Stop the Tower

Item in The Northwest Current, "District Digest,"  3/7/01

City council continues prohibition on towers

Elizabeth Wiener

The city council Thursday extended a moratorium on new telecommunications towers, this time at the behest of Ward 7 member Kevin Chavous, who is fighting a proposed 200-foot tower at the Penn Branch shopping center in Southeast.

Chavous' emergency bill continues a moratorium pushed through last fall by Ward 3 member Kathy Patterson after residents protested a 756-foot tower under construction in Tenleytown. The fate of that tower is now tied up in litigation, awaiting a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman on whether the case belongs in federal or local court.

Both bills prohibit permits for new towers until the mayor formulates a policy that governs siting and other issues.

Chavous' bill requires the mayor to formulate a new policy within 180 days.

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