A plan to build a 60-foot cell- phone antenna disguised as a palm tree in Manoa Chinese Cemetery has been put on hold because of opposition from residents.

"Because of the concerns that have been raised, we've decided to reassess the location," T-Mobile spokesman Steve Caplan said yesterday.

T-Mobile has been trying to place a cell-phone tower in Manoa Valley for more than three years. After residents opposed an earlier plan to install an antenna on a private residential lot, the company settled on a 400-square-foot plot in Manoa Chinese Cemetery — in part because of a suggestion from the neighborhood board, Caplan said.

T-Mobile said the cemetery location is the one that made the most sense, and that the tower would allow the company to better serve customers in the back of the valley.

But community members seem equally opposed to putting the tower in the cemetery, which is the oldest and largest Chinese cemetery in Hawai'i and is listed on the state Register of Historic Places.

At an unusually crowded neighborhood board meeting in September, residents lined up to testify against the proposed cellphone tower. Most were worried about how the sight of antenna would affect the landscape.

The board voted to recommend that the city Department of Planning and Permitting deny T-Mobile's request for a minor conditional use permit and a zoning waiver to exceed the area's maximum height limit of 25 feet.

"We're really glad to hear that," Scott Wilson, president of Malama O Manoa, said yesterday of T-Mobile's decision to put the plan on hold.

Malama O Manoa sent more than a dozen letters to the planning department over the past few months.

"There's nothing historic about high-tech phone towers," Wilson said. "We understand the need for cell-phone towers, but there are plenty of other places. They just need to be more sensitive to the community."

The Lin Yee Chung Association, which owns the cemetery, could not be reached for comment yesterday. But Wilson said he spoke with president Sam Luke last month about the project.

"They're very good neighbors," Wilson said. "I suggested we have some kind of community work day or have a fundraiser for them. If they have a need for funds, they should talk to the community and explain their situation rather than just getting a contract with T-Mobile."

Caplan said that T-Mobile will look for other possible locations.

"The bottom line is that customer demand is driving the need for coverage in that area," he said.