The Heritage Grand Homeowner's Association sent out informal ballots to all 650 homeowners in Heritage Grand in order to get a sense of the community's position on AT&T's proposal to build a cell phone tower disguised as a pine tree in the neighborhood. In July, 78 percent of voters indicated they were in favor of Heritage Grand continuing its negotiations with AT&T.

Some Heritage Grand residents said they would welcome a tower because they wanted better cellular and wireless reception inside their homes.

"The proposed cell tower is not just to improve AT&T's admittedly sketchy coverage in Heritage Grand but would actually improve the situation over a large portion of Cinco Ranch West," said Bill Garfield, a Heritage Grand resident.

Residents opposed the tower, concerned that it could tarnish the community's aesthetics and subsequently their property values, Garfield said.

The HOA board created a task force composed of members both for and against the tower to evaluate AT&T's proposal.

"It seems incongruous that we would scar the neighborhood selling our souls to the devil for many decades by allowing a thinly disguised monstrosity to go up," task force member George Rettie said.

The final decision on the towers lies with the HOA board. The next likely step would be for the board to work with an attorney to draft documents to change existing deed restrictions that prohibit commercial use of the land designated for the cell tower. Then, residents would receive a formal notification of these changes via certified mail, and two-thirds of them would have to vote in favor of the changes, Garfield said.

While the results of the vote indicate that Heritage Grand and AT&T will move forward with the proposed tower, there are still many obstacles and uncertainties surrounding the issue. Residents who strongly oppose the tower have said they will continue to fight against it.

In addition, three of the five HOA board members will be replaced in February upcoming elections, meaning three new board members will have a say in the ultimate decision on the fate of the tower.