Mediation will take place on March 9^th between the City of Piedmont and Crown Castle concerning cell antennas the company plans to install in the city. 

Crown Castle plans to install eight cell towers and had hoped to accomplish this by the end of October last year.  City council members voted to deny this request, but approved three other sites because it was concerned the company could sue it if it turned down all of the tower requests.  Despite the partial approval, Crown Castle did sue the city in November in an effort to overturn the denial.

The parties agreed to attempt mediation in January and must the city must answer the lawsuit by March 9^th, the deadline set for mediation.  If mediation fails, a case management conference has already been scheduled for the end of March.

City officials are not sure how the mediation will turn out.  According to one, “The wheels of justice turn slowly.  I have no idea how it will play out.  It is a costly and time-consuming process”.

The lawsuit came after months of haggling over the cell towers.  Earlier in the year, Crown Castle told the city it needed enhanced coverage for cell service.  It intended to erect the towers and then sell them to Verizon.  All of the sites proposed for the project were on public property.

The request was followed by several public meetings concerning the antenna sites and included residents voicing concerns and asking why the towers were necessary.  They claimed the towers would affect the aesthetics and property values in the area, and that they posed noise and safety issues.