Seeking to balance the legal rights of telecommunication companies and residents' aversion to clunky cell equipment occupying city property, Palo Alto officials narrowly approved on Monday a compromise on a wireless proposal that left both sides feeling unsatisfied.

The City Council voted 4-3, with council members Tom DuBois, Lydia Kou and Greg Tanaka dissenting, to reject two appeals pertaining to Crown Castle's application for seven wireless communication facilities in the downtown area. In doing so, it reaffirmed interim Planning Director Jonathan Lait's decision to approve a modified design for five of the seven nodes proposed by Crown Castle and to reject the remaining two.