Special Land Use Permit Process - Is Our New School Board Playing by the Rules?

ATTENTION:  If you live near one of these schools, your property value, health and safety could be at risk.  

1. Lakeside High School (Atlanta)
2. Briarlake Elem. (Decatur)
3. Jolly Elem.  (Clarkston)
4. Princeton Elem. (Lithonia)
5. Smoke Rise Elemn.  (St. Mtn.)
6. Margaret Harris (Atlannta)
7. Narvie J. Harris (Decatur)
8. MLK High School (Lithonia)
9. Flat Rock Elem. (Lithonia/Redan)

Please consider contacting an attorney to assist you, or email Get the Cell Out - ATL if you are interested in joining together with other concerned residents to work for the benefit of stopping the cell towers from coming to any of the schools.  

DeKalb County residents should not be forced into 30 years of fallout due to bad decisions that were made by an inept government that is no longer in place.  However, if something is not done quickly, construction could begin as early as THIS WEEK!

Send an email to sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com for more details. 


HISTORY (How We Followed the "Chain of Command")
Below is the process outlined on the DeKalb County website for filing for a Special Land Use Permit, which is what would typically be required for cell phone tower applicants.  But, first here is a brief history of events:

The DeKalb County School board, back in July 2011, did not provide a proper opportunity for the school communities to learn about the proposed towers for their schools and relied upon the school PTAs to hand out information that was misleading.  Public meetings were held, but in most venues there were only a couple of attendees.

A cell phone tower in Norcross, GA, caught fire during a routine maintenance
call that required welding at the base of the tower.  A daycare and several
homes had to be evacuated.

Do we really want children as young as 3 years old
when they enter pre-K exposed for hours upon
hours a day every day to radiation that is not
proven to be safe?

In the case of Margaret Harris School for the Disabled in Atlanta and Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Lithonia, the school system returned sign-in sheets that were blank and indicated that no meeting took place at all.  That was a conflicting message from what board member Jesse Cunningham told his constituents at a meeting where he discussed the public meeting and who had been in attendance.  He even said that they "took a vote" and determined it was okay to move ahead because they did not have anyone in opposition to the idea.
Upon complaint about the lack of opportunity to participate in the process, the school board spokesman and the Facilities Director continued to direct parents and taxpayers to contact their county commissioners for the next step in the process, zoning.  They stated that public comments would be allowed at that time.  However, upon calling the commissioners, parents were told to contact their board members or the Interim Superintendent, both of whom were not returning calls.



Upon taking the issue to the DeKalb CEO, and then to the state legislators, stakeholders were told that the school system was exempt and could build whatever they wanted.  They could even place a former principal with no first-hand training in the complexities involved with wireless transmission stations that must comply with specific standards for RF emissions as well as safety regulations for the construction based on the height of the tower and the width of the "fall zone."  Homeowners and parents had numerous questions about the documents that had been posted on the school system website which were inaccurate, incomplete or not up to current safety codes for the wireless industry.

Rep. Mike Jacobs promised at a public meeting in 2013 to
get back with Get the Cell Out - ATL regarding the bill
to ban the cell towers.  We're still waiting.

Rep. Karla Drenner sponsored a bill that gained bipartisan support and would have officially banned cell towers from public school grounds in DeKalb and another that would do the same stateside.  With more than ample support from the DeKalb delegation, the local bill should have sailed through a committee especially upon the removal of language that made it retroactive.  Yet, somehow it was stalled and Rep. Drenner did not choose to fight the battle again the following year.  There were three days of testimony of residents who worked together in their opposition and were unified in their message.  If you were a lawmaker hoping to see DeKalb in a new light, one capable of putting children above all else, you would have been very proud.  No one spoke in favor of the cell towers and every speaker was courteous, passionate and well informed.  While the bill did not make it to the floor for a full vote, it did show the parents in Dekalb that they could accomplish more together than they have been able to do when working against one another.  If you were a politician who banked on strife and racial tensions to justify the need for your style of leadership, you would have been very concerned to see the multi-partisan group of allies working together for a common goal.

Dr. Atkinson continued to push her E-book idea on
skeptical audience across DeKalb.  She left before
she could implement them. 

The CEO did not return our emails or calls, by the way.  And, most of the commissioners were just passing us along from one to the next.  The school board members were clear that once they had voted, it was out of their hands.  The new Superintendent (Dr. Atkinson) told us that it was before her time, but then she signed the contracts in December after everyone else believed they had been signed in July 2011.

Once the state was involved and the heat was off of the county temporarily, the county commissioners penned a joint letter to the CEO stating that the towers were against county policy that protects residential areas from such intrusions.

