BUENA PARK

The city’s Planning Commission, in a split vote Wednesday, approved a proposal to build a cellular phone antenna disguised inside a fake palm tree. In a 5-2 vote, AirTouch Cellular received permission to build an antenna mounted on a 60-foot steel pole. The pole would be inside the palm tree and the antenna would be covered with 60 palm fronds. AirTouch wants the antenna so customers can receive coverage in that area. Commissioners Franki Berry and Rick Felling opposed the request mainly over concerns about the antenna’s location on the southeast corner of Los Coyotes Drive and Beach Boulevard. “I didn’t feel the fake palm tree located right there made a lot of sense,” Felling said. “It seems they should have found a better place more out of public sight.”