A new cell tower received the approval it needed to be constructed in McKinney and provide for coverage gaps in the area.

At the May 3 McKinney City Council meeting, council members voted to approve the project that would construct a new telecommunications tower. City staff stated this would be an 80-foot tower near Furr Elementary School, about 330 feet away from the school property. The city is looking to develop that land into a park. The land would be conveyed to the city free of charge. As the land is developed, it will help camouflage the cell tower so it is not as noticeable, city staff said. Screening will also be provided around the base of the tower.

City staff said the development of this park is about two or three years down the road, with staff from the parks department planning to go to residents to hear their wants and desires before the project is designed.

Council Member Charlie Philips said the 1996 Telecommunications Act gives favor to telecommunications companies to construct these towers, and denying the project would lead to more lawsuit troubles.

"I know that if I sit here and vote against this that I've just spent a lot of your tax dollars fighting a lawsuit that I'm not going to win," Philips said.