Verizon applications for two 5G towers were denied in the Fawnsbrook neighborhood, but 4 towers in other subdivisions were approved Tuesday morning by the Fishers Board of Public Works and Safety.

The board had approved one tower previously in Fawnsbrook, but the towers under consideration Tuesday, located at 12956 Fawns Ridge and 13013 Fawnsbrook Drive, were voted down by the board.

“I am not supportive of any of these locations,” said Mayor Scott Fadness, a member of the 3-person panel.  “They don’t fit the criteria we’ve given Verizon.”  The two proposed towers are not at intersections or in common areas, but rather in the middle of residential areas.

“I’m not going to demonize Verizon about that,” according to the mayor.  “That may be just the logistics of the topography.”

The first tower approved in Fawnsbrook meets the criteria established by the city but these two do not, the mayor added.

Four residents of Fawnsbrook spoke on the proposed towers, all arguing against placing them in the proposed locations.

Russell Brown, legal counsel for Verizon, told the board these towers have a directional signal and are intended to cover narrow areas in the neighborhood with the 5G signal.  Other locations suggested by the residents do not meet the signal coverage objectives, according to Mr. Brown.

“Our objection to the (city’s) criteria utilized in locations like this is, by establishing, utilizing, those criteria, that forces Verizon to, we believe, effectively prohibits coverage from being provided in this area,” Brown told board members.  He cited the trees in the neighborhood as impacting the signal strength in the Fawnsbrook neighborhood, creating the need for more towers there.

All three board members, the mayor, Jeff Lantz and Jason Meyer, all voted to deny the Verizon tower location request.  Mayor Fadness reminded the Fawnsbrook residents at the meeting that nothing in the law prevents Verizon from coming back to the board with another tower location plan for their neighborhood in the future.

Here are the Verizon 5G towers approved at Tuesday’s meeting:

–One tower at 11069 Stratford Way in Oxford Park

–One tower at 10738 Briar Stone Lane in the Berkley Grove subdivision

–One tower at 8699 Royal Drive in Morgan Meadows

and

–One tower at 12693 Mustard Seed Court in The Reserve at Lantern.