Church Nixes Cell Tower in Waynewood
Proposal for treepole created divisions in the community.
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The leadership of Heritage Presbyterian Church has opted not to install a cell phone tower on church property after the idea created sharp divisions in community opinion.
Pastor Bill Teng said the church’s governing board voted Wednesday night against the Milestone Communications’ proposal to install a treepole at the church, located at 8503 Fort Hunt Road.
“Most of the comments were supporting the treepole,” Teng said. “We felt because there was a minority who were against it, for any reason, we did not want to create any divisions in the community. And that proposal, ultimately is not within the true mission of the church.”
According to T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless and Milestone Communications, the pole would have stood at 125 feet tall and included a 50-by-50 feet unmanned equipment shelter. The church is located near Waynewood Elementary School, prompting some of the opposition to the tower.
Pete Weichlein, who lives on Waynewood Boulevard, told Patch prior to the church's vote he was against having a tower so close to the school, where two of his children attend class.
“I think the science is still a question mark, and we hear from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health that more data and research is needed,” Weichlein said. “So, to me this is a 125-foot science experiment right next to the elementary school, and I’m not willing to take even the smallest risk with my children’s health, and I don’t think others should make that decision for me.”
Weichlein said more than 200 people signed an online petition against the tower.
According to a website set up by the the wireless companies and Milestone Communications, which has been taken down, current coverage in the Fort Hunt area is “inadequate” and “resulting in dropped calls, poor voice connections and slow or no internet connectivity.” The carriers maintained that common commercial and household items with higher levels of radio frequency exposure include police and mobile radios, FM radio transmitters, cordless phones, baby monitors and wifi routers.
The carriers maintained that the pole would have presented no health or safety hazards to Waynewood students or staff and noted there are more than 20 poles placed directly on county schools grounds already.
Prior to the church’s vote, one local resident in favor of the tower, Waynewood resident Tony Mazzoccoli, told Patch he recognized that some may have health and environmental concerns about the proposed tower, but, for him, safety and security issues took precedence. Mazzoccoli said a few months ago, a burglar broke into a house in the Waynewood neighborhood, and the homeowner chased him all the way down George Washington Parkway.
“He had a cell phone with him, and he called 911 to report it, and it went out to Maryland instead of us,” Mazzoccoli said. “So he had to wait until he could flag someone down from the National Park Service so someone from Fairfax County to take care of the problem. So, you want to have the ability to dial 911 and get someone local from the National Park Police or Fairfax County to address your needs.”
Teng said Verizon first approached the church about erecting a tower two years ago.
In This article
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Heritage Presbyterian Church
8503 Fort Hunt Rd, Alexandria, VA -
Waynewood Elementary School
1205 Waynewood Blvd, Alexandria, VA
T Ailshire
5:31 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
I'd rather KNOW I could call 911 if necessary. But minority rules, I guess.
T Brown
7:46 am on Friday, May 25, 2012
Does seem rather NIMBY and a lacking in a sense of scale of the risk involved.
Frank Morgan
10:20 am on Friday, May 25, 2012
What a shame, we will never have good coverage here, at least not for the next 100 years until the negative is proven. The unfounded fear of some triumphed over reason and over the safety of the entire community.. A real shame.
EMR Lorax
11:07 am on Friday, May 25, 2012
Consider yourselves lucky. Why don't you seek out and speak to some folks who have lived near a cell tower for a few years - it would be sobering to say the least - their health gets wrecked, and cancer stats are way up. The industry and governments refuse to do any relevant or unbiased research because the are scared it will cut off their piggy bank. Instead the public is doing their work for them. Here is a story about a family in Nova Scotia Canada who agreed to have a tower put on their property: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/39107-couple-sues-have-cell-tower-removed.
Frank Morgan
6:07 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
You have so clearly demonstrated how the fear is unfounded. Anecdotal, isolated and unproven allegations. If indeed it were true that the tower caused those problems, why isn't everyone living near towers reporting the same symptoms and why aren't there thousands of articles like this? In fact, if the problem were that acute, you would have first hand knowledge of dozens of people suffering from these symptoms and not just a single article that is altogether inconclusive and doesn't even suggest cancer by the way.
EMR Lorax
6:51 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
Frank, you industry plant, I do know dozens and dozens of people who live or have lived near towers and have gotten ill, including myself. Seriously, I challenge anyone to go to any neighbourhood or building where there are towers and ask people living around the tower how their health is since they moved into the neighbourhood. Even industry insiders know this - I spoke with a fellow who installed these transmitters for a living - he had to stoo when he developed sleep disorders, and other nasty neurological symptoms. Then there's the former cell tower installer in Australia that became ill from his work and went on a rampage destroying eight tower huts. He did his time in jail and is now out - he regrets his actions how but did not at the time he took out the tower huts. This is not anecdotal, although that's the mantra the industry keeps repeating. Isn't it you and YOUR comments that are shameful Frank. This is the industry and government's dirty little secret - if it was to become widely know (which it inevitably will) the industry and government would likely be bankrupted by all the lawsuits..
Frank Morgan
7:57 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
I would not respond at all but I would hate to leave the impression that your unjustified attack had any basis in truth. Other than owning a cell phone I have no ties to the industry. I simply am a Waynewood resident with young children who would like to know that if there were an emergency when we did not have immediate access to a landline we would: a) have a signal and b) not have our call routed to Maryland's emergency services. Your vitriolic attack is wholly off the mark and does no credit to those who are reasonably and civilly on the other side of the issue.
EMR Lorax
9:28 pm on Friday, May 25, 2012
Here are some video to show what residents who live near cell towers can look forward to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVr53OWFvo0
Here's one where there were three penthouses on top of a building. They all got sick and didn't realize that it happened until the person in the video was moving out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G3CWrgDS5E
Bar
12:11 am on Saturday, May 26, 2012
Now this is a real cell tower horror story:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/14/locals-your-radio-tower-gives-us-rashes-company-you-mean-the-one-thats-been-off-all-this-time/
Cookie
6:48 pm on Saturday, May 26, 2012
What a shame. Mt. Vernon badly needs cell towers. Mt. Vernon is basically one of the few communities that don't have the coverage. Communications experts need to go back to the drawing board and make these towers environmentally friendly and safe for us and our community and do it soon. Or, locate these towers at a safe distance and still provide good coverage to the Mt. Vernon District. Isn't anyone smart enough to figure this out!