City to issue permit for 50-foot pole

The Beacon City Council on July 15 approved a request from Verizon Wireless to erect a 50-foot utility pole on private property on Howland Avenue.

The company will install a “small-cell” wireless antenna, the first of a half-dozen or more it has planned for the city. The less powerful but higher-frequency facilities are expected to replace Verizon’s aging cell tower atop Mount Beacon.

The council debated the plan with Verizon for months but under federal law that regulates utilities was only able to consider limited aesthetic regulations.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Jeff Simms has covered Beacon for The Current since 2015. He studied journalism at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. From there he worked as a reporter for the tri-weekly Watauga Democrat in Boone and the daily Carroll County Times in Westminster, Maryland, before transitioning into nonprofit communications in Washington, D.C., and New York City. He can be reached at jsimms@highlandscurrent.org.