Lafayette Parish May Get a Direct Line to God — With No Dropped Calls

Customer desire for cell-phone coverage has driven some companies to get creative when it comes to erecting towers in neighborhoods where it's spotty. Faux palm trees, bark-clad poles designed to look like trees. In Lafayette, T-Mobile is eyeing the steeple at St. Anselm's Episcopal as a potential site.

The telecommunications company wants to install its antenna in the church steeple —raising the height of the structure from 48 feet and 3 inches to an even 65 feet in the process — including the cross, of course.

The Planning Commission will consider the matter at its regular meeting Tuesday, but so far everyone seems on board because the project is in line with the General Plan condition to "encourage the availability of high-quality telecommunications services to Lafayette's citizens, schools, government and businesses."

Neighbors of the church at 682 Michael Lane were told of the pending project, staff reported, and there have been no arguments with the plan.

T-Mobile asked that it be allowed to install its tower in the church steeple, and to build a small equipment shed nearby, after proposing four other locations in Lafayette — none of which excited the Planning Commission despite promised attempts to conceal them.

Lafayette's planning department said it appreciated T-Mobile's proposal to utilize the steeple "as the City encourages co-locating antennas on existing structures, rather than new structures."

Questions remain about the design of the steeple, with city staff pressing for all of the equipment to remain invisible to the public. Concerns about electromagnetic emissions associated with cell towers were addressed in a site analysis submitted to staff.