EAV cell phone tower dispute rages on online

I’m pretty sure the last time we reported on this was way back in April, when a group of East Atlanta Village residents were planning a demonstration to prevent Clear wireless internet service from erecting one of those dorky faux-tree cell phone towers on a vacant lot smack in the middle of the neighborhood (469 Metropolitan Place, to be exact).

Yesterday, via the community message board eavbuzz.net, “AlanDavidSanders” (who says he’s David Sanders of Communications Structures of GA, the owner of the lot in question) said he still very much intends to erect a cell tower on the property. In a post entitled “Monopole 469 Metropolitan Place - Compromise” (which, since noon yesterday, has been viewed more than 1,100 times), Sanders said that if the City of Atlanta doesn’t approve the pole, he’ll continue to pursue its construction in Federal Court. “However,” he wrote, “the court case will cost me another $30,000, and it seems so pointless and wasteful. Keep in mind, I’m just a guy with a family and all of the financial stress you have. I don’t own any other monopoles and the costs I have incurred in this project have been very damaging.”

So, he suggests a compromise: he’ll erect a stealth monopole — a less conspicuous option — and donate $10,000 to the East Atlanta Security Patrol per carrier tenant (AT&T and Verizon, for example). Response has been split between people who still oppose the pole for reasons including the potential for exposure to harmful radiation and the depreciation of property values, and those who want the pole if it will improve cell reception in EAV. It’s a lively conversation, but since his original message, “AlanDavidSanders” hasn’t weighed in.

Check it out here.