The Board of Zoning Appeals gave its approval Tuesday night for a cell tower at the Humane Society.

The St. Joseph County Humane Society is doing all it can to raise money to build a new facility, and that includes proposing to raise a 150-foot cell tower on its property.

Neighbors worry about their property values, and are also unenthusiastic about having to see the tower on a daily basis.

But the Humane Society says the tower could bring in thousands of dollars every month.

"It's going to be a positive thing for the shelter. Our utility bills are going up every day, as you know, so these are the things we need to do to make a stable income for us," explained Humane Society director Dr. Carol Ecker.

"It's probably a decent moneymaker. It's going to provide revenue for them, but, you know, not at my expense. You know, there's other ways to do it -- they could do a fundraiser or whatever they have to do," said Terry Patnaude, who lives near the Humane Society.

The Humane Society plans to put the tower at the back of the property, and says trees should block it from plain sight.

With a favorable recommendation from the zoning board, it is now up to Mishawaka's City Council to decide whether the Humane Society can put in the cell tower.

(The original story from Tuesday evening)

The St. Joseph County Humane Society has been asking for a lot of donations lately, but now they're looking for a new way make some extra money, and it has neighbors irritated.

The humane society wants to build a 150-foot tall cell tower on their property on Grape Rd.

Tuesday night, the Mishawaka zoning board is heard public input on whether they think the city should make an exception, and let the humane society build the tower.

Neighbors, as you might expect, are doing all they can to stop the tower from going up.

For the humane society, the possibility of thousands of dollars of extra income each month was too good to pass up.

“AT&T approached us about putting a cell tower on our property... It'd be something we could use to pay our utilities and since we're going to build here, it’s a good thing,” said Dr. Carol Ecker, the Director of the Humane Society.

But not too far away, it's not considered such a good thing.

“I don’t think anyone in the circle or the cul de sac is in favor of it,” said Dixie Mason, who says she and her neighbors received letters notifying them of the humane society’s appeal.

Neighbors say they've written letters and called board members to voice their opposition.

“My property over there is adjacent right in back of the humane society, so I would probably see more of the tower more than most people,” said Terry Patnaude, another neighbor.

The humane society says the tower on the back of their property should be blocked from view, by trees.

“It’s going to be very innocuous and people should not complain. It’s probably one of the last places you could hide a cell tower in Mishawaka and have it not be seen, visually, from the road,” Dr. Ecker said.

The neighbors think it will be an eyesore from their view.

“There’s one already placed over there that we can see above the trees, and apparently this one’s even going to be taller, so it is going to be visible,” Mason said, referring to a small tower the humane society has toward the front of its building.

The humane society sees the new tower as a way to possibly help pay for a new building.

“We've had to squish our plans down from a $5 million building to a $2 million building. So this will help subsidize the income we need for this type of building,” Dr. Ecker said.

Neighbors say they understand, but don’t agree.

“I do have a love for animals and I hope there’s some way they can resolve their financial situation, but not at our expense,” said Bob Mason, Dixie’s husband.

The humane society's land isn't zoned for the tower, but they're not asking to change the zoning. They’re asking for an exception to allow the tower, that usually could only be built in an industrial area.

Neighbors are still worried that might open the door to other development, and are worried about their property values.

After Tuesday’s public hearing the board will vote, and that yes or no recommendation will be passed on to the Mishawaka common council, who ultimately will make the decision.