The Meridian City Council on Tuesday night approved a request to build a 250-foot cell tower in the North Hills area, despite staunch opposition from more than 30 people who spoke against it.

A public hearing was held during the meeting, where a representative from SouthernLinc Wireless — a division of Southern Company — gave a presentation about the tower.

Immediately following his presentation, a crowd of tower opponents, including New’s Restaurant owner Chris Belvin and Peavey Electronics CEO Hartley Peavey, said they didn’t want another tower in North Hills.

Belvin said the new tower would be built near New’s Restaurant. An existing tower, which is about 100 yards away, interferes with his wireless internet system.

While the SouthernLinc representative said tower do not affect the aesthetics of a business area, Peavey disagreed, saying there are already enough cell phone towers in the area.

After an executive session, the council ruled in favor of SouthernLinc.