Building a cell tower on land a half-mile from a private Snellville airfield is too risky to allow, the Gwinnett County Commission concluded Tuesday in denying T-Mobile's request for a development permit.

Commissioner Mike Beaudreau, reading from "findings of fact" concerning the proposed 126-foot tower, said that T-Mobile failed to show it had discussed the tower with the owner of the dirt-and-grass runway called Lenora Airport or that it had fully evaluated alternative sites.

Residents near the site on Centerville Rosebud Road and pilots who use the field were cautiously happy following the commission's 4-0 vote.

It's possible the case could wind up in court, they noted.

Attorney Michael Sullivan, who represented T-Mobile, told commissioners that a similar tower exists in an almost identical orientation to a private airfield a few miles from Lenora, and said seven tall structures have been approved within a half-mile of the county's Briscoe Field airport.

It was unclear Tuesday night if legal action is a possibility. Sullivan said he had been asked by the company not to comment on the case.

Pilots who use the field argue that the tower would pose a threat to airplanes in trouble and to some of the slower-moving planes that use Lenora.

The tower sits off of one corner of the FAA-mandated flight path for pilots using the field.

Because the tower would not have been lighted or painted, it would have been virtually impossible to see on cloudy or smoggy days and at night, pilot Mary Jane Kelley Polizzotto said.

"This is a recipe for possible disaster," she said.

Other residents argued the tower would be unsightly and reduce property values.