Final Review and Approval on New County Zoning Code Expected to Take Place Sept. 16

After many discussions from the group, we have narrowed down the next VERY important meeting for all communities in DeKalb who are concerned about a cell tower going up in their residential area.  

The date is Monday, September 16.  We will post the time and location once it is announced.  

Tom Bowen pulled the cell tower issue off the June 2011
consent agenda for "further legal review," after seeing
our first petition from the Brockett community.
How much longer will this fight continue?  

This is a special meeting that will discuss the new zoning code, and from what we can tell, public comments will be welcomed.  Kathie Gannon addresses this in more detail on her website (http://www.kathiegannon.com/constituent-info-news.html).   

Jay Vinicki, Director of Policy Research, was at the August 20 meeting and we’ve been told he has a handle on the cell tower issue. He says it is VERY important that we continue our emails and phone calls to interim Chief Executive Officer, LEE MAY. He needs to know how important of an issue this is to the neighborhood residents.

Contact Information

Mr. Lee May - Interim Chief Executive Officer

DeKalb County Government

Manuel J. Maloof Center

1300 Commerce Drive, 6th Floor, Decatur, GA 30030

404-371-2881 Executive Office

404-371-2521 Neighborhood Empowerment

(ceoleemay@dekalbcountyga.gov)

404-687-2411 - Fax

Email 

Please include your home and/or business postal mailing address in order to receive a response. Thanks everyone for all your continued support in this fight.

Additional comments for consideration:

Together we can accomplish the impossible.  Please remember to include your concern for ALL the children at DeKalb County schools when discussing the policy about cell towers on school grounds.  If the tower companies are able to place a single tower at a single school, a different set of rules could come into play under the FCC Telecommunications Act of 1996.  Since it is a federal law, they could require that all schools be open to the potential for a cell tower as the Act prohibits discrimination among providers.  So, if we allow it at one school, we could be allowing it at every school and for every provider of cellular service.

Remember, there are certain zoning issues that are acceptable objections to towers.  They are usually centered around aesthetics and public safety (such as from the falling debris or from the strangers allowed access to your neighborhood on a regular basis as a result of a tower and parking spaces being place there), but they also revolve around the traffic issues, wear and tear on the roads by the large vehicles and your evidence that your property values will be harmed.  If you know a Real Estate agent who will write a letter or come to the meeting and speak about his/her experience with the local market and how they either have trouble selling homes near towers or how they avoid it or drop the price - these are all very helpful for Lee May and the commissioners to hear.  The more "experts" you can bring to speak on  your behalf, the better.  And if you cannot get the experts there, you can source or quote them and submit paperwork to document your statements. 

Get the Cell Out will continue to look for ways we can help and support this effort.  But, please contact us if you have any specific questions.  Contact us with any questions:  sayno2celltowers@yahoo.com.