Jan. 26. By Dave Vieser. The placement of cell towers in Cornelius remains a hot topic, even after the approval of a 199-foot tower near Jetton Road. At their Monday Jan. 25 meeting, the town’s Land Development Code Advisory Board (LDCAB) asked Planning Director Aaron Tucker to explore the regulations adopted by Matthews.

The town in southeastern Mecklenburg uses a sliding scale based on height to determine the distance between cell towers.

Lack of research?

BILODEAU

“It is unfortunate that this important research was not completed prior to approval of the Cottonwood tower. This is a highly technical issue and we should proactively identify the best locations that improve reception without infringing on our neighborhoods,” said Commissioner Denis Bilodeau. The Peninsula resident voted against the Cottonwood tower.

The LDCAB members, who were researching the possibility of reducing the current one mile separation requirement between towers, also directed Tucker to contact the three major cell phone providers—Verizon, AT&T and T Mobile—to get a clearer perspective of the technical needs connected with phone reception, especially in light of the emergence of the 5G phone network frequency.

DUKE

Reconsider the vote?

Meanwhile, in a related matter, Commissioner Jim Duke is asking the town Board to reconsider its recent approval of the 199-foot Cottonwood Tower. “I sincerely believe that we have done a serious disservice to our community,” Duke said in his email letter dated January 25 to Mayor Woody Washam as well as Commissioners Denis Bilodeau and Thurman Ross.

“If we ignore the wishes of hundreds of residents and six HOA’s we do so at our own peril,” Duke wrote.

It is unclear whether the Town has the authority to reconsider a previously approved matter. We have submitted this question to the Town Manager.