MargateNews.net - http://www.margatenews.net/margatenews/ Original Article URL: http://www.margatenews.net/margatenews/news/articles/article217.asp Cell Tower going up on the Golf Course • Is it a flagpole, or is it a cell tower? By Mitchell Pellecchia, Staff Writer Tuesday, December 1, 2009 A public hearing is scheduled on December 9 at Margate City Hall regarding the approval of a conditional use permit for a cell tower on Margate Boulevard’s Oriole Golf Course. T-Mobile, in cooperation with golf course owners, has applied to the city to erect a 100’ monopole communications tower across from Paradise Gardens IV residents. Margate planning officials say the tower is going to look much like a flagpole, similar to the tower in Coral Gate Park off State Road 7 – complete with an American Flag flying at the top. _______________ Cell phone towers disguised as flagpoles, trees, church bells and steeples are popping up in communities across America. About a quarter of the estimated 130,000 cellular towers in the U.S. are camouflaged and are being well received by urban and suburban dwellers as cell companies compete for market share in more populated areas of the country.   Although disguising the towers costs providers more money, they’ve been extremely successful in dispelling “not in my backyard” arguments when getting them zoned in more obvious places. The public hearing on December 9 is for residents who wish to voice their approval or objection to cell tower placement. If you’ve got something to say, be at City Hall at 7 p.m. __________________________________________ Get MargateNews.net on your desktop, laptop or mobile Internet with customizable RSS (Real Simple Syndication) Feeds. Receive all the news, or just some of it, as soon as it’s published! Sign up now. Access the wireless version of this website by visiting http://www.margatenews.net/margatenews/wireless with your WAP (Wireless Access Protocol) Internet-enabled wireless device. Copyright © MargateNews.net 2009