Verizon’s steeple tower at Santa Rosa church gets final design approval

Verizon’s plan to disguise a telecommunications tower as a church steeple can go forward after the company agreed to shrink the project’s footprint and diversify the design.

The Design Review Board on Thursday night approved Verizon’s visual revisions to a 54-foot tower housing several antennas adjacent to the Community Baptist Church on Sonoma Avenue.

Their decision came as part of a public hearing that was continued from December to allow Verizon to make changes. The board previously paused Verizon’s plan for a two-tone, ?12-by-12-foot column and asked the company to return after it developed a plan with a less square footage and a more varied design.

Verizon’s new design would be a 9-by-9-foot tower, cutting the square footage nearly in half. The revamped tower also now includes vertical openings covered by metal grills and a capped roof. The final plan also calls for the steeple to be 8 feet shorter than the original design.

A neighbor of the church who spoke at Thursday night’s meeting said the smaller footprint was an improvement, though he would prefer an 8-by-8 foot proposal. A Verizon representative said the 9-by-9 foot tower was the smallest the company could go.

You can reach Staff Writer Will Schmitt at 707-521-5207 or will.schmitt@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @wsreports.