By Helen Borland / Staff and John Fredericks / Staff

Call it a new version of the T-Party.

Only this "No T" group isn’t railing against federal taxes and expanded government. Instead of the Democrats, it's T-Mobile's cell towers they are mobilized against.

History has shown three distinctive topics draw huge crowds at Roswell City Hall: Charlie Brown trying to build 27-story towers, money for the city's bicyclers, and hapless T-Mobile, the offshoot pesky cell phone company that is desperately trying to erect towers in residential areas.

Monday's City Council meeting didn't start until 7:30 p.m., but by 6:45 p.m. there were already two dozen people gathered, sporting red shirts, carrying signs and milling about in front of two television cameras and three reporters on the steps of City Hall. By game time, over 100 people packed the chamber.

At issue was T-Mobile's plan to instal an 11-story tall cell tower on Lake Charles Drive, a residential area.

You could have mailed in the result.

Like their failed effort last year in another Lake Charles area, this bid went belly up as well.

"T" STANDS FOR "TERRIBLE TOWERS"

The operative word is "residential."

T-Mobile spokesperson Lannie Greene attempted to provide good reasons for building their 108-foot cell tower, but it fell on deaf ears. Mayor Jere Wood was forced to pound the gavel on his desk and demand that the audience keep quiet when a handful of people guffawed and made disparaging remarks. Green was finally able to complete his presentation with no further interruptions, but the die was cast.

Even Betty Price, the councilwoman responsible for Community Development -- under which this issue falls -- was not able to support T-Mobile's proposal. She moved that the petition be denied. Quickly seconded by Becky Wynn, it went down in flames, save for rookie Councilwoman Nancy Diamond, a Lake Charles resident, who bailed out and took the fifth, recusing herself and vacating the chambers.

NYDEN LEADS THE CHARGE TO BAG THE "T"

Local resident Michael Nyden assumed de facto leadership position in the crusade and carefully orchestrated a well thought-out plan that included expert testimony from people in the home mortgage industry, telecommunications, attorneys and others.

Cookie Levine, an attorney whose property backs up to the lot where the proposed tower would have stood, began with an emotional appeal to the council. "The residential areas are the heart and soul of the city. The neighborhoods are the places we need to keep looking pretty." Levine continued by citing city code, which provides in straightforward  language where telecommunications towers can and cannot be located. Current code prohibits them in residential areas.

Ken Cavanaugh, a commercial real estate consultant and broker who lives on Lake Charles Drive, gave examples of cities that denied cell tower permits and then were subsequently sued by the telecom companies, fought the litigation -- and won.

According to the research Cavanaugh has done, he found they tend to litigate with "no substantial evidence to support the municipality's denial." He said the testimony presented at the council meeting qualifies as substantial evidence. "We're not against cell towers. Almost everybody here has a cell phone. We are defending our neighborhoods from the encroachment of commercial and industrial uses," Cavanaugh concluded. 

Jeff Anderson, a young local attorney with a "get-tough" attitude, read several pertinent Roswell statutes from the podium. "Your duty is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public and maintain the aesthetic integrity of the community." Anderson promised to offer his legal services to the city pro bono should T-Mobile decide to sue, prompting the audience to erupt in applause.

Other residents complained about the inevitability of impending property devaluation that would result from the spires.

But T-Mobile rep. Bo Simpson,  who claimed 20 years experience as a property values appraiser, countered, telling council that there are over 1,000 cell towers in Fulton County, maintaining they "have no effect on home- buyers and property values."

ALBERS WEIGHS IN

Roswellian John Albers, a Republican candidate for state senate, branded himself as a subject matter telecommunications expert by saying he's been a consultant to the five major carriers. He said T-Mobile uses a technology that requires cell towers be closer together than those of Verizon or Sprint. "So just because T-Mobile decided to choose this type of technology, does that mean the citizens of Lake Charles should be the bearers of having towers in their back yard?" Albers asked, rhetorically. 

But Albers saved his most salient point for last: setting precedence. "Which neighborhood would be next?" he queried. "Once [these] cell towers are allowed in residential areas, it goes downhill from there," he asserted.

TRY, TRY AGAIN, T-M

T-Mobile southeast region executive Ann Brooks said the council's decision was a disappointment, but vowed to carry on. "The fact still remains that we need to improve indoor coverage in that part of Roswell," she said. When asked if she would consider citizen input, she responded that she couldn't speak for the department that's responsible for locating a site, but that T-Mobile always tries to work with the community. "We love it when people get involved in the siting process. The true objective is to improve service to our customers. It's not uncommon for areas like Roswell to have very limited choices because it's highly residential and it's often a difficult process to find an appropriate site," Brooks added.

Nyden's citizens' group pledged to help T-Mobile find a suitable location for a cell tower. However, the company failed to respond to the city's alternate site, offered up last week.