Residents oppose giant cell phone tower in Tampa neighborhood
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Residents in a Westchase neighborhood spent the day hanging up signs, opposing a 200-foot cell phone tower.
“There have been plenty of reports of those 70-pound branches falling, and do I want that to fall on my kids? Of course not. So, I have a lot of concerns about it,” resident Anna Labat said.
Parents concerned over proposed 200-foot cell phone tower in Tampa
A Tampa-based company, Skyway Towers, has applied for a special use permit to build the cell tower, disguised as a pine tree on the Philippine Cultural Foundation’s property.
“All of us were shocked by that,” resident Chris Evanich said. “So, for us, we are really, really shocked and also frustrated to learn that this is something that even was could even be possible to be put in.”
The company said it meets zoning requirements and that there are no viable existing towers that would allow T-Mobile to meet the needs of its network in this area.
“Over the past 8 years, I have had consistent service, I never had any challenges, I have had all kinds of different data usage,” resident Matthew Perra said.
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Residents said the tower would be an eyesore for most people in the neighborhood.
“When we see a proposed 200-foot-tall industrial tower, it just doesn’t blend in,” Evanich added. “It doesn’t make a lot of common sense with the natural environment that we have here.”
8 on your side reached out to Skyway Towers, LLC, and the legal team for the Philippine Cultural Center, and so far have not heard back.
On Monday, there is a county land use hearing at 9 a.m., where the proposed tower is expected to come up.
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