NORDMAN — A plan is afoot to improve wireless communications at Priest Lake.

Sunrise PL is seeking a conditional use permit to install a 175-foot stealth communications tower off Reeder Bay Road.

The Bonner County Planning & Zoning Commission is scheduled to take up the permit request during a public hearing on May 21. The hearing, which will be conducted via videoconferencing due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, is slated to start at 5:30 p.m.

The project includes a backup generator within a 30-foot by 30-foot fenced area and 300 feet of new gravel road. Improvements will also be made to 675 feet of existing gravel road on the seven-acre site.

Bonner County Planning Department documents indicate the monopole tower and its six antennas will be disguised as a pine tree.

Sunrise PL, a limited-liability corporation, is seeking the permit on behalf of Verizon Wireless, although multiple carriers will utilize the tower, according to planning department records.

“This site will add needed capacity to this area so that customers will receive better service and faster data speeds,” Faisal Raza, a radio frequency engineer with Verizon Wireless, said in a site analysis letter.

Sunrise PL said in its project narrative that property owners have expressed a demand for improved wireless services and voiced complaints about poor or nonexistent coverage in the area.

“There is a wireless coverage gap in this service area,” Sunrise PL said.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.