Clover councilman raising money to fight 180-foot tower

The battle over a proposed cell tower that would become the tallest structure in the town will soon get its first public hearing – but not before cupcakes and frosting are sold by a Clover Town Council member to help pay for the fight.

A zoning appeals hearing is set for Jan. 14 in the controversy over the town’s allowing an 180-foot cell tower to be built just off U.S. 321 on the southern edge of town – across the street from several homes and a longtime church.

Town Councilman Todd Blanton is among those opposed to allowing construction of the tower, and he’s planning to sell cupcakes and other yard sale goods on Saturday to raise the money it takes to fight city hall.

Blanton has been upset for months about not having been told that a tower was planned near his home and the homes of others. He only learned out about the tower when he saw construction crews at the site doing preliminary work.

“I am still frustrated over this whole issue of the tower and the site,” Blanton said.

Blanton plans to set up an information booth and fundraiser from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Will of God Ministries, which is across the street from the tower site. Any money raised would help defray the $300 it cost neighbor Ed Dees Jr. to file the zoning appeal that has so far halted construction.

Dees and Blanton say the tower is dangerous and too close to home, and that residents had no advance notice of its construction. Town officials approved the request to build the tower because it fits into existing zoning standards, so no public notification was required.

“I am looking forward to having a chance to ask town officials why they want the tower there and why no other sites were considered,” said Dees, whose house is directly across the street from the proposed site at the intersection of Walnut Street and Hampshire Lane, next to an unused textile mill that has been shuttered for decades.

The proposed tower would sit just yards from homes on two sides, but town officials say the construction type would avoid any potential for it to fall on homes if there was a problem. The cell tower would be at least as tall as another on the other side of town, which is shielded by woods and not near homes.

The Zoning Board of Appeals is made up of five people appointed by the Town Council. The meeting is at 6 p.m. Jan. 14 at the Clover Community Center, 120 Bethel St., Clover. It is open to the public.

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Clover councilman raising money to fight 180-foot tower."