Hawthorn Woods officials, residents fight proposed cell tower

A group of Hawthorn Woods residents may get some help from village and county officials to stop a planned T-Mobile cell tower near town.

The tower is targeted for Indian Creek Farms, roughly 100 acres of unincorporated property off Gilmer Road often referred to as the doughnut hole because it is surrounded by Hawthorn Woods homes.

T-Mobile already has acquired the building permit from Lake County and is expected to begin erecting the tower next week.

But Hawthorn Woods village board may try to forcibly annex the land at a special meeting 9 a.m. Saturday at village hall, 2 Lagoon Drive. If that happens, T-Mobile will have to get approval from the village, which promises to be difficult if not impossible.

"We're investigating all options," Hawthorn Woods Mayor Keith Hunt said.

Hunt would not confirm whether the village would annex the site Saturday.

"I hope that (T-Mobile) will see how many people will be adversely affected by this and will decide to do the right thing," Hunt said. "There are well over 100 homes that are in very close proximity to this. I personally believe that the current location is inappropriate and would create a blight on the aesthetic of the community."

Calls made to T-Mobile were not returned Thursday.

Area residents said they oppose the tower because it could lower their property values, be a visual obstruction and emit radiation.

Lake County Board member Pam Newton, a Long Grove Republican, said in an e-mail statement she supports Hawthorn Woods using any "land-use measures" to block the tower's installation because it would ruin the rural vista.

"I have identified and digitally mapped 24 nearby industrial sites as alternative sites for the tower relocation," she said.

Newton said T-Mobile has agreed to lower the tower's height from 195 feet to 150 feet but won't drop its plans for the Gilmer Road site.

Under Illinois law, cell towers are exempt from county zoning regulations with the exception of height and setbacks. They are permitted at any location in unincorporated areas provided certain requirements are met.

"Villages have a little bit more authority than the county does," Hunt said.