Lawton City Council orders removal of cell tower on Micklegate Boulevard

A cell phone tower erected in a west Lawton neighborhood must be taken down within 30 days, City Council members said Tuesday.

The council was reacting to a recommendation from city staff and City Manager John Ratliff to revoke the permit that allowed U.S. Cellular to place a cell phone tower at 7990 NW Micklegate Boulevard. The action is the second time this summer the council has ordered the removal of a cell tower in a residential neighborhood; they took the same action in June for a tower placed in a neighborhood at 6432 Arrowhead Drive.

Both towers were among 26 granted permits by the council in four actions between late 2021 and September 2023, with the small cell wireless facilities (their legal definition) planned by U.S. Cellular to improve cell phone coverage in Lawton.

For the Micklegate site, the primary problem is the tower was not placed according to plans approved by the city. To be in compliance with its permit, the tower would have to be moved 22 inches to the west and 3 feet to the north, Community Services Director Charlotte Brown has said. The tower also has prompted complaints from residents in the neighborhood, including the adjacent property owner.

Brown said the council tabled action in May to give her staff time to work with U.S. Cellular to find another location. She said she talked to company officials a week after the council’s directive and while two other sites were identified, both east of the existing tower on Micklegate, “I haven’t heard from them since.” She said city staff has been unable to get a time frame as to when the company will remove the tower, adding city staff was bringing the permit back to the council with the recommendation to revoke it.

Ratliff said there are multiple problems. Not only has the company failed to make plans to remove the tower, they have bolstered down the base. The company also has objected to revocation of the other cell tower, saying they did not find that revocation valid.

“Their attitude is a defiant one,” Ratliff said, adding he “strongly recommends” giving the company 30 days to remove the structure, or the City of Lawton will do it and bill U.S. Cellular the cost of that work.

Patti Anderson, the adjacent property owner, has said she doesn’t like the tower’s location on the edge of her property and has been critical of the fact the tower was placed without any warning to anyone in the neighborhood. Anderson reiterated her arguments Tuesday, and also was critical of what she calls the “bullying” behavior U.S. Cellular has been using.

“They have not done anything they said,” she said, adding that instead of removing the tower, crews actually came onto her property to anchor the tower into place. “The lack of concern for citizens is a nightmare.”

Anderson also said the company is not showing any regard for the council “and are blatantly being defiant.”

Citing that defiant attitude, Ward 4 Councilman George Gill made a motion for council action, recommending the council terminate all contracts with U.S. Cellular, but Ratliff said Tuesday’s agenda item only allowed revocation of the Micklegate location, adding “I don’t disagree with you.”

City Attorney John Andrew said that under city code, the council doesn’t have to cite a reason for revoking its permit. But Ratliff said the city already has identified multiple issues for U.S. Cellular.

“There is plenty of ammunition for cause as well,” Ratliff said.

The council set a new code into place in late 2021, specifying companies must hold a revocable permit from the City of Lawton before they can place small cell tower facilities in easements or rights of way. Council members amended that code in July to add new provisions, including the fact that all property owners within 150 feet of a tower location must be notified of the work.