"The tree will stick out like a sore thumb, without any trees surrounding it," said Abrook, who lives next to the Tin Tin Market, where Cingular proposed to build the tree. "I am also concerned that the waves will affect young children."

Abrook's neighbors share her concerns. At the April 26 planning commission meeting, people in the neighborhood, many of whom got to know each other because of the proposal, requested that the commission deny Cingular's application.

The planning commission did reject the application, but the case also shows that the city needs more than a well-written Wireless Facilities Master Plan to help wireless providers build antenna facilities in residential areas. Cingular Wireless complied with the guidelines but still failed, mostly because of reasons that were beyond its control.

To provide residents with better cellular-phone reception, the city council passed the Wireless Facilities Master Plan in October of 2003. The document provides guidelines for wireless providers to build antennas throughout the city. Before that, antennas were prohibited in residential neighborhoods.

For the past five years, staff had been approached by such wireless providers as AT&T Wireless, Verizon, Cingular and Sprint PCS to place an antenna facility in the Tin Tin Market parking lot or on the flagpole on the property of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

An antenna at this location would serve Abrook's neighborhood near S. Blaney Avenue, Eaton Elementary School, Bollinger Road commuters and the adjacent San Jose neighborhood.

The Master Plan states a preference for facilities to be located on existing structures and buildings. There is a lack of tall buildings in the neighborhood, which is predominantly made up of one-story buildings and single-family residences. The owners of the only taller building, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, were not interested in having an antenna on their property.

So Cingular went to its next preference, building a new structure in a nonresidential location. It originally proposed erecting the tree at the rear of the Tin Tin Market near La Roda Drive but faced strong opposition from the residents there.

Cingular then decided to locate the tree near a midway point between Bollinger Road and La Roda Drive after examining other possible sites.

The sites that Cingular had considered included the Home Depot building on De Anza Boulevard, the new City Library building, adjacent city-owned land and City Center properties. But all the sites were too far away to provide satisfactory coverage to this particular neighborhood.

To prevent the facility from looking intrusive, Cingular camouflaged the monopole, a type of antenna, as an artificial tree. "A simulated tree may look goofy, but it looks better than a traditional monopole," Chao said.

To address the residents' health concerns, Cingular hired a reputable health physicist to assure residents that the waves would be too weak to cause any impact to health. But the residents questioned the doctor's credibility because he was paid by Cingular.

Assistant city planner Gary Chao said to prevent residents from doubting health specialists' credibility, the city will consider selecting a few consultants for wireless providers to choose from in the future. The applicants will still pay for the consulting fee.

"The applicant did exhaust all the options, and their proposal was consistent with the Master Plan," Chao said. "They haven't expressed interest in appealing the case. The area will remain a black hole of reception for a while."

Meanwhile, the 55-foot-high artificial tree brought to light another issue that has long frustrated the residents: the code violations of the Tin Tin Market.

Their complaints include noise from a refrigeration unit, truck noise, light glaring into residents' bedrooms, rats and overflowing garbage bins.

"We basically live with rats," said Tom Hugunin, who puts rodent bait boxes along his backyard fence. "Although it is generally believed that the rats come from Tin Tin, it is hard to prove."

The property manager of the shopping center, the city staff and the people from Tin Tin Market have been meeting to solve the problems.

"If residents have any problems, they should call code enforcement," Chao said.