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BRIEF: Pima County may seek restrictions on cell phone towersMay 10, 2009 (The Arizona Daily Star - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Placing cell phone towers in residential areas or scenic parts of Pima County could become more difficult. The county Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on whether to start a process changing the land use code to incorporate factors like community necessity, aesthetics and potential effect on property values in deciding whether to allow cell phone towers. Cell phone towers require a conditional use permit, and that won't change. But after facing a series of decisions on cell phone towers that riled neighbors and even led to lawsuits by cell phone companies, county supervisors want more discretion in whether to approve new tower locations. Neighbors frequently raise concerns about the health impact of having cell phone towers nearby, but federal law doesn't allow local governments to take that into consideration. Pima County Planner Arlan Colton said federal law and court cases on how local governments can regulate cell towers still is evolving. Read more in Monday's Arizona Daily Star. To see more of The Arizona Daily Star, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.azstarnet.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |