CHUBBUCK — The Chubbuck City Council recently voted 3-1 (with Councilman Brent Marshall the only dissenter) to allow T-Mobile to construct an 80-foot cell tower in the middle of Stuart Park, much to the disapproval of many in the audience, some of who previously spoke against the idea at a meeting of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission in April.

    Mayor Kevin B. England had earlier asked the council to avoid emotion and only judge any legal and lawful reasons that might exist to deny the public’s appeal of the P&Z decision.

    At the April meeting, members of that panel passed T-Mobile’s request for a conditional-use permit. A month later, the city council denied the appeal by local residents, thereby giving the company permission to erect the tower at the park. There were a few conditions attached to the construction (a brick fence was required instead of a chain link one, etc.) But many in the neighborhood of the venue felt betrayed by the decision and complained that a cell tower of that size does not need to be placed in a park atmosphere, where children and families gather.

    The May meeting was quite low-key compared with the boisterous affair in April, where, despite the unanimous opinion of more than 15 public speakers urging the P&Z commission to vote against the plan, the panel said “yes” by a vote of 5-2. Russ Armstrong and Mike Schwartz voted no. Commissioner Don Stoddard made the motion and Morris Kinghorn seconded the measure.

    “I don’t think we were heard at all ...,” said Chubbuck resident Dallin Farnes, who spoke in the April meeting. “I think they did everything they could to talk themselves into it. They are not elected, so they have no binding connection to the people.”

    The commission’s vote gave permission to construct an 80-foot monopole tower in the northwest corner of the park. The conditions were that the company deal with landscaping and screening (fencing), and provide an emergency power generator, as well as enclosed cabling issues. The April ruling was especially noticed because this same body turned down T-Mobile’s plan to place the structure on the grounds of Chubbuck Elementary School in December 2014.

    In the May gathering, the council had some concerns. The emotionally-charged meeting touched on everything from the safety of children playing in the park to the possible health hazards of electronic emanations, to aesthetics, to the tower’s impact on property rates.

    Contrasted with more than a dozen citizens critical of the measure in April, only Roger Porter, who lives on Stuart Avenue, rose to speak against the proposal before the city council a month later.

    “I think we need better answers from T-Mobile than ‘I believe so,’” Porter said. “This neighborhood feels deflated. The idea of cannibalizing our city parks is not in harmony with the intent of the park’s use. When parks are dedicated to our children, we need to keep them for our children.”

    He also said that T-Mobile’s representative, Rocky Schutjer, was being vague regarding the tower’s coverage area and could not believe that there was no other non-residential area in Chubbuck in which the company could place the tower.

    Members of the council also questioned Schutjer about various tenets of the proposal, including Marshall, who was openly concerned that the setback waiver would have a negative impact on future conditional-use permits.

    The city attorney, Thomas Holmes, however, assured members of the council that each waiver would have to stand on its own and would not be associated with this particular vote.

    Seemingly satisfied by that argument, three members of the panel gave their consent to the communications company.

    And, despite the fact that Councilman Kermit Morrison said that there is a better place for the tower, and colleague Ryan Lewis stated that “We certainly do not want this (pole) in the middle of the park,” both nevertheless voted to deny the appeal and give permission for the tower to be constructed.