We provided them with case law that has been decided in the Supreme Court of Georgia that gives them the right to local control of tower placement.  And, we showed them a federal case that makes it very clear that any zoning exemptions enjoyed by the school board do not apply when the structure is for proprietary use, which cell towers most definitely are.  The commissioners suggested to the CEO that he deny any requests for "Special Administrative Permits," which would deny the public their rights to be heard on the issue and address their concerns.

Feeling confident that permits would not be issued by the county commissioners, we continued to press the state lawmakers for our local bill.  It would have made national headlines if it had gone through as no school district had been faced with this decision post-the WHO announcement of the risk to humans, especially children.  We were hopeful that this ban would set Dekalb apart from neighboring counties and give Atlanta some much needed positive press.

AND THEN CAME THE LOBBYISTS....

Unfortunately, it appears that the state and the county were just sending us on a wild goose chase, pointing fingers at each other and the school board and forcing us to run back and forth to determine who would take the next action.  It's fair to say that we never had any firm allies in any of our elected officials.  Of course, the bill was opposed by lobbyists who had, until just recently, uncapped access to our Georgia lawmakers.

They could wine, dine, gift and regift until the lawmakers saw things their way.  The telecom lobbyists "descended upon the Gold Dome" (that is how it was described to me) and took everyone on the committee considering our bill out to lunch. A looooong lunch.  The citizens were not invited.  We have no idea what was said or promised.  But, the next thing we learned was that the bill was history and a compromise had been suggested.  That's how we got the cell tower referendum question on the July 2012 ballot along with T-SPLOST.  It was poorly worded and misleading, but the public relations efforts of multiple groups, media coverage and good o' word of mouth turned out to be enough that the vote went in the favor of the people.

Super. Michael Thurmond took
over in early 2013, but has
had his hands full.  Does he
know how volitile this
issue is for thousands of
DeKalb County residents?

As positive as the results were for our cause, we had been concerned all along that the referendum would do nothing to help us, which is why we opposed it all the way up to asking Gov. Deal not to sign it.  But, he did and, other than providing us further evidence that we were not alone in our thinking, the referendum did nothing of value for the cause.

We thought the cell tower folks must have wanted it so that they could determine which areas had not yet head about the concerns.  Any area that said it was okay to put a cell tower up would be the focus of their efforts.  So, we plotted these areas on a map, not expecting it to show a particular pattern of influence, but it did.  And, we also had a 62% vote of confidence that our fight was justified.  That was  nearly 75,000 voters who agreed with us... cell towers should not be placed next to children at their schools.  There are too many risks associated with cell towers to allow our children to be the guinea pigs in a human experiment.  We are still fighting to get the leaders in our county to understand the implications of what they are doing.  Our children should be protected and safe, not exposed to potential environmental hazards at their schools.  We think that is common sense.  But, money clouds a lot of people's judgment in a system like we have here in DeKalb.

We spoke to the outgoing board and the new Superintendent Thurmond.  We have asked them to sign a resolution against the towers for the future so that no other group of parents or concerned homeowners have to go through this process again.  They have not responded.  We attempted to get our bill renewed this year.  Neither Drenner nor Jacbos were interested.  We also pushed ahead with our efforts to gain copies of all the signed contracts and we tracked their start and end dates.  We assumed that they had all been nullified when their time ran out, but we still were not being offered a construction timeline which was referenced in the contracts.  We finally received one that indicated May 2013 for construction to begin.

And here we are... it is almost May.  The only exception to that timeline was Margaret Harris School which was earlier on the timeline and is receiving reports daily that their tower construction is about the begin. Considering the controversy that has gone on in our schools and with our board, we had been hopeful that this would be looked at as a bad decision by the school system and we could put everything that has taken place behind us once and for all.

In and out of the news, cell towers are still plaguing our
county and bringing mistrust between the citizens and
their officials, both elected and appointed.

But, not quite yet....


So, read below for the normal process and let us know in the comments or in an email if you have concerns about your rights being violated.  We may have another chance to work together, after all.

REZONING, LAND USE AMENDMENT, SPECIAL LAND USE PERMIT,
AND MAJOR MODIFICATION PROCESSES

This document is intended to provide a detailed explanation of filing and review
procedures and their relationship to the application checklist, state criteria for approval of
zoning petitions, and the rezone calendar.

A. PRE-APPLICATION CONFERENCE: In accordance with DeKalb County Board
of Commissioners’ Resolution (see attached), a pre-application conference with Planning
Division staff is required prior to filing. Pre-application conference must be requested in
writing via email or letter; for more information please call (404) 371-2155. During the
conference, staff will review your proposal and proposed site plan, and inform you of the
zoning process. You will also have the opportunity to ask any questions pertaining to your
project and the process.

