Sound Familiar? "The principal and the PTA have to give it the OK."

We were debating about whether or not to post this article since it is from February of 2011.  That was until we saw something very interesting about the process as explained by a Real Estate Executive for the Maryland Schools.  In case you are pressed for time, we highlighted and underlined the good parts for you.
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Residents Upset Over Proposed Cell Tower
From the Gazette.net, Maryland Community News Online
Feb. 23, 2011

Neighbors say T-Mobile tower will lower property values
by Jeanette Der Bedrosian | Staff Writer
(Click headline to read full text)


A T-Mobile cell phone tower proposed for a field behind Sligo Middle School has some neighbors upset that the 130-foot monopole will lower property values, take recreation space away from school children and disturb the Sligo Creek ecosystem.

The proposal for the tower went in front of a Montgomery County hearing examiner earlier this month, who is tasked with determining whether T-Mobile should get the special exception in zoning necessary to use school space for a commercial purpose.

While awaiting a decision, however, nearby neighbors are up in arms that the school system and cell phone company did not properly alert nearby residents of what might be moving in next door.

Standing behind the school Monday morning, several Gridley Lane residents looked at the site of the proposed tower.

 "T-Mobile already has so many towers," said John Polletto, 63. "Why do they need more?"

 "They claim they put it here because of the trees, but the tower will be higher than the trees," said his wife, Kathy Polletto, 59.

 "This park wasn't built for that anyway," added Barbara Jarboe, 70. "That's not what people want to see here."

 The cell tower is proposed for a 30-foot-by-80-foot space behind the tennis courts at Sligo Middle School, according to T-Mobile's application to the county. T-Mobile would also install a 10-foot-wide access path along the side of the tennis courts. The tower will help provide in-building coverage to residential neighborhoods surrounding routes 193 and 97 to reduce the number of dropped calls, the document says.

...  (T-mobile text here) ....

 The residents who gathered behind the school earlier this week said they worry the cell tower will lower property values. It cuts into a well-used play area popular among sledders and families wanting to throw around a football or Frisbee. And as they point out deer tracks, they say the cell tower and associated access path will cut into a wildlife habitat and could possibly require removal of trees that could erode the forest.

 They said they didn't receive notice of opportunities for public comment until December, years after the application process started.

 "I didn't hear anything from T-Mobile, I didn't hear anything from the county, it was a piece of paper from my neighbor that alerted me," said Julia Wisniewski, a resident of nearby Gridley Lane in Silver Spring, referring to a note from a concerned neighbor.

 Neighbors said around Christmas, they were given a notice of the special exception hearing.

The process for getting a cell tower installed on the site involves several steps, according to Mary Pat Wilson, real estate management specialist for Montgomery County Public Schools. First, the applicant expresses interest in the site, the principal and PTA have to give it the OK, plans are drawn up and reviewed by a division of the Department of Park and Planning, the company has to get a special exception for zoning, and the superintendant makes the final decision, Wilson said.

 T-Mobile is currently at the special exception portion of the process, she said. The terms of the lease are currently under negotiation, she said.

 Several of the Gridley Lane residents and other Montgomery County residents testified against granting T-Mobile the special exception, John Polletto said. None of those gathered behind the school said they have T-Mobile as their cell phone provider, but they said even if they did, they still wouldn't want the tower. School land shouldn't be used for commercial purposes, regardless of a possible need for improved cell phone service, they said.

 "We can't lease out our backyard if we're having financial woes, so why can MCPS do that?" asked Andrea Crenich, 41, of Gridley Lane. "The whole point of zoning laws is to protect property values of the homes in an area. ... Would you buy a home that backs up to a 130-foot cell tower with an 8-foot chain-link fence and chopped down trees?"