83-foot stealth cell tower on Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway
Summary
An 83-foot tower disguised as a eucalyptus tree is coming to the Walmart center on the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. It should improve cell coverage in a busy commercial corridor, and future carriers must each get their own permit.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 5
- Last 30 days
- 1
Discussed at 2 meetings in the last 60 days; most recently Oct 26, 2026.
Impact analysis
Privately funded — no cost to the city.
Wireless customers in the Walmart corridor, likely including the surrounding multifamily residents.
None directly, though a resident criticized the city's lapse in permit tracking.
Mentions & discussions (5)
Planning & Zoning Commission — October 26, 2026
An 83-foot tower disguised as a eucalyptus tree is coming to the Walmart center on the Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway. It should improve cell coverage in a busy commercial corridor, and future carriers must each get their own permit.
Planning & Zoning Commission — September 28, 2026
The Commission renewed a permit for a 190-foot tower on West Cowtown Road whose old Pinal County permit expired in 2025. A commissioner asked whether staff audits other expired tower permits; staff said the approach is reactive, handled case-by-case.
Planning & Zoning Commission — August 24, 2026
A 300-foot tower next to the Trails at Tortosa subdivision got the owner-level permit it legally needed. No new construction — just a fence upgrade and future landscaping commitments.
Planning & Zoning Commission — July 27, 2026
Verizon's tower permit quietly expired in 2018 and the city only found out when Verizon applied to change cabling. A resident flagged it as a tracking failure; the fix is a brand-new CUP, now approved.
City Council (Regular) — March 3, 2026
91 small cell nodes are coming citywide via private investment to boost cell and internet coverage. Staff addressed health concerns, noting 4G/5G exposure is lower than a microwave or toaster.
Related development
Stealth wireless telecommunications facility
Should improve wireless coverage in a busy commercial corridor; drainage engineers expect no impact on retention basin flow, and access uses the existing Walmart drive aisle.
CUP 26-01 — 190-foot wireless telecommunications facility
No physical changes to the tower — this just keeps an existing rural-area cell tower legally operating.
CUP25-02 — 300-Foot Wireless Facility Conditional Use Permit
No new tower — this just legalizes what's already standing, with nicer screening for neighbors.
CUP 26-02 — Verizon Wireless Wireless Facility
The tower keeps operating as-is — same height, same equipment, three carriers — now with a valid permit and current conditions attached.
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