At tonight's Snellville City Council meeting, the decision on the matter of the T-Mobile cell tower proposed near Rockdale Circle was tabled until the October 11th meeting after the council vote resulted in a tie. Two citizens of the Brookside community spoke against the cell tower, a third person (moi) spoke on public record just to make a few points. On a side note, I stink at public speaking, so don't hire me for that.
T-Mobile says that due to the layout of the land,
they need the cell phone tower in that specific spot, and that tower/radio frequency coverage can't tell any difference between commercial and private property. The property owner spoke in favor of the cell tower, saying that she would not even consider letting T-Mobile put the tower on her property if she thought it would harm any of her neighbors.
Council Member Tod Warner spoke (and I'm paraphrasing here) about how none of us want to see our neighborhoods change - that change is inevitable. He said he doesn't feel that it's government's role to tell a property owner what they can do with their own property, even if some neighbors don't like it. I appreciate what he's saying, but...Well, let me play devil's advocate here:
Doesn't government already tell homeowners what they can do with their own property? In our Snellville code, homeowners aren't allowed to paint their home garish colors, because that bothers the neighbors. It seems to me in this case, the cell phone tower bothers the neighbors. Can I construct a 130-foot flagpole on my property? Is everybody okay with that?
But some people in the Brookside community have told me they don't mind the cell phone tower and think it's a good idea.
I am all for progress and business growth in Snellville, and yes, we need to have a decent cell phone signal when people travel down US78. I don't use T-Mobile, and I have a decent cell phone signal all the way down US78. Then again, I very rarely talk on a cell phone while I'm driving. I save my cell phone use on 78 for important calls, like telling the kids I'm at the red light and bringing Zaxby's home.
To conclude (and get myself back on track!) I believe T-Mobile has the resources to find another place to put their tower or other avenues that haven't been pursued. Maybe they already have done all they think they can do. We do want their business in Snellville, but we care about our homeowners too!
This is a really rough call for the Snellville City Council. I really appreciate how the council members take these issues seriously. I think that the cell phone tower will eventually be approved with conditions. Are you in favor of, or against the cell phone tower?
