Service Request Submitted to DeKalb Planning and Sustainability Office

(click headline to read full text of this article)

If we can't get help from a real person, then maybe this will work...

Experts say that when a cell tower falls, it will "fall like a tree."  This is a big concern when you think about what might be in the fall zone of the cell towers planned for 9 DeKalb County schools... schools, daycares, homes, traffic... people - it could be any one of us.  So, what are the odds of one of these planned towers falling?  Unfortunately, a LOT higher than you probably would expect. 

Experts say that when a cell tower falls,
it will "fall like a tree."

Read on...

The thought of a cell tower falling over and landing on a school is one of the reasons GTCO-ATL formed in the first place.  It isn't enough to point out a bad idea to a few people and stop something like this from happening down the street.  If YOU knew there was a REAL possiblity of children's lives being placed in danger, what would YOU do?  The responsibility should NOT be placed on the parents at these seemingly randomly selected schools to alert other citizens about a possible danger to their home, their school or their lives, but that's exactly what has happened. 

While others may be okay with keeping quiet about what they know, the thought that these dangerous towers could be built without proper permits or proper review literally keeps some of us awake at night.  So, to that end, we continue to do what we can to spread the word and hope that you will do your part in telling others about this website so that they can spread the word in their neighborhoods, too. 

This is more than a school debate or a political decision.  This is about a moral obligation to do the right thing.  So, here is one more thing we are doing to try to get some answers, which is all we have ever wanted in the first place. 

Code Compliance and Complaints

DeKalb County has a method where you can complain about any code compliance issue online.  Your complaint is given a tracking number and you can ask that they follow-up with you directly in regard to their progress on your issue. 

To begin the process, go to the Planning Department's Main Page, then click the submenu for "Permitting," and then "Code Compliance and Complaints." 

We decided to give it a try (as you can see from the screen shot of the submission page) because GTCO-ATL is still very concerned about the documents that were posted on the DeKalb School Board's website at the time that they were considering the lease of property to T-mobile. 

GTCO-ATL has uncovered the fact that the structural documents provided to the School Board's Tower Committee were not only years out of date, they also provided specs that are not up to current codes necessary to ensure public safety.  In facts, these documents themselves even gave a poor rating to the proposed tower's ability to remain standing under certain high wind conditions. 

Upon reviewing the Emergency Planning Documents for DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Cobb counties, we learned that the wind conditions that might cause this type of tower to FALL OVER are not at all uncommon in our area!  The industry standard was changed to what is known as a "Rev-G" construction which is still not adequate when there is the potential for a falling tower to come in contact with structures expected to be inhabited by human beings (ie. schools and homes).  The "Rev-H" standard is necessary to ensure a higher degree of safety. 

But, T-mobile told our school board that they planned to build to the outdated "Rev-F" standard for the base plate and mounts.  And, since school board members and staff are not trained in the engineering field and do not have the necessary information to determine if tower designs are safe to put next to schools or homes, they approved the entire deal without a second thought about the importance of the technical jargon.  They essentially trusted T-mobile who has a very good reason to want to build to the outdated tower codes - it's cheaper, faster and easier for them.

We have more information about this topic if anyone is interested in reviewing it. Just send an email to sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com and ask for the "Rev-F" code documents.

Here is the full text submitted by GTCO-ATL to the Planning and Sustainabilty Department regarding this issue.  We will provide an update if anyone gets back with us regarding our questions.

I am concerned about the T-mobile request for permits to construct cell towers at 9 or more DeKalb County Schools (orig. list of 12) because I have been told that the permits will be issued by Special Administrative Permit and not by Special Land Use Permit.  I would like to know why /how the Administrative option would apply in this case as these are not temporary structures and should be subjected to the already defined cell tower standards determined by our county via the Special Land Use Permit process, in my opinion. 

In addition, I am very concerend that the documents the school board posted on their website for the public that were stated to be the construction documents submitted by T-mobile indicated that they were wanting to construct a tower with Rev-F standards for the base plate and mount mechanisms.  Rev-F has not been industry standard for many years now and the industry has stated it expects all towers to be built to Rev-G or the new Rev-H standards as these standards lower the chances for the tower to fall over in high wind condititions.

With towers being located so close to schools and homes, it is a major concern if our county is merely planning to "rubber stamp" these towers as I have been told and will not be responsible for the safety of our citizens.  I would like to know what law exempts the schools from zoning codes and why a Special Admin. Permit would be issued that would eliminate public input.