The Sierra Madre City Council will review a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) application from AT&T Wireless at tonight’s meeting, a permit that the city is expected to approve in hopes of bettering notoriously spotty AT&T cellular coverage in the city.

If approved, the plan will allow AT&T to install its own antennas on the existing T-Mobile tower, conspicuously disguised as a tall pine tree standing in Sierra Vista Park just east of the Rose Float Barn.

In February, the City Council approved preliminary plans for the tower modification, a move that allowed AT&T workers to access and survey the city-owned property and move toward finalizing their deal with T-Mobile. That move by the council was followed by the city’s Planning Commission recommendation to approve the CUP at their meeting on March 17.

In a letter dated Jan. 25, T-Mobile representative Danny Bazerman notified the city that his company was authorizing AT&T to move forward with the project.

Aside from the construction itself, the approval of the CUP will mark the final hurdle for the mobile giant in its dealings with the city along the road to better coverage.

Once approved, AT&T will install a total of 12 “panel antennas,” one microwave dish, two DC surge protectors and two GPS antennas onto the existing “monopine” tower. Additionally, the plan calls for AT&T to install eight new equipment cabinets at the base of the tower, according to the city staff report.

AT&T has done extensive research and planning in anticipation of the project, all of which is attached to this article within a massive 110-page PDF that makes up the City Council’s Agenda Report on this item. 

Last month, AT&T announced its interest in buying T-Mobile. Combined, the two carriers would become the largest wireless carrier in the country, though the terms of the deal are still subject to regulatory approval.