A neighborhood battle is brewing over a proposal to erect a 55-foot cell phone tower in Los Altos.
Marshall and Nadja Jackson already have three cell phone towers on their property in the San Antonio Hills area and they want allow Verizon Wireless to put another one up that would stand 15 feet higher alongside the existing ones.
The Jacksons get between $500 to $3,500 a month from AT&T, Sprint, Metro PCS and T-Mobile to use the towers. Their neighbors told the Mercury News that the towers are "butt ugly" and that they amount to a "commercial antenna farm."
But the Jacksons believe they're providing a public service since the new tower will help increase cell signals and improve home values because potential buyers will want good signal strength. Even though some people call the towers an eyesore, the Jacksons point out that most visitors don't even notice the current towers.
Neighbors opposed to the new tower vow to fight it. They've pooled their funds to appeal the decision and posted signs in their yards showing just how much they are against the plan.
They have asked the Santa Clara County Planning Commission to reconsider the approved plan at its meeting on Thursday.
