Vertical Bridge has withdrawn its application with the city of Baldwin for a special use permit and a zoning variance. Vertical Bridge is the construction company that submitted an application to place a T-Mobile cell tower at the end of Traditions Drive. The cell tower would have been mere blocks from downtown and Baldwin Elementary School and less than a mile from the Habersham County Airport.
The announcement came during the public comments portion at the beginning of the Baldwin City Council meeting.
“There has been an update. Vertical Bridge has withdrawn their proposal for the tower. Congratulations! We just heard about this today,” Mayor Stephanie Almagno told the audience.
After the announcement, she asked Baldwin City Attorney Dale Samuels if he had anything to add.
“I would just point out the proceedings on this particular site have apparently ended. It does not mean they’re not actively looking for a solution to their coverage issues,” Samuels told the Council.
He explained that according to their science, they would need a tower somewhere between their two existing towers.
“They’re not done trying,” he said.
Cell tower opponent ‘relieved’
Last week, the City Council held a public hearing on the proposed cell tower. During that meeting, five Baldwin residents spoke in opposition to the tower. Mike Tope was one of those residents who voiced his opposition. His property is next to the site where the tower would have been located.
Tope attended Monday night’s meeting to hear the news that the cell tower application had been withdrawn. After the meeting, Tope told Now Habersham, “I’m very relieved.”
“I feel that we as a community stood together pretty well last week. Hopefully, they will consider us next time,” Tope said.
Tope took Samuels’ comments as a warning.
“If they come back for another location, we’ll hopefully be ready to talk with them again and push back again,” he said.
