LAGUNA NIGUEL : City Denies AirTouch’s Bid to Erect 3 Antennas

AirTouch Cellular has lost its bid to mount three tall free-standing cellular antennas on the roof of an office building.

The City Council voted unanimously this week to uphold the Planning Commission’s ban on one 13-foot and two 17-foot whip antennas that the company had proposed for 30092 Ivy Glenn Drive.

Council members said the antennas would be an eyesore along Alicia Parkway, which is considered a scenic highway.

The council will allow AirTouch to place nine directional panel antennas and two microwave dish antennas on top of the building. The smaller antennas can be screened from view more easily.

AirTouch had argued that the tall whip antennas were needed to keep cellular lines clear and allow the company to handle more cellular telephone customers in the Laguna Niguel area.

AirTouch representative Alicia Kenny said AirTouch signed more users last year than the company had attracted in the previous 10 years.

Council members said they realize demand for cellular service has increased, but that they also feel AirTouch should look for another building where the whip antennas won’t have such an impact.

Bob Lenard, the city’s community development director, said other AirTouch whip antennas in Laguna Hills, San Juan Capistrano, Mission Viejo and Dana Point are not as visible from nearby streets and neighborhoods as the Ivy Glenn antennas would have been.

Mounted on the rooftop, the antennas would have reached totals of 48 and 52 feet.