To ask the CEO of DeKalb County to deny T-mobile's attempts to gain access to our schools for their towers via Administrative Permits, please contact the office of Mr. Burrell Ellis:
Email: schedulingceoellis@dekalbcountyga.gov or ceo@dekalbcountyga.gov.
And Sign the Countywide Petiton: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/GTCO-ATL
The Briarcliff-North Druid Hills Patch and the DeKalb School Watch Two Blog have both picked up on the story started by Crossroads that the DeKalb Commissioners have come forth to oppose the cell towers slated for 9 schools in DeKalb County. Here's a link to the latest: http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/county-commissioners-seek-to-kill-school-cell-towers/DeKalb County, GA, Board of Commissioners give “thumbs down” to cell towers at school, according to a report published recently:
http://crossroadsnews.com/view/full_story/18055161/article-Commissioners-give-thumbs-down-to-cell-towers-at-school by reporter Jennifer Parker.
The DeKalb County Commissioners have finally responded after months of inquiry from across the county from concerned residents and parents. They penned a single letter, dated March 27 and signed by all 7 comissioners. It was sent to CEO Burrell Ellis’s attention and acknowledged by school board spokesman Walter Woods. The important points in the letter:
* DeKalb County Board of Commissioners are against the placement of cell towers on school grounds!
* T-mobile does not qualify for exemption from zoning.
* DeKalb County should not ignore its own regulations or give up local control.
* They have listened to their constituents and have decided to take a more active approach to the conflict.
* These towers would not normally be approved as they are not consistent with the zoning regulations, already established for cell towers, designed to protect the citizens and their property values.
* They urge CEO Burrell Ellis to deny any requests for Special Administrative Permit as case law from the Supreme Court of Georgia does not support it.
To help stop T-mobile from placing dangerous cell towers on school grounds in DeKalb County, please take a moment to send a letter or email to the CEO Burrell Ellis (contact details below). He is familiar with the dispute as his office has been contacted by a number of residents since the beginning of this process, but it will help for him to hear some simple statements of support for following the advice of the county commissioners.
You may voice your concern directly to:
Mr. W. Burrell Ellis, Jr.
Chief Executive Officer
DeKalb County Government
330 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue, 6th Floor
Decatur, GA 30030
Note to Parents: If your child attends high school at either Martin Luther King or Lakeside, please encourage him or her to write a short letter to the CEO stating his / her request that the cell towers be denied. If Lakeside High students do not believe they need better cell service at the possible expense of young elementary school children across the county, this would be an excellent opportunity for the CEO to hear from those constituents who may not have voting rights, but still have rights and should be able to speak for themselves.
Email: schedulingceoellis@dekalbcountyga.gov or ceo@dekalbcountyga.gov.
Phone Numbers:
404-371-2881 Executive Office
404-371-2521 Neighborhood Empowerment
404-371-6301 Scheduling Line
Copy (Optional) to: For extra assurance your letter of support reaches the right people, you may wish to send a copy to:
The Director of Public Works
The Director (or Interim Director) of Planning & Sustainability
The Chief of Staff for the Office of Community Relations.
The names of these individuals are difficult to find and change frequently, so simply using the titles and sending the “copy:” to the same address as the CEO’s address below is recommended for now until we learn more about the individuals who may hold these positions currently.
Additional Copy (Optional) to: You may also wish to copy: your local Board of Commissioners Representative (or all of them) just to inform him/her that you are taking the next step to ensure the CEO knows the letter they penned is also backed by the wishes of the people of DeKalb County. Contact details can be found here: http://web.co.dekalb.ga.us/boc/contact.html.
To have your letter reprinted on the Get the Cell Out ATL website, forward a copy of it and/or your reply to sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com. We will not publish your name to ensure your privacy.
Sign petition: The countywide protest can also be supported by just adding your signature to the petiton at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/GTCO-ATL.
For more information: For more suggestions and tips for fighting the towers and learning the truth, visit Get the Cell Out – Atlanta, http://www.GETtheCELLoutATL.org.
This level of consensus from all parts of the county is rare in Georgia, and even more so in DeKalb County. It comes on the heels of a nearly unamimous show of support for a local ban of cell towers on school grounds, with 17 of 19 from the DeKalb delegation signing onto the House Bill authored by Karla Drenner (D – Avondale Estates). The bill did not make it through its committee prior to crossover day and was therefore “killed,” but it still sent a powerful message that the will of the people was going to prevail in one way or another. Drenner’s current referendum seeks the placement of the issue on the November ballot so communities can finally be heard.
Another bill, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Jason Carter (D), met a similar fate, but sought to close any perceived loopholes in the zoning laws that might be giving the school board an opportunity to avoid using proper channels. It alerted the commissioners that they needed to take a more active role in the process. We will just have to wait and see what impact the letter sent to the CEO might have on the final decision. For now, T-mobile has not submitted any applications. Citizens can still influence the decision by reaching out to the CEO’s office or appealing the applications once they are filed.
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