ASHEVILLE – Residents living in Kenilworth and along Swannanoa River Road may soon spot a new “tree” on the horizon — it may also be providing resident cell coverage.
A new, 130 foot “stealth” telecommunication tower is set to be built in the parking lot of the Asheville Mall after it was approved by the city Planning and Zoning Commission Sept. 3. The height of the pole, which will abut the Kenilworth Forest neighborhood, has caused alarm among some who say it may become an eyesore.
The new telecommunication pole was proposed by Vogue Towers, a wireless infrastructure company that builds and owns towers across Western North Carolina, and Verizon Wireless, which will use the tower. The monopole will include a stealth design feature, where it will be designed to look like a pine tree, according to a city report on the project. The tower will not be lit at night, and its tree-like design gives it the name “monopine.”…