A 200-foot cell tower that Saddle Creek residents say appeared beside their back fences without warning has pushed Greenville County toward a new set of rules for wireless facilities. The proposed ordinance would add several-hundred-foot buffers and formal notice before certain new towers can rise in unincorporated areas.
Greenville County Council approved the ordinance's first reading Tuesday, according to FOX Carolina. The county's meeting agenda identifies the measure as an ordinance regulating wireless communication facilities, including cell towers, in unincorporated areas.
Residents say the problem was not merely the tower's height but the surprise. Saddle Creek HOA President Frank Tamburello said he first learned something was happening after a neighbor called about a crane in a backyard, and workers then told him they were installing a 200-foot tower; the Greer community has about 40 homes.
Under the draft's citizen-participation rules, new towers would trigger advance notice. Separate siting rules would include proposed 1,500-foot and 3,000-foot separation requirements, according to the county ordinance draft.
The proposal includes advance-notice provisions. Residents have also raised concerns about possible health effects and falling property values, while the county proposal discusses tower placement and notice.
The discussion also mentions small wireless facilities and residential zoning districts. The FCC antenna-structure registration database is identified in the source material. The Federal Communications Commission's FCC 18-133 report is dated Sep 27, 2018. According to Federal Communications Commission FCC 18-133, dated Sep 27, 2018, new construction of Small Wireless Facilities was assigned a 90 day Section 332 shot clock, with ninety days described as presumptively reasonable.
The Legal Fight May Be Just Beginning
County Council Member Curt McGahhey acknowledged potential legal challenges but said they should not stop the county from acting, FOX Carolina reported. The draft addresses wireless communication facilities and advance notice as county leaders consider changes to the rules. The Federal Communications Commission says Section 332(c)(7) preserves state and local authority over zoning and land use decisions for personal wireless service facilities. In a separate Horry County case, a South Carolina Judicial System court document says Section 13-73(a) lists factors the council is required to consider before issuing a permit for a telecommunication tower.
The ordinance is not law yet. The county's published July 21 agenda shows the measure entering the first-reading stage, leaving additional readings and possible revisions ahead. For now, county leaders are considering whether future neighbors should get more than a surprise crane in the backyard.
