A telecommunications company has called off a contentious plan to build a 125-foot cellphone tower in a rural Kaua‘i neighborhood where cell service is weak but locals’ distaste to fix the problem with a large installation — even one disguised as a pine tree — is strong.

AT&T had sought to place a tower in Hā’ena, an enclave of about 200 North Shore residents, to strengthen communications capabilities for emergency responders in a region prone to being cut off from the rest of the island by landslides and floodwaters.

Still, most residents in the area said they didn’t want it.

Cellphone service in the area is spotty. Vacationers who rent Hā’ena beach homes often complain about the weak connection, but many like-minded neighbors say a faster signal is not a priority in a community that relishes a slow pace of life and face-to-face connection.

In a May 1 letter, AT&T notified the owner of the proposed project site that it would dissolve a deal forged in 2021 that had given the company the right to lease the land for a tower and telecommunications facility. The contract was terminated Friday.

The company will pursue other options to strengthen communications capabilities for emergency responders, AT&T spokesperson Sarah Rodriguez said in an email. She declined to say whether it will consider another site in Hā’ena.

“While we are not moving forward with this particular site,” Rodriguez said, “we remain committed to improving wireless coverage and network reliability for public safety across Hawai’i.”

For nearly five years AT&T pushed to construct a cell tower in Hā’ena on a vacant residential lot along a 10-mile road without traffic lights. The scenic route, which ends at the edge of a 6,000-acre wilderness park, is a tourist draw in and of itself. It traverses winding streams, farms, taro patches, beaches, caves and sea cliffs.

Neighbors waged a campaign against the tower in 2023 with handmade signs posted near the proposed project site. Thousands of residents signed an online petition protesting the tower, called a monopine because it would be designed to look like an artificial pine tree. 

A community group organized a public meeting to vet concerns about the project and invited representatives from AT&T. The company sent agents to the meeting, where opponents cited health concerns about exposure to radio frequency waves emitted from cellphone towers. Others expressed fears about the modernization of a simple way of life.

Efforts to thwart the tower took on new urgency in August 2024 when the owners of two parcels nearest to the proposed cell tower site filed a lawsuit that claimed the tower would create an eyesore, diminish their home values and run the risk of toppling onto their properties during a hurricane. 

One of the plaintiffs, John Sargent, a bicycle shop owner who purchased his Hā’ena house 40 years ago, argued in court documents that the tower that AT&T sought to build next door would have stood less than 50 feet from his bedroom window.

“It’s completely overwhelming,” Sargent said at the time. “I feel like this quiet life we have is about to be taken over.”

On Friday, Sargent said he is relieved that a years-long saga to stop the tower is over.

What might have been a personal battle elsewhere became a community-wide effort in this tight-knit neighborhood.

Jonny Wichman, president of the Hanalei-Wainiha-Hā’ena Community Association, said AT&T’s cancelation of the project shows the power of community coming together and making its voice heard.

“This was never about opposing technology or connectivity,” Wichman said. “It was about protecting the character of our neighborhood, respecting residents’ quality of life and ensuring that major infrastructure projects are planned responsibly, transparently and with community input from the beginning.”

Teri Tico, a lawyer who has lived near the proposed project site since 1990, said it’s too soon to celebrate. 

“In a sense it is a victory for us but I don’t know for how long because they could turn around tomorrow and lease some other parcel in our neighborhood,” she said. 

Neighbors who oppose the project, including Tico, have urged AT&T to find another location for the tower. One of the sites proposed by community members is the top of the 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, which is located 10 miles east in Princeville.

A 125-foot cell tower is “totally inappropriate” in a residential neighborhood, Tico said, and would bring an industrial feel to a remote community of lush foliage and beach homes. 

The plaintiff’s legal complaint claimed there is no structure in the area taller than 30 feet.

“It just doesn’t belong here,” Tico said.

Civil Beat’s reporting on Kauaʻi is supported in part by a grant from the G. N. Wilcox Trust. “Hawai‘i Grown” is funded in part by grants from the Stupski Foundation, Ulupono Fund at the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.