Proposed Fouts Road Radio Tower Causes Tension

A new radio tower proposed for East Roswell Park is causing friction between city of Roswell officials and residents of a local subdivision.

City Administrator Kay Love said the new tower is needed to give public safety officers radio coverage in what right now is a “dead area”.

“They can’t be in someone’s house and get radio coverage from dispatch or even communicate with one another, which is a safety issue,” Love said. When they’re roaming in their cars, yeah they may have coverage and then they may not.”

Residents of the Twelve Stones subdivision, located across Fouts Road from the location of the proposed tower, agree that public safety is an important issue. They also say they don’t want a 400-foot tower right outside the entrance to their subdivision.

“They really didn’t seem (to care) about our neighborhood and what it will do to our property values,” resident Susan Brooks said. “We take pride in our neighborhood. We enjoy living here. So, we built a new pool. The city wanted us to put in a rain garden. We had to put in a special runoff trench and drainage to put in a smaller pool than we had before. It made it very difficult for us, and we’re increasing property values. Now, they’re putting this 400-foot tower across the street and killing property values.”

But, Love said there’s no documented study showing that a radio tower negatively impacts property values.

“In Milton, there’s a huge tower and subdivision right there,” she said. “They can’t sell those houses fast enough, and they’re in the million dollar range. This tower’s not being built in their neighborhood. It’s on property that’s across the street, and it will be heavily screened. It’s a hard decision, but it’s the most important thing that we have that our public safety system.”

Brooks, a retired Bellsouth employee, said that the proposed tower will be almost 3 times the height of a cell phone tower, which is 150 feet.

“That gives you an idea as to how big this thing is going to be,” she said.

The tower will be set back about 200 feet from the road. The city has an ordinance requiring a radio tower's setback to be as many feet as it is tall, but government towers are exempt if they are installed for the purpose of public safety or public welfare, Love said.

“A cell phone company can’t come in and say it’s public safety,” she said.

An industrial or commercial area would be more appropriate for the tower, Brooks said.

“We’re right across from the Centennial Kroger and the Kohl’s parking lot,” she said. “There’s a lot of space by Centennial High School and those businesses where I would think the city could negotiate property for the tower. It benefits everybody.”

However, Love said that city officials looked at numerous properties over the last couple of years, each of which was ruled out for various reasons. Existing towers also were considered.

“Those were vetted out,” Love said. “There were other properties looked at, but either they weren’t available or the price was too high or towers were already full.”

This property, located outside of the park, is uninhabited, Love said.

“It’s heavily wooded,” she said. “You would not be able to see it from the road. Absolutely, if you turn on Fouts Road and look up, you’ll be able to see the tower. But, if you turn into the neighborhood, you’re not going to see it unless you have a convertible. You cannot camouflage a 400 foot tower, but it is a heavily wooded lot. This is the only subdivision over there.”

Twelve Stones resident Joyce Cross is not only concerned about property values declining but also about the safety of birds, who may hit the tower.

“We have nesting falcons and hawks in these woods,” Cross said. “We see them. I’m worried about the people, but I’m worried about the environment, too. Animals and people have to live side-by-side here. We have wonderful wildlife right outside our door. Don’t we want to preserve some of this? Wouldn’t we want to make these towers not 400 feet and maybe smaller so they wouldn’t get tangled up with the birds? It seems like common sense to me.”

Cross also said she feels like city officials have been “sneaking around” with their plans for the tower. She said no signage was put up on the property, and that the city hadn’t advertised it in the media with the exception of one short story.

“It disappoints me,” Cross said. “I love Roswell. I’ve lived here since 1995, and I chose this community because it was listed at one time as one of the 50 best places to raise a family. Then, when I see them doing things like this, it disheartens me. It really makes me sad. They always tout themselves as being so environmental, and yet they don’t appear to have looked at all at the environment. That’s disappointing and disheartening, too.

A public hearing and vote on the proposed tower is scheduled for the city council’s meeting on Aug. 12.