The City of Medford no longer requires a public hearing to build a public safety communication tower. That City Council voted Thursday night to alter language in city code to drop the public hearing portion of the process related to those towers.

The issue sparked an outcry in 2011 when a 130 foot communications tower on Capital Hill was built without the neighbors being informed.

In that case the city moved the tower to another location on the same property when it was decided the tower was built too close to a residence, violating the city’s own rules.