Giant erector set? No, it's a Verizon cell phone tower

The new cell phone tower on Del Monte Drive is still under construction but will eventually look like the image at right. Menifee 24/7 photo: Doug Spoon

The questions started coming in as soon as neighbors noticed the size and shape of a 60-foot structure being built on an open field in the middle of a neighborhood in the Sun City section of Menifee. One resident referred to it as a "mammoth structure that looks like a giant erector set."

Although it might not look like it, the structure is -- or soon will be -- a cell phone tower.

Granted, the industrial-looking metal tower appears strangely out of place in a vacant lot next to the Valley Church of Christ in the 29000 block of Del Monte Drive. Located on a quiet street in one of Menifee's older residential neighborhoods, it has drawn considerable attention from long-time residents who have never seen such construction in their area.

The answer is provided by Larry Tiffin, minister of the Valley Church of Christ, a non-denominational church that owns the lot next to its church building. Tiffin said he was approached by representatives of Verizon about leasing a piece of the church's land to build a cell tower there.

As the number of cell phone users increases, so does demand for additional cell phone towers. The most common design to help those towers "fit in" among neighborhoods is to make them look similar to a large tree.

In this case, it took some negotiations between the church, Verizon and the City of Menifee to come up with a more pleasant and appropriate design, Tiffin said. As shown in the above photo, the finished product Verizon will construct will look pretty much like a church tower, with stucco sides and three crosses at the top. Meanwhile, the church will receive income from the lease and the neighborhood's cell phone service will improve.

"It's going to match our building," said Tiffin, whose congregation numbers about 100 and has been at the site since 1973. "If we ever did want to build a bigger church building over there, we would want the tower to match what we build there, too.

"We went back and forth until we came to something we could agree upon. We tried to move it to where it's not right on top of anybody, so it's in the middle of the field."

Verizon's original design for the tower was for the usual tree design, said Gina Gonzalez, spokesperson for the City of Menifee. She said the City planning staff worked with Verizon to come up with something "much nicer for the community."

Manny Baeza of the City's community development department provided more details in an email.

"They originally proposed a mono pine (tree design) about 10 feet from their west property line, really close to an existing residence," Baeza wrote. "We were able to get them to move it closer to the church to reduce the impact to nearby properties and use a design that was architecturally compatible with the existing church."

Baeza's reference was to a location near the back of the church lot, near adjacent residences. Tiffin said some residents opposed the original location and continue to oppose the presence of the tower.

Tiffin said he hopes residents will be patient until they see the final design.

"Once they start building the bottom, it will reduce the perception of how high it is," Tiffin said. "It looks higher than it really is, being alone out in the field."

Mike Ritter is an attorney who represents the church and also facilitates agreements with churches for the building of cell phone towers. He said local residents were notified of a public hearing regarding the cell phone plans at a Planning Commission meeting and no one attended to voice opposition.

"Right now, there's nothing nice looking about it," Ritter admitted. "When it's done, it will look as good as any I've seen. The wireless companies are doing a great job of coming up with aesthetically pleasing designs."

And with the extra income from the lease, Tiffin said the church will be able to expand its mission services, which currently include projects in Guatemala and Ghana as well as in the U.S.

"There's lots more that we would like to do and now we will be able to do more of those things," he said.

Gonzalez said another cell phone tower is planned for the Heritage Lakes community, where residents complain about poor service. It will be a mono pine design, she said, and is planned for a location west of Menifee Road between Simpson Road and Shadel Road. Land entitlements have been secured and the project is in the permitting process.

Map shows the location of the cell phone tower being built in the Sun City community in Menifee.