MURRIETA -- Wavering cell phone reception is actually the least of the concerns of residents who live immediately behind the shopping center where a mobile phone provider is seeking to build a 50-foot cell phone tower that would be designed to look like a clock tower. Instead, those whose views would be altered by the structure T-Mobile is proposing to build said they are more interested in having something "nifty" to look at.

As the Murrieta City Council prepares to again hear T-Mobile's proposal, four out of five nearby residents who were interviewed said they were in favor of allowing it to be built.

T-Mobile has asked for another month to gather data showing that the tower could enhance cell coverage, but the City Council has the authority to deny that request and vote on the issue during Tuesday's 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 24601 Jefferson Ave.

The residents who voiced support for the plan in interviews said they did so not because of their concerns over cell phone reception, but because they thought a tower would serve as a landmark for their Date Street and Margarita Road neighborhood, would give character to the otherwise unidentifiable housing tract, and would make staying on time that much easier.

The dissenting resident, however, asserted that the tower would not fit in with the rest of the neighborhood, which is the basis of the argument made by more than four dozen people who have signed a petition in opposition to the proposal.

"We don't want to have those kinds of buildings in our area," 66-year-old Vasile Marchis said. "They have those kinds of buildings in commercial (areas), not here."

The cell phone provider is wanting to build the tower to improve reception in the neighborhood, an area where company representatives say there is a gap in its coverage. Adding Verizon antennae would in turn improve coverage for that company's customers, as well. The tower would stand 14 feet taller than the tallest buildings in the neighborhood and is designed to have room to include Verizon antennae.

While T-Mobile asserts that signal strength in the area is weak, opinions on the proposal have been strong.

The company has encountered staunch opposition to its plan to build the tower at the Date Street Plaza from some residents and vehement support from others. Petitions have made their way around the neighborhoods, with 100 people signing a petition in support of the plan and 50 signing a petition opposing it.

And the contrasting opinions on the issue aren't limited to residents. During a June hearing, three City Council members could not reach a consensus on the proposal. Two council members removed themselves from the hearing because they are or were previously employed by Verizon, leaving only Mayor Gary Thomasian and Council members Kelly Bennett and Rick Gibbs to weigh in on the matter.

While Bennett and Gibbs were poised to approve the tower, citing public safety issues associated with the poor cell phone reception, Thomasian said he didn't believe that reception in the area was poor enough to warrant building a tower.

Since that meeting, T-Mobile has been working to offer more conclusive evidence that the area has a gap in coverage that can best be remedied by installing a tower.

If you take a T-Mobile phone to the neighborhood, you can watch the bars indicating signal strength flicker. Move the phone up and down a street and the signal strength will be marked by four bars at its strongest point and one at its weakest. Calls connect, but reception can be poor.

Despite that, none of the residents who live directly behind the shopping center said their opinions on the clock tower was based on cell phone reception. Instead, four of the five neighbors to the plaza who were interviewed said they supported the proposal because they liked the idea of the clock tower.

"If we had an ocean view, then I might have a different opinion, but I don't think it's going to be too intrusive," said 41-year-old Vicky Wheeler.

Dan Belden, 68, said jokingly that he would direct his designated driver toward the tower to find his house.

"I can find my way home from parties," he said, laughing.

Belden's next-door neighbor, 75-year-old John Keingruber, agreed that complaints from some that the tower would block their view didn't resonate with him.

"If they were putting in a 7-Eleven, then I'd say hold on," Keingruber said. "But I'll see just as good as before."

Elizabeth Peri, an 18-year-old who lives on the other side of Belden, also said she would like to have a clock tower in the neighborhood.

"I think the tower would be pretty nifty," she said, adding that she and her friends often drive to De Luz to stare out over the housing tracts and the tower would catch her eye.

"Murrieta and Temecula are really boring, so if we had a landmark, it'd be really cool."

Call staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at 951-676-4315, ext. 2626.