Editor’s note: Due to an editing error, the initial headline to this story was incorrect, indicating that the cell tower relocation was already approved. The headline has been corrected. Wausau Pilot & Review regrets the error.
Damakant Jayshi
City leaders on Tuesday leaned toward approving a request by telecom companies to install a mobile tower on property owned by St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church, and plans are underway for a new apartment complex near Greenwood Hills Country Club.
Both matters were taken up by the Wausau Plan Commission on Tuesday.
The church, at 2822 N. Sixth St., approved a proposal to lease space to Vertical Bridge for an AT&T cell tower and is now seeking permission from the city.
Tuesday marked the first of two required public hearings on the matter by the Plan Commission. A second hearing is necessary, by which time staff will make a recommendation on the proposal.
Representatives from the church and the companies involved spoke during the first public hearing on Tuesday. No one else addressed the commission.
City Assistant Planner Andrew Lynch told the commission the new tower at the church will be “monopine” design that looks like a pine tree.
The company currently has its antennas at the former County Materials Corporation building at 402 Winton St., but that building will soon be razed. The owner has given notice to AT&T mobility that all equipment must be removed.
Robert Stasney, chair of the St. Peter congregation, told commission members that a recent vote at the church showed between “95%, 98% are in support of this arrangement.” Church officials were contacted by Vertical Bridge in 2021 to use some vacant land on the church property.
Officials say the cell tower is necessary to continue serving AT&T customers in the area, and that other cell providers could also lease space once the project is complete.
New apartments at Greenwood Hills planned
Another apartment building is planned in the Greenwood Hills development area. The Commission approved a request from Green Acres at Greenwood Hills, LLC, that paves the way for a 16-unit apartment building.
The Vistas at Greenwood Hills is part of a previously approved planned development that includes a mix of single- and multi-family buildings adjacent to the Greenwood Hills Country Club.
The approval of the apartment building was a change to the Specific Implementation Plan and does not go to Council, said Andrew Lynch.
Tuesday was second hearing on the project and no one spoke.
