Proposal denied for 105-foot cell tower on Coleman Blvd

MT. PLEASANT, SC -

Controversial plans to build a 105-foot cell tower in Mount Pleasant were denied by the town's Board of Zoning Appeals Monday night.

The tower was being proposed to sit at 440 Coleman Boulevard, just before Shem Creek.

Several Mount Pleasant residents came to Monday night's meeting to voice opposition to the proposed cell tower, including long-time resident Jimmy Bagwell.

Bagwell also owns a business on Coleman Boulevard, which is just a short distance away from where the tower was proposed to sit.

"I think some of the things that have been built around the creek recently are not what people want to see on the creek, and I think this is another example of it," Bagwell said.

The proposal showed the tower would stretch 105 feet into the air and would be located next to several houses and local businesses.

"I just don't want to see it," Bagwell said. "I just don't think it's what we want on Coleman Boulevard."

Mount Pleasant's Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously voted to deny the application for the cell tower after hearing several comments from the public.

Board members said the applicant failed to prove there are no alternative locations for the tower.

That's just one of the concerns people from the community raised during Monday night's meeting.

"There have been concerns about the visual impact in The Groves, the visual impact on Coleman, safety impact," nearby resident Melissa Marino said.

Not everyone from the community was opposed to the tower, though.

Robert Hill is in the area a lot, and he thinks current cell towers are more of an eyesore than the proposed tower.

"I believe the existing, little 60-foot tower is more of an eyesore than this one is going to be," Hill said.

But ultimately, most residents-and the board members who denied the application-agreed that the tower doesn't belong at the proposed location on Coleman Boulevard.

"I don't think this is the kind of development that you want to see right up on a neighborhood border, and especially right off of Coleman Boulevard," Bagwell said.

Officials from the town told the applicant that part of the reason the request was denied is that the application wasn't sufficient.

The applicant declined a request for an interview but mentioned he "will always come back" because the town needs this tower.

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