provider Crown Castle started seeking approval to install three 30-foot-tall towers on rights of way and easements on or near private property.
However, after hearing the concerns of residents, the City Council, on the advice of City Attorney Patrick Boone, asked for an opinion on the matter from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall. Among other things, the council asked Marshall whether the city can prohibit the installation of small-cell towers and whether the city has any influence over the exact location of the towers.
In late December, Marshall returned his opinion stating that while the city has some limited role, such as requiring the towers to meet pre-existing and reasonable aesthetic guidelines, 5G towers are a matter of federal and state law and cannot be prohibited by the City Council.
Vestavia Hills Mayor Ashley Curry read directly from the opinion in an attempt to demonstrate that, despite city officials’ efforts, the city’s hands are tied, and the city must allow Crown Castle to move forward with the project.
“Question No. 1: Does the act allow the city to reject small-cell facilities from being placed in city rights of way, and what conditions are valid reasons for such a denial?” Curry said. “The attorney general stated Section 37-17-2 of the Code of Alabama does not allow a city to deny a wireless provider the right to place small-cell facilities in the city's rights of way provided that the provider meets the city's permitting and fee requirements and any other requirements adopted by the city that are not in conflict with state law.”
“Question No. 2: … Does the act allow the city of Vestavia Hills to determine the exact location of the installation of a new or replacement pole on a city right of way?" Curry added. "Answer: The city may not determine the exact location of the installation or placement of a new or replacement pole.”
Despite the thorough explanation, several Crossgate residents once again voiced their opposition to the plan, including Michael Fliegel, a former Birmingham assistant city attorney who asked the City Council if their opinions will change if and when small-cell towers are planned for Vestavia Hills’ gated communities.
“We’re going to have other neighborhoods that are going to have to deal with this, like Liberty Park,” Fliegel said. “What’s going to happen when the gated communities have to put up 35-foot, black cell towers? They are going to have a fit. We're only a hundred-house neighborhood, so again, we’re relatively small potatoes compared to Liberty Park. They are not going to be happy.”
The mayor responded that “if it arises in Liberty Park, we’re going to follow the same procedure we did with y’all. We won’t need to do an attorney general’s opinion again. I can speak to this myself personally. There won't be exceptions made for some other neighborhood just because it isn’t your neighborhood. The same rules that apply to you will apply to anybody else.”
Following three additional Crossgate residents who voiced their opposition and asked Crown Castle to consider moving the poles to less conspicuous locations, Crown Castle representing attorney Andy Rotenstreich said the telecommunications company has listened to the concerns of the residents and agreed to relocate two of the three towers.
“Crown has the right under those laws to do what they're doing here, but that doesn't mean the Crown or anybody else goes at this without trying to understand where the neighbors wanted the towers moved where it could work best for the neighborhood,” Rotenstreich said.
Rotenstreich added that Crown Castle, after conversations with Crossgate residents, agreed to relocate the pole at the entrance to the neighborhood and toward the back of the neighborhood near the cul de sac, but would not agree to move the middle pole because that might hinder proper coverage.
However, following dialogue with Crossgate residents Jean Dillon and June Wikingstad, Rotenstreich and Darryl Forster, the manager of network construction and operations for Crown Castle, agreed to continue conversations to see if a compromise can be reached on the placement of the second tower.
In other action, the City Council vacated two sanitary sewer easements on Endeavor Lane in The Bray development within Liberty Park.
Additionally, Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes congratulated the City Council as well as all of the city’s departments for its recent credit rating upgrade from AA to AAA from Fitch Rating. Vestavia Hills is now the only city in Alabama with AAA ratings from Moody and Fitch and only the second city in the state with at least two AAA ratings from any credit rating service.
