A proposal to build a new cell tower in a growing residential section of Rio Rancho may be taken up by the city’s Planning and Zoning Board later this month.
Site for the tower is at 1116 21st Avenue SE, roughly two blocks to the east of Unser Boulevard SE and the Presbyterian Rust Medical Center.
According to city documents, the new three-legged tower would have a height of a least 65 feet, and would be surrounded by an eight-foot high wall.
The project will belong to Verizon Wireless. Representatives of that company say the new tower will replace an existing tower in Albuquerque and is needed to increase coverage in the area.
The project has sparked the opposition of residents in the surrounding upscale Vista Montebella neighborhood.
Last month, partly in response to comments from those neighbors, members of the Rio Rancho City Council voted to send the project back to the planning and zoning board, where it had been reviewed earlier this year, for further study.
By Garry Boulard
