The installation of a cellphone tower on council owned land near a sculpture in Katikati's Talisman Drive is to be discussed at this week's Western Bay of Plenty District Council operations committee meeting after an outcry from the public.

Council's resource management manager Phillip Martelli says the Katikati Community Board has asked to be involved in discussions regarding the location of the tower, which he believes will be less than 20metres high.

Cellphone company 2 Degrees wants to build a tower behind Cherrycort in Katikati's main street.

He was unable to say how much council could be paid to have the tower on its land.

The Talisman Drive Telecom tower is one of two proposed for the town's centre, which have upset many Katikati residents.

The other tower, planned by 2 Degrees, is proposed to be erected behind the retail and business complex called Cherrycourt.

Community board member Sam Dunlop says he was dismayed to discover no public notification of the towers' installation had to be given as they were a permitted activity in a commercial zone.

'None of the businesses in Cherrycourt had any idea about the tower behind their businesses, and the one in Talisman Drive is planned right next to the Open-Airt Art pioneer sculpture which the community raised $40,000 for.

'What kind of image will it create when the all you can see of Katikati approaching from the north is a cellphone tower?”

Sam says the tower behind Cherrycourt could ruin long term plans to make the Uretara Stream, which runs beneath it, a focal point of the town centre. The towers have not yet been installed and Sam says there was likely to be further opposition to their placement.

The issue of cellphone towers was discussed at Thursday's strategy and policy meeting at which committee chairman and Katikati Ward councillor Mike Williams asked the committee to consider requesting staff investigate whether existing rules around cellphone towers could be tightened up where there were special circumstances.

'The Katikati community is different from others in that it is an arty town and one of the towers is proposed to go next to a statue which has not gone down well.”

Mike says he doesn't believe Katikati people are opposed to cellphone towers as such. It is their proposed location in the town centre which is the issue.

Deputy Mayor Paul Thomas says Katikati has to `grow up' when it comes to its attitude towards cellphone towers in its town centre. He suggested if the community has an issue about the planned location of towers it should talk to the owners of the land on which they are to be erected.

Telecom wants to build a cellphone tower close to the steel sculpture by Mark Hill called The Pioneers, commissioned by Open-Air Art.

Phillip told the meeting that cellphone towers were a permitted activity under the district plan in commercial, industrial, rural and all terrain park zones and discretionary in others.

Those rules had been through the district plan process. To tighten them up significantly to make the erection of towers discretionary or non-complying would invite strong opposition from the telecommunication industry and end in the Environment Court with council in a weak position, he said.

Councillor Garry Webber says the Katikati issue is a case of NIMBY (not in my back yard). People wanted cellphones but they couldn't have them without cellphone towers.

Councillor Maureen Burgess suggested ways should be found to disguise the towers and says they will be better placed alongside state highways where they are not close to houses or businesses.

The committee voted against a proposal asking staff to carry out an investigation into changes to rules around cellphone towers in the district. Both Mike Williams and Garry Webber were absent during the vote as they had been called away to discuss another matter.