AT&T, Chickasaw Nation at odds over proposed cell tower in west Tupelo
Dec. 5—TUPELO — Members of the Chickasaw Nation are opposing efforts by telecom company AT&T to raise a cell tower near the future site of the Chickasaw Heritage Center.
The Tupelo Planning Committee on Monday night held a public hearing to discuss the construction of a proposed cell tower by AT&T on Gun Club Road. Officials from the Chickasaw Nation and Chickasaw Inkana Foundation, which owns the neighboring land, strongly oppose this project.
After an hour of discussion, the committee tabled the matter.
AT&T plans to lease 20 acres of land, which is owned by Tupelo Buffalo Park, LLC, directly next to Chickasaw Village and the upcoming Chickasaw Heritage Center.
The matter at hand was approving the AT&T project's flexible use permit, which includes a hearing to assess compatibility with the neighboring properties. The project must follow three criteria: It must be in harmony with the area and not substantially injurious to the value of properties in the general vicinity, it must conform with all special requirements applicable to the use and it can't adversely affect the health and safety of the public.
City Planner Jenny Savely noted that the project did not have any special requirements and that the federal government, not the committee, governs the project's health and safety guidelines, so the meat of the discussion was on the project's harmony with the neighboring community.
According to staff analysis, the department recommended rejecting the project.
Andrew Rotenstreich, an attorney representing AT&T, gave a detailed presentation about the project. He noted the tower would provide clearer service in the area, and that tower would cause no disturbances to its neighbors. While outside the committee's purview, the tower would also cause no adverse health effects to those nearby.
"I don't know how you get any less unintrusive," he said of the tower, adding there must be written, physical evidence that the project was not in harmony with the area. "Quite frankly, we are not going to cause any ruckus with that. But again, if you look at the use that we are providing here and the benefit that this structure will bring to the citizens, travelers and residents who all live in that area, we think that can outweigh whatever else we are looking at with regards to the harmony."
When asked if AT&T could relocate the tower, Rotenstreich said that was not possible, calling this a "last resort" for the company. He noted that none of the other landowners, including the Chickasaw Nation, agreed to lease the company property in the area, leaving them with the single choice.
Committee member Leslie Mart said that while she is not an engineer, she believed there were other options for the telecommunications company further from the historic Chickasaw land. Rotenstreich said engineers recommended the area after extensive work.
Meanwhile, Chickasaw Nation Archaeologist Robert Myrick, reading a prepared statement, said the nation staunchly opposed the project. Myrick declined to give further details, directing the committee to the Chickasaw Nations media relations department.
"The Chickasaw Nation Historic Preservation Division is currently in consultation under the NHPA, Nation Historic Preservation Act ... with the federal agency in charge of the project," he said. "The Chickasaw Nation is firmly opposed to the monopole being built at the location, as it is close in proximity to a site that is sacred to our Chickasaw people."
The committee questioned whether they had to approve or deny the project. Rotenstreich noted that it had 150 days to approve or deny the project's permit from when AT&T submitted the application. The company submitted the project on Oct. 19, with the action to table the matter to the January meeting, set for Jan. 8, the committee will still be within that window.
City Attorney Ben Logan, meanwhile, noted that inaction from the committee will be considered support for the project. Logan recommended tabling the matter.
Rotenstreich said he believed the committee had no choice but to approve the permit, noting that the federal government will decide if the tower disrupts sacred land through the National Historic Preservation Act.
In delaying their decision, members of the planning committee hope the federal government will take a stance on the matter before the next meeting.
Rotenstreich, however, said it could take months to a year for the decision to be handed down.
"Approve our request because we meet your ordinances. Then let the other that agencies that regulate ... let them tell us whether we can build," he said.
The staff analysis also noted that the city previously removed power lines and other "modern intrusions" adjacent to the Chickasaw Nations property in the Blackland Prairie and Natchez Trace as part of the National Preservation Act.
Committee member Patti Thompson asked the CEO of the Chickasaw Inkana Foundation Brady Davis and Myrick why they wouldn't want better service in the area for their center, which will likely need internet and cell capabilities.
Davis noted that the development of the Chickasaw Heritage Center, which will serve as a museum to tell the story of the Chickasaw Nation through the lens of its people, is intended to be as close to nature as possible. A visible cell tower, he said, will hamper that goal.
Davis also noted that in all of his time at the historic site, he has never had issues with cell service as an AT&T customer himself.
