By Helen Borland / Staff

Here we go again.

In a residential area off Lake Charles Drive, there's a plan to put up an 11-story high cell tower tower that includes a substation with accessories and a barbed wire fence.

And plenty of neighbors don't want to see a cell tower from the porch. 

"We're not against cell towers in Roswell. What we are against is putting a cell tower in a residential area. We feel that's very inappropriate," said Cookie Levine, whose back yard abuts the proposed site. She is concerned that a cell phone tower will become a visual blight; she and her neighbors are joining up to oppose the construction.

But cell giant T-Mobile, which has filed with Roswell City Council for the tower permit, says not to worry. "What we're trying to do is make the pole blend in better with the surroundings," according to Shawn St. John, an executive with the company.

No matter the color or style, those opposed say at 108 feet, it would loom over the homes like an ominous eyesore.

HIT THE ROAD, JACK, AND DON’T EVER COME BACK

"The City of Roswell ordinances are very clear in regard to the development of wireless communications," Levine, an attorney, said. "The ordinances are designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public and maintain the aesthetic integrity of the community. The ordinances are designed to locate towers to minimize the adverse visual impact and to avoid potential damage to property, which includes property values and the aesthetic quality of the neighborhood."

Levine, along with others, gathered over 620 signatures of Roswell residents who object to having cell towers in residential areas of the city. She vowed to do everything she could to oppose it and hopes that city council will deny the application, based on the potential adverse impact to the residential areas. Levine wants the council to follow the purposes and intent of the city ordinances, which are to preserve and protect residential areas.

Michael Nyden, a resident of Lake Charles Plantation and de-facto leader of the coalition of neighborhoods against the tower said he received input from many local, seasoned real estate agents and asked the big question. According to their responses, homeowners adjacent to a cell phone tower can expect a heart-stopping 20 percent to 30 percent drop in home values.

"My neighbors and I are concerned about the impact on the entire city," pleaded Ish McQuillen, who lives about 200 yards from the proposed site. She said she and several other concerned citizens are even willing to help T-Mobile find a suitable location within Roswell.  

Nyden explained that his main concern is that precedent will be set if the city council approves putting a cell tower in a residential zone. He stated that the city council couldn't go back once it's approved a site on residential property, which opens up the potential for cell towers anywhere in Roswell. 

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO

T-Mobile made application to the city to install a cell tower adjacent to the city owned fire station at the corner of Jones Road and Lake Charles Drive in 2008.  When residents of the area found out about it, they deluged City Hall in protest and the City Council withdrew the site from consideration. 

McQuillen's solution? "We are saying, put it in an appropriate site. T-Mobile should consider joining with other telecommunication companies and put theirs in the same location … The FCC suggests that they should go into industrial and commercial properties. We're asking what the FCC recommends."

Cell phone towers can provide a source of income for property owners, but they usually elicit fierce neighborhood opposition. The main issues are potential effects on health from constant radio waves, visual impacts, and drops in property values. The FCC says they're safe, but the FDA and NSA suggest there may be long-term effects. "Does this remind you of tobacco 35 years ago?" McQuillen asked.

T-MOBILE REFUTES HEALTH THREAT, PROPERTY DEVALUATION

"The FCC standard for radiofrequency radiation is 50 times lower than what the international medical community considers to be a safe level," said St. John. As long as transmitters stay within the FCC levels of RF, there are no health risks, he assured.   But a June 2003 document published by the FCC states, "Proximity is a significant factor in determining whether exposures could occur in excess of our guidelines."

Mayor Jere Wood expects that the council will reject the application, but sees trouble ahead. Wood predicted that Roswell is sure to face a lawsuit over the tower if it is indeed jettisoned. He vowed to vigorously defend the city over any such lawsuits, but warned that eventually Roswell will be forced to put the towers somewhere. "It's a federal law," he said.

T-Mobile's application will be addressed by the Mayor and City Council at the zoning meeting at City Hall, 38 Hall Street, on Monday, April 12 at 7:30 pm.