Landscape Planned to Camouflage Cell Tower

DULUTH - A controversial Sprint cell phone tower possibly going up in the Chester Park neighborhood has the Duluth Parks and Recreation Board making sure it doesn't stick out."As long as it's cited in such a way that it's not an obnoxious eye sore to people using the park," said Edwin Hall, the president of the board. City officials put the plan on hold a few weeks ago, and with a decision date nearing, the commission wants to make sure the public is happy with its placement. A new plan to disguise the tower with trees and scrubs has popped up, and the Parks Commission says they feel better about the 75-foot tower. City officials say making it more out of sight is something that should please everyone.Wednesday evening, the Parks and Rec. Commission asked city planners for an update on how to make the tower blend in. So they've decided to plant more than 80 trees and shrubs with the hope of keeping the trails winding through Chester Park without disrupting nature with fencing or a big building."What has been decided is that the cell phone tower should stay in the park," explained Hall. "Some areas of the country, they've taken cell phone towers and made it look like trees." When the plan for a new tower first came up, neighbors in the area weren't happy. One proposal would have put it in a highly used ski area and lights all over with the intention to brighten up the hill. It was the community's strong kick back that put the end to the idea and caused city planners to take another look at the issue. "We would do that but also take steps to landscape it camouflage it,” Hall said. “Make it so it's as inconspicuous as possible even though it's a tower." Sprint's cell phone tower used to sit at the top of the 'Big Chester' ski jump. The jump along with the cell tower was taken down in August, and since then, a temporary tower has been placed a few yards away. Sprint says they need a permanent tower to serve all of its users. The Planning Commission is set to vote on the final tower plans at their meeting Oct. 14. City officials say the plan is expected to move over to city councilors who have already said they support it.