B. PRE-SUBMITTAL COMMUNITY MEETING:   A COMMUNITY MEETING
MUST BE HELD PRIOR TO SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION. No application for
an amendment to the land use plan, an amendment to the official zoning map, special land
use permit, or a major amendment/modification to conditions of zoning shall be filed and/or
accepted for filing until the applicant has attended and held a publicized pre-submittal
community meeting(s) with surrounding neighborhood association(s) and/or community
groups within one-half (1/2) mile of the subject property, as well as adjacent and nearby
property owners within five hundred (500) feet of the subject property. A notice of the presubmittal
community meeting shall be made in writing. The pre-submittal community
meeting shall be scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on a weekday (Monday – Friday) in a facility within
one-half (1/2) mile of the subject property and shall not take place less than fifteen (15) days
after the date of the written notice. Applicants are required to provide documentation that
verifies the occurrence of said meeting(s) including but not limited to notice letter, sign-in
sheets (with name and address of attendees), or correspondence for the neighborhood
association(s) or residents from the community before the application can be considered
complete.

C. FILING YOUR APPLICATION: Applications for Land Use Amendment shall only
be heard in March and September. Please refer to the attached adopted calendar for
filing deadlines and public hearing dates. All applications must be filed in person. Office
and counter hours are from 8:30 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., Monday thru Friday. Filing an
application on the deadline date does not ensure a place on the agenda; the number of cases
in the order of which they are filed will determine the schedule of an application and must
adhere to. Only completed applications will be accepted; and due to the number of cases,
some filed applications may rollover to the next scheduled public hearing cycle. It is
advisable to file your application prior to the filing deadline.

a. Applications for non-contiguous property (on opposite sides of the street) must be filed
separately. A separate fee will be charged for each property.
b. Refer to the attached Checklist of items needed to complete the filing of an application
c. Refer to the Rezoning Calendar Resolution for terms and descriptions related to calendar, cap and filing of application by type.

D. AUTHORIZATION TO FILE:  If the property owner is not the applicant submitting
the application, then the applicant must submit a signed and notarized Authorization Form
(attached) from the “property owner” to file their application. If the property has been owned
less than two years, a copy of warranty deed must be submitted with the application for proof
of ownership.

E. AMENDMENTS TO THE APPLICATION:  Amendments (legal descriptions,
boundary survey, site plans, letter of intent) to your application must be submitted in writing
prior to the scheduled amendment date on rezone calendar. Any requests for withdrawal or
deferral of your application shall be in writing. The County does not refund filing fees for
withdrawn cases after the public has been notified of the case.

F. COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING:  The five Community Councils in DeKalb
County are volunteer citizen advisory groups appointed by the Board of Commissioners to
review rezoning, SLUP, and land use amendment requests and submit their recommendations
to the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners. The applicant/representative
must attend the scheduled meeting at the appropriate Community Council meeting based on
the district in which the property is located. Please refer to the attached rezone calendar for
Council Districts Meetings. You will be expected to make a 5-10 minute presentation and
answer questions about your proposal. You should present the proposed site plan and any
other materials illustrating your request.

G. STAFF REVIEW AND INSPECTION:  After you have filed your application, a
staff planner will contact you to inform you that he or she has been assigned to your case.
The assigned staff will inspect the project site, review your application, prepare a written
analysis and make a recommendation to be considered by the Planning Commission and the
Board of Commissioners. Please advise the assigned planner of any pertinent matters related
to your case, including any revisions and proposed conditions.

H. PUBLIC NOTICE:  A required Written Notice of the proposed zoning requests will be
mailed via first class by the Planning Director or designee to all property owners who are
within two hundred fifty (250) feet of the boundaries of the subject property and must be
notified at least fifteen (15) days before the public hearing before the Planning Commission
and not more than forty-five (45) days prior to the date of the public hearing before the Board
of Commissioners, which states the nature of the proposed change, and the date, time, and
place of the public hearing before the planning commission and the board of commissioners.
The director of the department of planning or the director's designee must post signs within
the public right-of-way in front of or on the subject property at least fifteen (15) days before
the hearing before the planning commission and not more than forty-five (45) days prior to
the date of the public hearing before the Board of Commissioners. The County shall posts
sign(s) along the subject property’s street frontage for every 500 feet of street frontage.
Signs must remain posted until the case has been decided by the Board of Commissioners.
The county shall also cause a notice of the public hearing regarding the proposed zoning
decision to be published in a newspaper of general circulation (i.e. The Champion, Atlanta
Journal/Constitution) within DeKalb County at least fifteen (15) days prior to the hearing
before the planning commission and not more than forty-five (45) days prior to the public
hearing before the board of commissioners. The notice shall include the date, time and place
of the hearing before the planning commission and the public hearing before the board of
commissioners, the location of the property, the present zoning classification of the property,
and the proposed zoning classification of the property.

I. PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARING:  The Planning Commission
shall conduct a public hearing on each request. The applicant will have a total of ten (10)
minutes to present their proposal and which part of the 10 minutes may be reserved for
rebuttal to address any opposition(s) which will also have a total of ten (10) minutes to speak
at their request. At the Planning Commission Hearing, you may present any supporting
documents (i.e. site plan, elevations, or other materials to support your request). Please note
that any voluminous materials may not be reviewed in its entirety during public hearing
depending on size and content. The Planning Commission shall make one of the following
recommendations: Approval, Approval with Conditions, Denial, Deferral, Withdrawal, or
Withdrawal without Prejudice. A “tie vote” will be forwarded to the Board of
Commissioners without a recommendation.

J. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PUBLIC HEARING:  The Board of
Commissioners meeting is conducted in much the same way as the Planning Commission.
The applicant will have an opportunity to present their proposal, and citizens will have an
opportunity to express their support or opposition.

The Board of Commissioners will render a final decision on applications as follows:
Approval, Approval with Conditions, Denial, Deferral, Withdrawal, or Withdrawal without
Prejudice. In some cases, a case may be deferred “full cycle”, which will send the case back
to the Community Council and Planning Commission for further consideration before
returning back to the Board of Commissioners.

The final decision of the Board of Commissioners is legally binding.  Appeals of the decision
of the Board of Commissioners must be made to DeKalb County Superior Court within 30
days of the decision date. 

For a copy of the ordinance that confirms the Board’s decision,
please contact the County Clerk at (404) 371-2886 or visit the Clerk’s office at 1300
Commerce Drive, downtown Decatur.

K. CAMPAIGN DISCLOSURE:  If the applicant has made a campaign contribution of
$250.00 or more to a DeKalb County government official within the two year period that
precedes the date on which you are filing this application, you must file within 10 days after
this application is filed, a disclosure report in the office of the Chief Executive Officer and
the Office of the Board of Commissioners, DeKalb County, 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur,
GA 30030.

The report must show:

1. The name and title of the government official to whom the campaign contribution was made.

2. The dollar amount, date, and description of each campaign contribution.

L. ANALYSIS OF IMPACT:  The applicant shall provide a written response to the
identified State Code criteria based on the type of application submitted as follows. These
factors are found to be relevant to the exercise the County’s zoning powers and shall govern
the review of all proposed applications as identified in the following:

Per Section 27-832-REZONING; 27-829-LAND USE AMENDMENT; and 27.873-SPECIAL LAND USE PERMIT of the DeKalb Zoning Ordinance. Refer to the appropriate application package to identify the criteria as referenced above.

M. ZONING CONDITIONS:  Sec. 27-833. Conditions. Conditions may be requested by
an applicant, recommended by the planning department and planning commission, and
imposed by the Board of Commissioners, as a part of the final decision to amend the official
zoning map, in accordance with the following requirements:

a) Conditions may be imposed so as to ameliorate the effect(s) of the proposed
developmental change for the protection or benefit of neighboring persons or
properties consistent with the purpose and intent of the district(s) involved, and the
goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan and State law. No condition shall be
imposed which reduces the requirements of the district(s) involved. All conditions
shall be of sufficient specificity to allow lawful and consistent application and
enforcement. All conditions shall be supported by a record that evidences the
relationship between the condition and the impact of the developmental change. No
condition in the form of a development exaction for other than a project improvement
shall be imposed within the meaning of the Georgia Development Impact Fee Act, as
amended.
b) A condition, whether recommended by the Board of Commissioners, the applicant,
or any other person or entity, placed upon an application after the required deadline
for advertising in the legal organ of the County prior to the scheduled hearing before
the Planning Commission shall be treated as an amendment to the application and
shall follow the requirements of Section 27-826.
c) Once imposed, conditions shall become an integral part of the approved amendment and shall be enforced as such. Changes to approved conditions shall be authorized only pursuant to
section 27-845 of this Chapter.

N. FILING FEES: At the time of submissionl, a filing fee shall accompany each application as
follows:

REZONING
District Fee
R-200, R-150, R-30,000, R-20,000, R-100 $500.00
R-85, R-75, R-60, R-A5, R-50, R-A8, RM-150
R-DT, TND, RM-100, RM-85, RM-75, $750.00
RM-HD, O-I, O-D, OCR, OIT, NS, C-1, C-2, M, M-2
(If the application is a multiple request to rezone to more than one zoning district, the fee of the
higher district will apply)
LAND USE AMENDMENT $500.00
SPECIAL LAND USE PERMIT $400.00
MODIFICATION/CHANGE OF CONDITIONS $250.00

If the above process was not followed, then the public has been denied its constitutional right to address the government with grievances.  If we have to watch towers go up, this time it will be the school system and the wireless company who will have to wait and wonder for a change... because they know they are doing wrong and it will be an enormous expense to take the towers down.  It may be more difficult than stopping them before they go up, but it can be done.