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By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADAA series of errors led the company to put up a "crow's-nest" antenna, a style that is banned under current city codes.
PINELLAS PARK - A City Council deadlock Thursday is forcing Sprint to take down a cell tower antenna in the Mainlands area and replace it with a more "unobtrusive" model.
At issue was whether an erroneously issued building permit was reason enough to forgive the illegally large antenna.
The tower is located at 4561 Mainlands Blvd. near the Mainlands Shopping Center and the Mainlands subdivision.
The City Council originally approved the cell tower in 1997, but it was not built until 1999 when the city added a condition that antennas on the tower should be a slim "slick array" design, which hugs the tower pole. Another common style, a crow's-nest, however, looks like a huge nest.
The first antenna, installed by AT&T, was the narrow design.
Subsequently, Sprint leased space on the tower to install its own antenna. According to Sprint, the company was not aware of the requirement for an unobtrusive antenna design. Last spring, Sprint applied for and was granted a permit by the city building department to install a crow's-nest antenna.
When the error was discovered, Sprint applied for "conditional use," which would have allowed the larger antenna to remain.
The request was unanimously approved by the city's planning and zoning commission in November.
The tower is surrounded by a commercial plaza, an office complex and vacant land. City administrators recently concluded that since the tower is located within a commercial area, the "crow's-nest" antenna "should not have any substantial detrimental effect as designed on the living and working conditions of the neighborhood."
Council members had final approval. And because they could not agree, the antenna remains illegal and must be taken down.
"There was an unfortunate sequence of errors. It is costly to change antennas out," said Sprint spokesperson Andrea Lee, who unsuccessfully asked the council to let the antenna stay.
Mayor Bill Mischler and council member Rick Butler were sympathetic, but council members Sandra Bradbury and Ed Taylor were opposed to allowing the antenna to remain. The council deadlocked twice, first on a vote to deny the conditional use, then on a vote to approve the request.
Council member Pat Bailey-Snook was absent, but she had earlier sent a message to a city administrator saying she opposed the request.
Former Mayor Cecil Bradbury voiced the sole objection to the existing antenna from the audience.
"I don't think the city should allow anyone to build and then (the builder) come in and say "oops'," said Bradbury, who was mayor when the original agreement calling for the smaller antenna was approved.
"Cell phones are a necessity of life, but the more unobtrusive they are, the better," said his daughter, council member Sandra Bradbury.
Mischler supported the cell phone company, arguing that the "fault" lay largely with the city for approving the antenna permit. "We messed up. We goofed," Mischler said.
"Yes, the staff made a mistake. But when Sprint leased (the antenna space) from AT&T, they should have never asked for a crow's-nest," Sandra Bradbury said.
Butler objected: "We are just as guilty as they are."