Dear Mr. Burrell Ellis, CEO
DeKalb County Government
330 West Ponce DeLeon Ave.
Decautur, GA 30030
Dear Mr. Ellis,
We are contacting you again with questions regarding the county's policy and plans regarding the construction and operation of cell phone towers on public school grounds. As you are aware, the Board of Education has agreed to lease its property to T-mobile, but the county still has zoning authority over the exact placement of all telecommunications towers. Local zoning ordinances are already in place to protect our residents.
As concerned taxpayers, residents and homeowners of this county, we want to urge you and your office to be aware of the intentions of T-mobile to go around our local government and exploit loopholes in our laws and policies. Much of the process has been kept secret from the residents and homeowners who will be most directly impacted, which is standard operating procedure for T-mobile who has been on a mission for the past couple years to place their cell towers in the Greater Atlanta area at an alarming rate.
Please note our concerns and the concerns of many other taxpayers in this county who have taken the time to provide their feedback in the attached petition. It is particularly alarming that T-mobile, a German-based company, would agree to lease public property for a period of 30-years when it has stated publically that it no longer wishes to remain a player in the U.S. wireless market.
We are sure that you received the original letter from all seven of our elected county commissioners, but we have included as an attachment (1) for your reference. Mr. Ellis, this letter makes it very clear that DeKalb County has a proper procedure that T-mobile and any other cellular company is expected to follow when submitting applications for their transmission towers. The ordinance states that residential communities are not safe places for cellular towers. And, our commissioners believe that any permit applications either from the BOE or T-mobile for public school property to be used in this manner should be denied.
The BOE may believe that they are exempt from zoning laws, but they are incorrect. As we have pointed out, and as the county commissioners have agreed, any structure that has a primary purpose that is proprietary in nature is not considered to be a justifable use of an exemption from zoning. The exemption was allowed for publically-funded school grounds when used for the education of children.
Privately-held, privately-profiting cellular companies and their holding companies are not interested in our public school grounds to help better our education system. They are motivated by profit and tax relief. The primary function of the T-mobile towers will be to add to the bottom line of T-mobile through the sale of its wireless products and services and through the sub-leasing of its tower to other cell providers. Any other purpose the towers may be used for would be secondary to its proprietary function. The school board initiated the request for the towers as a means for additional revenue. Please see the attachment (2) from Steve Donahue, Director of Plant Services, in his initial summary of the task. This summary was part of the agenda during the June 2011 board meeting agenda.
Therefore, the county cannot in good faith offer to transfer an exemption over to T-mobile when it would normally be only a priviledge of our school system for the purpose of building educational facilities.
In proving this point, we have attached a copy (3) of the case entitled, "MACON-BIBB COUNTY PLANNING and; ZONING COMMISSION et al. v. BIBB COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT." It shows that the property of a state governmental unit is exempt from local zoning when a governmental function is being performed but not when a proprietary function is being performed.
Furthermore, the county commissioners, in their letter, have stated that it is their belief that the county should not ignore its own zoning ordinances, unless it is proven that they must do so in a court of law. We have information to submit to them that addresses this issue.
We would like to present you, your staff from the Public Works Division and from the Office of Planning and Sustainability, and our commissioners with one additional piece of information. Thanks to the recent comments made by the former School Board Chairman, Mr. Tom Bowen, to the various media outlets, he called our attention to the neigboring Cobb County as we were curious about exactly what happened there as they were faced with similar circumstances.
In fact, the admission of Mr. Bowen and Mr. Paul Womack, the former Vice Chairman of the School Board, that they were familiar with the situation in Cobb County makes their motivations in passing this item even more suspect. Anyone familiar with what took place in Cobb County is aware of the protests from the neighborhood that almost led to a recall of one board member.
Even more recently, current Chairman Dr. Eugene Walker, has made similar references to the fact that neigbhoring counties have chosen this route. To us, that knowledge means that DeKalb has a great opportunity to rise above the others, not sink to their level.
Sir, the conduct of these school board officials flys in the face of the open and transparent government that the citizens of DeKalb County have been asking for and that you, yourself, have stated as an important element of your administration. We hope you will not let their poor judgment in this situation drag your reputation down as well. They have tried to both avoid your input as well as claim to have your support. We just want to know the truth.
Upon looking at cell tower cases in Cobb County, we have located a federal decision that will provide the commissioners with the legal backing to solidify their recommendation that no permit be issued for these T-mobile cell towers on our public school grounds that would circumvent the standard "Special Land Use" process.
The case is also attached for your review (4). Please distribute to whomever on your staff you feel would be necessary in case they play a part in this decision. We are also sending a copy of this entire packet to everyone listed in the CC: section, but realize that we may have missed someone, esp. since the Public Works and the Office of Planning and Sustainability seem to be going through a lot of personnel changes lately.
The federal case we would like you to reference is titled, "T-MOBILE LLC vs. COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA." In this case, the County’s Planning and Zoning Staff reviewed the Application for compliance with the County’s local zoning ordinance. The Ordinance provides several design, location, and safety requirements for the construction of towers over 35 feet. Official Code of Cobb
County, Georgia § 134-273. Based on the Ordinance, the county denied the application for a tower permit and T-Mobile sued.
The court found in favor of the county and proved that the county has every right to uphold its own zoning ordinances and was justified in denying the application based on the fact that the tower proposed would be an intrusion into a residential area.
We hope you and your staff will review the documents and take these court proceedings into consideration when making the final determination. We have received an outpouring of support for this mission to keep our school yards safe and free from the intrusion of cell phone towers on their grounds. We have united our county on this issue, and groups that might normally be divided on other matters when it comes to schools and education, were able to come together, work together and seek help from their elected officials from the north to the south.
Now, we turn this final decision over to you, Mr. Ellis, and pray that you will do the right thing for the children of our county.
And, the final attachment (5) is a partial listing of the more than 1,300 names we have collected of people from all over the county who want you to know that they also oppose these towers. Please read more into these petitions than just a headcount, as we could easily deliver thousands more if that were all it took in order to make a point.
We ask that you read some of the comments that are made by those who signed. We think you will see, as we did, that this issue is not something that will simply fade away. It is clear that many, many taxpayers and voters in DeKalb County, not only oppose cell towers on school grounds, but they are very angry about it, too.
Please deny T-mobile and stand up for the citizens.
Thank you sincerely,
Get the Cell Out - ATL
cc: Director of the Federal Communication Commission,
DeKalb County School Board, Spokesperson Walter Woods,
Gov. Nathan Deal,
DeKalb County Director of Public Works,
DeKalb County Chief of Staff for Community Relations,
DeKalb County Commissioners,
Georgia State Board of Education,
the Georgia State Delegation,
The Center for Safer Wireless,
Unhappy Taxpayer and Voter,
Concerned Citizens of South DeKalb,
Mayor Ramsey of Clarkston,
Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Environment,
The Georgia Green Party,
MACE,
Briarcliff Heights Community Action Group,
Parents Coalition of Montgomery County,
National PTA,
DeKalb School Watch,
Cobb County School Board Member Rick Welkis,
Mount Shasta Research Center,
Center for Disease Control,
SACs,
DeKalb County District Attorney's office,
Georgia Office of Administrators of Special Education,
Georgia Association of Zoning Administrators,
Get the Cell Out and
Get the Cell Out - Atlanta Chapter.
Attachments (5)
Board of Commissioners Letter
Steve Donahue summary of task document
Bibb County Supreme Court Decision
Cobb County Federal Court Decision
GTCO-ATL Petition
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