DeKalb County Finds Telecommunications Towers and Antennas in the County Directly Affect Public Health!

Pictured above, a view recently on 285 Northbound in Atlanta.
Eleco-smog, or RF emissions from cell towers and wireless
devices, cannot be seen or smelled, but similar to
carbon dioxide, that does not mean it is not real. 
And, that does not make it safe. 

(click headline for full text)

"DeKalb County finds that the number, height, design characteristics and location of telecommunications towers and antennas in the county directly affect the public health, safety and general welfare."

If you have heard that there is nothing to be concerned about when it comes to wireless technology, then check out the DeKalb County Code of Ordinances.  You might be surprised to know that the DeKalb County government would disagree with what you heard.  In fact, they feel just the opposite. 

See the county statement in its official doctorine, the code of ordinances, for the safe siting of cell towers:  Sec. 27 - 779. - Telecommunications towers and antennas.  They go on to say:

"The county further finds that such structures, when inappropriately located, have the potential to pose a danger to surrounding property owners and the genral public and substantially detract from the beauty and aesthetic appearance of the county."

Regardless of how or why the DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis is comfortable with just pawning this big decision off to one of the several Interim Planning Directors he has had on board, even after all the calls and emails, he will still have to make sure they comply with a few regulations.  That is, if his office plans to follow its own Code of Ordinances. 

You really should read the long list of stipulations we normally expect cell towers to comply with, but here is one example:

"Any tower or anenna located within any zoning district where permitted by specail administrative permit shall be set back a distance of one-third of the combined height of the towers and antenna or one hundred (100) feet, whichever is greater, except that where any such adjoining propery is used for resindental use, then said telecommunications tower or antenna shall be set back fromany such off-site struture in residential use, including any accessory structure designed for regular human use, a distance o one-half (1/2) the combined height of the tower and antenna or two hundred (200) feet, whichever is greater."

Several schools on the list for DeKalb County do not have the property to accomodate this requirement.  Is it going to take a lawsuit in order to make our government follow its own rules? 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If your school is scheduled to get a cell tower, construction shall commense any day now so you should be on high alert.  If you plan to file an Appeal, you have only 30 days from the day that T-mobile and/or the School Board filed the application.  If you file your appeal documents without legal council and need help locating an attorney immediately afterward who can assist you, please email us at sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com and mark URGENT in the subject line.  Leave us a phone number where you can be reached and we will try to help you get in touch with someone who can help you from there.  If you are within the 30-day shot clock of the application date, your attorneys fees will likely be refunded at the end of the case.

As of time of this writing, there are 6 DeKalb schools with FCC Permits AND signed contracts by Super. Cheryl Atkinson in early December 2011, including: 

1. Jolly Elementary School, Clarkston; 
2. Smoke Rise Elementary School, Stone Mountain; 
3. Princeton Elementary School, Lithonia; 
4. Martin Luther King, Jr. High, Lithonia;
5. Flat Rock Elementary, Lithonia;
6. Margaret Harris Comprehensive School, Atlanta

There is one school, Briarlake Elementary School in Decatur, with a signed contract, but no FCC Permit appears on www.antennasearch.com under Unregistered Towers OR under New Application.   There is an existing structure listed as right next to the school, but GTCO-ATL was told by No Briarlake Tower, LLC that this is a satellite dish that is no longer is use, but is till showing up in its orginal location.   Upon reviewing the setback requirements (top of this article) in full, it is possible that even with the exemption and the Special Administrative Permit, Brairlake may not be a large enough campus to be able to comply with the safety standards, if T-mobile is electing to follow them.  It is possible that the FCC is not going to approve their permit application.  They should still be on the lookout for a county permit or varience application with the Office of Planning and Sustainability or with the Office of Public Works.

There are two schools that did not have signed contracts to be sent at the time of our Open Records Request recently, according to Walter Woods, spokesperson for DCSS.  He suggested we check back in a few weeks.   Those two schools are Narvie J. Harris Elementary School in Decatur and Lakeside High School in Atlanta.  GTCO-ATL predicted both of these schools would be removed from the cell tower list early on in the process.