The Planning and Zoning Commission will be reviewing separate requests from Salt River Project to install five router antennas for its smart meter service in Fountain Hills.

SRP provides electrical power to the community and is seeking a special use permit for each of the five antenna towers. The town has asked that the utility use faux saguaros to disguise the towers.

The 20-foot towers are proposed for 15042 Sundown Drive, 15335 Golden Eagle Boulevard, 16229 Ironwood Drive, 14405 Mourning Dove Drive and 12028 Eagle Ridge Drive.

The towers are part of SRP’s ongoing work to update its equipment to allow for wireless reading of electrical meters.

Ultimately SRP will be installing 14 router antennas, with 11 of those in highly-visible locations. Those will be installed as the faux cactus, and six of those are in the public right-of-way.

The five locations before the commission this week are within utility easements on private property. The Zoning Ordinance requires that they have a special use permit and Town Council approval.

The work will be funded by SRP aesthetic funds designated for use within Fountain Hills.

The Smart Router System allows SRP to read meters and communicate with customers regarding power usage. The company is installing the infrastructure to allow the system to operate for each residence.

SRP normally installs the equipment on SRP street lights, of which Fountain Hills has almost none, but it needs frequent router locations due to the hilly topography.

Smart meter technology has received negative publicity due to concerns about health issues related to the radio frequency emissions.

According to SRP, the smart meters transmit weak radio signals similar to those of other wireless devices including cell phones, baby monitors and laptop computers using wireless technology.

The radio waves from a smart meter are only .001 as much as a typical cell phone, according to SRP.

The company web site states that a typical smart meter also transmits for only about 45 seconds a day.

“It would take a homeowner more than 1,000 years to get as much exposure to radio waves as a typical cell phone user gets in just one month,” the website states.

The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Thursday, Feb. 5, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at Town Hall. The meeting is open to the public.