Small Cell Antenna Used For 5G Cellphone, Internet Service Shows Up In Place Of Light Pole In Aurora Neighborhood
UPDATE: Maureen the homeowner received an update from Xcel Energy and she said, "I was correct and they are getting a permit to move it. They have don't have easement rights in the front of my house."
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- Maureen Macarthur noticed some workers in the front yard of her home in Aurora on Monday, so she asked them what they were up to.
"They said that they were changing the light pole," says Maureen.
She went back to work inside her home, thinking nothing of it. That light pole had stood at the end of her driveway for years, but when she left her house again it was a much different scene than she was used to.
"I came out and I looked and I had this," she says as she references a tall green metal lamppost with a wide base.
It is still a light pole, but it's also a small cell antenna used for 5G cellphone and internet service, and it's a lot different than the old post. For one, Maureen says, it's much wider which makes it difficult for her to get larger vehicles out of her driveway.
"This thing is impeding what I want to do for a life," Maureen says.
Maureen says she was planning to buy an RV, and park it in her driveway because you can't park them on the street in Aurora. Now because of this tower, she won't be able to get it in the driveway and has given up that dream.
She would like for the combination tower and streetlight to be moved, "Even if they put it in the backyard I'd be fine with that."
The City of Aurora says that part of Maureen's property is in the Right of Way defined as 7 to 11 feet from the gutter. CBS4's Michael Abeyta helped Maureen measure how far the tower is from the end of the sidewalk. It landed somewhere between 9 and 11 feet depending on where you consider the tower starts or ends.
Plus, the city provided a letter that was sent to Maureen's address acknowledging the small cell's installation. Still, Maureen feels like her rights as a property owner have been violated and she wants the tower gone, but she doesn't know if that will ever happen. She feels a little hopeless.
"How do you fight? A single person fighting a big company... I need help."
