A new communications tower will not go up in Kingsville, at least for now.
Kingsville Town Council voted this week to not allow Sigmun Wireless to build a 50 m cellphone and communications structure off Heritage Rd., despite the town's planning and development services department recommending passage.
Residents in the area had concerns over the tower going up in an already developed area, as well as with security.
One resident, Ed Neves, told council the town does not need any new development in that area.
"They've done a good job. They've added a dog park there. They've cleaned up the area," says Neves. "I'm glad town council could realize that even though they had this request and an opportunity for little revenue, they've realized they put too much work into it."
Neves also says the tower's proximity to nearby homes was a potential problem.
"The concerns primarily are just this 50m tall tower sitting at what would have been 140m away from my house," says Neves. "I would have felt it in the basement if it ever fell on my house."
In recommending that placement of the tower at that location, Kingsville Manager of Planning and Development Services Robert Brown told town council that the site was chosen because the town already owns it, and it does not interfere with any natural aesthetics. However, public comment in that same report indicated that one property owner had offers on pieces of land on the condition that the tower not be erected there.
Neves also noted that the security needed to protect the tower from vandals may not necessarily be safe.
"The company would have to protect it with barbed-wire fences, and that just leads kids to 'Who's the first one over the fence?', just because you can," says Neves. "That safety concern is there too. We're going to end up with some 14-year-old tangled up in a chained-link fence."