They’re called stealth cell-phone towers.

But little is stealthy about the latest one in Eugene, which measures 75 feet tall and is being disguised as a massive stone church bell tower.

It’s a looming presence at the Willamette Christian Center at West 18th Avenue and Hawkins Lane in west Eugene. It even features a couple of big dangling faux bells that can’t be rung.

Passers-by gawk, take photos and wonder what it is. The thing irritates some residential neighbors. One calls it a “big ugly tower.” But another says she doesn’t mind it.

On the plus side, the combo cell/bell tower being built by Verizon Wireless will generate lease revenue for its landlord, the church. That money, says Pastor Van Clements, will help the church repair buildings and launch “new ministry ventures.”

The tower isn’t the church’s only public relations hassle. Many neighbors are alarmed that the church may sell 13 acres of adjacent fields to a developer for construction of a dense subdivision of up to about 200 homes.

Verizon sought the tower spot on the church campus because its tower on the Eugene Water & Electric Board water tank on College Hill is no longer feasible: EWEB is removing the tank. Verizon searched widely for a replacement site before picking the church property, the company said in its application to the city.

It may be the first cell tower disguised as a bell tower in Eugene. But it’s hardly the first in the country. For years, cell-service providers have camouflaged cell towers inside fake church spires and extra church crosses, and in fake retail towers and fake trees, according to news reports.

Lipstick on a pig

The cell-phone industry opted for concealment because people feel unadorned cell towers are ugly. But the concealment methods sometimes aren’t much better, witness the cell tower pretending to be a Ponderosa pine tree at the entrance to Lane County’s Glenwood Transfer Station.

At Willamette Christian Center, the bell tower framework is complete and workers are attaching the faux stone exterior.

Verizon in May 2024 signed a lease with the church for the spot, public records show. Clements won’t say how much or how long it is for. “As far as we can tell, the lease is for the going rate for cell towers,” he says in an email. It’s a “long-term lease,” he says.

Industry websites say cell-tower providers nationwide pay property owners an average of about $23,000 a year for a tower spot, but rates vary widely.

Unhappy

Verizon’s land-use process included a meeting for public comment. Four people spoke in opposition, records show.

Retiree John Sholian lives about 600 feet from the new tower. “I was not thrilled with it,” when Verizon proposed it, he says. He wrote a couple of letters to the city saying the tower would degrade the view from his front deck. It breaks up his vista of the Coburg Hills, he says. But the city ruled that the structure met city standards for cell towers and didn’t excessively mar views. “There’s not much we can do about it. I did everything I could,” Sholian says.

Clements says Verizon suggested the bell tower concept.

“We certainly want to maintain healthy relationships with our neighbors and don’t foresee this being any irritation to people,” says Clements, adding, “Obviously, there will be those who dislike it based on their own preferences.”

Unhappier

Many more neighbors are irked by the church’s other commercial venture: to sell a 13-acre field next to the church to a housing developer. The land, owned by the church since the 1970s, is zoned low-density residential. The development would have clusters of four-plexes totaling 182 to 216 homes, as allowed by the zoning, the application says. That density would contrast sharply with the single-family homes on quarter-acre lots that face the field. City planners are reviewing the proposal. Scores of displeased residents showed up for an informational meeting the developer held in September, according to news reports.

The church has not yet sold the land. Clements says he will be “happy to share the price once the deal is complete.”

“Our purpose in this sale is to utilize our resources to forward our vision and the mission as a church. We … are looking forward to having a positive impact on our neighborhood and community for many years to come.”

“We plan to use the (proceeds) to do a remodel and upgrades on our campus,” he says. “We want to consolidate our footprint, lower our overhead and increase our impact. That’s the hope.”

Bricks $ Mortar is a column anchored by Christian Wihtol, who worked as an editor and writer at The Register-Guard in Eugene 1990-2018, much of the time focused on real estate, economic development and business. Reach him at Christian@EugeneWeekly.com.

This story has been updated to reflect EWEB is removing not rebuilding and reconfiguring the tank.