The county put plans for an emergency-communication tower on hold Tuesday, after a contingent of Saugus residents sounded off to Santa Clarita City Council members about the placement of a 70-foot structure at Fire Station 108 in Saugus.

The 70-foot tower, a component of the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communication System, is exempt from the environmental review process, officials said.

That review process, as well as homeowner notification, is generally a standard part of the outreach process for such construction, especially in a residential area.

Here’s an example of the 70-foot structure county officials had scheduled to buiild in Saugus

However, residents began to notice the initial signs of construction last week and became alarmed. The homeowners association was unaware, neighbors said.

And due to the fact that it’s a Los Angeles County project taking place on county land as part of the county’s Consolidated Fire Protection District, the city had no ability to opt out, according to Darren Hernandez, assistant city manager.

County Supervisor Michael Antonovich had construction halted immediately, after his office was made aware of the dearth of outreach, said Anna Mouradian, public safety deputy for Antonovich.

“We did not have advanced notification of this construction site starting,” she said. “The supervisor’s position is that there should be outreach, and the construction was immediately halted as soon as the the supervisor’s office was notified.”

Whether anything can be done to stop it, in light of all this, is expected to be a part of the meeting Monday 6 p.m. at the Valencia library to discuss questions regarding the proposed construction site.

In a letter to Mayor Marsha McLean, Antonovich said construction was stopped at his request, and “will not resume until the community is fully advised of the project and satisfied with the answers to their questions.”

LA RICS is comprised of two distinct, but compatible projects: a Land Mobile Radio (LMR) communications system and a Long Term Evolution (LTE) broadband communications system, according to the system’s website. It was approved as a contract for Motorola in March.

The system is intended to provide improved radio and broadband communication for the public safety providers of the greater Los Angeles region.

A county fire official from the area, as well as a union representative for firefighters, in addition to about a half-dozen residents, spoke about concerns over the towers usefulness and safety.

Click here for the frequently asked questions page on the LA RICS network.

County officials plan to address those issues Monday.