Amid lawsuit, Springfield City Council flips on T-Mobile cell tower vote

Springfield City Council reversed course Monday and cleared the way for a cellphone tower to be built on the north side of town.

Council voted 7-1 to issue a conditional use permit to allow a T-Mobile tower to be built at 1452 N. La Fontaine Ave.

Monday's vote comes two months after City Council voted against the same bill 4-5.

The difference between now and then is that now, the city is facing a lawsuit.

MORE: Telecom company sues Springfield for blocking plan to build T-Mobile tower

Delaware-based BRT Group LLC sued the city in April, claiming state and federal laws were violated when City Council members discussed "improper" issues during public meetings.

Specifically, the lawsuit says council members violated a 2014 Missouri law when they questioned the necessity of another T-Mobile tower and suggested requiring companies to "collocate" or share towers.

The 2014 law prohibits local jurisdictions from considering certain criteria when it comes to telecommunications towers — like customer demand for service and the possibility of collocating.

After the lawsuit, the bill was again brought in front of the City Council at Monday's meeting.

And the result this time went in favor of the telecommunications company.

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Councilman Craig Hosmer was the only one to vote against the bill Monday, saying he didn't like the idea of special interests in Jefferson City preventing local city councils from doing what they thought was best for their constituents.

City Manager Greg Burris said the telecommunications company will now be able to build the 180-foot T-Mobile tower if it receives a building permit.

In 2014, municipalities, including Springfield, had opposed the then-pending legislation that blunted their oversight of telecommunications hardware within city limits.

Supporters of the law said at the time it was necessary to encourage the expansion of wireless broadband.