Wiping the Slate Clean: HCF Challenges Line St “Toilet Paper Tower”
In the summer of 2023, there was a shocking new addition to the Charleston skyline: a 120-foot tall telecommunications tower hugging the Crosstown, known derisively as “The Toilet Paper Tower.” This tower was proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to co-locate cellular infrastructure and improve data services on the peninsula. What should have been a rather banal infrastructure project turned into a media firestorm driven by community outrage over the construction of the absurd looking structure. News articles and social media posts abounded when the tower was erected, and a local artist even went so far as to project toilet paper branding onto the tower at night. It has perhaps come to symbolize the perspective of local residents on the ever-increasing scale of inappropriate development throughout Charleston.
Toilet humor aside, the telecom tower poses an interesting preservation question. Rewind to October 2020, before the tower's construction — HCF evaluated the FCC’s environmental review application (required by federal law in Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act) to determine if the proposed tower design would create detrimental impacts to the surrounding historic district. Now, this is important because this review process provides preservation experts an opportunity to weigh in on federally funded infrastructure projects to determine the potential effects on local historic resources. We were asked to provide comments on whether the cell tower would have an adverse effect on the historic neighborhood. We reviewed the detailed plans in the application and determined that the new tower would be similar in scale to the one it was replacing. The design was described as a “stealth canister tower” with photos provided as reference. Based on that design, HCF concluded there would not be an adverse effect on the city.
When the tower was completed in 2023, the community was presented with a huge structure drastically different in size and form from what was submitted and approved. HCF decided to submit a letter of inquiry to the SHPO, our state regulatory authority, to understand how these design changes were approved. Ultimately, our goal was to have the Toilet Paper Tower removed from our historic skyline.
Upon notification, SHPO officials agreed with our concerns and that the final tower significantly deviated from what was approved; the SHPO then contacted the FCC to restart the review process. A few days ago, we received word that the FCC federal preservation officers also agree that the tower indeed has caused an “adverse effect” and that a mitigation plan will be pursued. In response to a request from the FCC, HCF has submitted a letter detailing our concerns over the tower.
This is new territory for the FCC, as they have never before faced an after-the-fact mitigation process.
Ultimately, we're not sure what the mitigation proceedings will look like. HCF has requested that the tower be removed and replaced with the originally approved “stealth” design. This saga is a prime example of why our strong preservation advocacy is so important and how HCF can funnel community outrage into measurable results. As this is completely new territory for all parties, it will be interesting to see how this unfolds over the coming months—don’t worry, we'll keep you posted!
