BREAKING NEWS: Cell Tower Referendum PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY, July 27, 2 p.m.

(click headline to read full email and our response)

THIS JUST IN...

From a 1p.m. email received July 26, 2012:

Dear XXX,

I hope you are all doing well. Representative Karla Drenner will host a press conference on the
North Steps of Capitol TOMORROW, Friday, July 27, 2012, at 2:00 PM.

Representative Drenner will discuss a referendum included in the upcoming primary election on July 31 that would allow DeKalb County voters to decide whether to prohibit the construction of cell phone towers on public school property in DeKalb County.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be able to attend.

Thanks,
Falak Hindash
Executive Assistant to Rep. Stacey Abrams
House Minority Leader
408 CLOB
Atlanta, GA 30334
(404) 656-5058
falak.hindash@house.ga.gov


GTCO-ATL RESPONSE

Mr. Hindash,

With all due respect, we do have a concern about the email you sent regarding the July 31 vote and the cell tower referendum.  It might just be an issue of semantics, but you stated “...that would allow DeKalb County voters to decide whether to prohibit the construction of cell towers on public school property...”

We would tend to believe from the name of it, that a “non-binding, advisory referendum” is not the same thing as actually being able to make the decision like they will do with T-SPLOST.  So, did you mean to say that the voters will be able to “provide their input into the decision about whether to prohibit...” or are you actually saying that the result of the referendum will be the actual decision for towers going forward?   Or, are you saying this will be the decision that also affects the towers that have current signed contracts with our schools?

Our county ordinances are already clear that these towers are not allowed in residentially zoned areas ... the referendum was supposed to be something to let the school board know how the voters feel about their decision to lease their property for the purpose of placing towers. 

I think you would agree that voters should not decide on matters that we have urban planners who are trained in the engineering factors that must go into the planning of industrial, potentially hazardous and admittedly dangerous structures. The public could not possibly know about all the factors that must be considered when planning and zoning properly for cell towers (proximity to homes, other towers, wind sheer factors, cumulative radiation, co-location, revisions to codes, industry standards, FCC regulations, HAZMAT listings with emergency personnel and estimated response times, required heights, impact on property values, possibility of harm to children).

Just wanted to be sure we are not really planning to use the results to determine whether or not towers go up.  The DeKalb county commissioners have already stated that they would not approve said towers due to the violation of county ordinances in place to protect property values as well as to protect the health and safety of our residents. 

You might want to use the results to consider revising county codes, but that should not and cannot be done by a simple vote on how uninformed voters might respond to a non-binding, advisory... can it??  If so, then I would like to know if something like this has ever happened in the history of Georgia or DeKalb County and under what circumstances?

Get the Cell Out – Atlanta is a group organized in response to the school board’s decision to put towers at our schools.  We will be on hand to answer questions and speak to the press if needed.
Please invite the county commissioners and CEO of DeKalb to this conference as well.  They would all have important information to share with the press as well. 

Thank you,

xxxxxx

Get the Cell Out – Atlanta