Council moves to block T-Mobile cell tower in Burbank

Residents were successful Tuesday in keeping a wireless telecommunications facility out of their neighborhood after Burbank City Council members pledged to block the project.

Amid an overflow crowd at the council’s chambers, officials were directed to draft a resolution for June 5 so the City Council can formally approve appeals filed against the T-Mobile facility slated for atop the Little White Chapel at 1711 N. Avon St.

In their appeals, residents argued the project would negatively impact property values and was incompatible with a single-family residential area.

At public rallies, they also argued the facility, which would have included 12 antennas housed in a steeple-like structure atop the church, posed potential health hazards to residents and a nearby school.

It was the first such project to come back on appeal after the City Council voted 3 to 2 in September to approve an ordinance permitting wireless telecommunications facilities in single-family neighborhoods.

After the Planning Board approved the project earlier this year, three appeals were filed in an effort to overturn the decision.

Councilman David Gordon blamed three of his colleagues for the volatile situation, which has galvanized neighbors living near the church into waging a public relations campaign against the proposed facility.

“The reason we are here this evening is because of three elected officials sitting at this dais,” Gordon said, referring to Mayor Dave Golonski and Councilmen Jess Talamantes and Gary Bric, who voted for the ordinance.

Gordon and Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy voted against it.

“I based my vote on things that possibly I wasn’t aware of,” Bric said. “I could have made a mistake, Dr. Gordon.”

The ordinance requires a conditional zoning permit for each proposed project, so decisions can be made on a case-by-case basis.

In making their decision, City Council members cited several reasons, including the fact that the new steeple-like structure would make the church too tall to be compatible with the neighborhood.

Council members also expressed concerns that the facility would have been in the heart of the neighborhood and the steeple-like structure didn’t fit aesthetically with the 70-year-old church.