Permits for new cell towers in Lawton will require notification of nearby property owners

The City of Lawton will require notification to residents being affected by cellphone towers being built in their neighborhoods.

City Council members agreed to amend an existing code put into place in 2021 to guide placement of small cell wireless facilities, the infrastructure needed to support cellphone systems. The specific change, which goes into effect in 30 days, requires cellphone carriers who want to place small towers in neighborhoods to notify property owners within 150 feet of the location of their plans.

The change is expected to address residential criticism in recent months as U.S. Cellular began placing cellphone towers in public rights of way in neighborhoods across Lawton, working from a list of 26 revocable permits the City Council approved between December 2021 and June 2023. Some residents said they had no idea the poles were being placed until work began.

Connie Wood, a northwest Lawton resident who successfully challenged placement of a pole in her side yard on Arrowhead Drive, said she didn’t know a cell pole was going in until it appeared. While she assumed it was a light pole, she was upset when neighbors told her it was for a cell tower.

The new provision falls under the general requirements that companies must follow when they apply for the revocable permit that will allow placement of small cell wireless facilities in a public right of way. Community Services Director Charlotte Brown said the provision was developed after city officials talked to U.S. Cellular about what was done in other communities.

The provision specifies the applicant must provide proof to the city that it has notified all property owners within 150 feet of their proposed location that it is submitting an application for a revocable permit to the City of Lawton. That notice must include the proposed facility location, a description and scale image of the proposed facility, and an email address and phone number for a representative of the applicant, who will be available to answer questions from members of the public.

The process is similar to criteria within city zoning codes that require notification to property owners within 300 feet of a site that an applicant is seeking a rezoning.