Green Bay’s Protection and Welfare Committee met March 7, and concerned neighbors of N.E.W. Lutheran High School attended to oppose plans to build a tower on school grounds.
WeAreGreenBay.com reports that “dozens” of people came, and the committee approved steps to help the residents. They asked state lawmakers “to get involved in the placement process of cell towers,” and they asked the DNR to further study the proposed site to see if there’s any environment impact. Additionally, the committee wants the tower company, SBA Communications, to speak at the city council meeting next week.
However, city leaders told WLUK-TV-11, Green Bay News that their “hands are tied” due to a new state law that was passed in 2013. Towers can be built on private property, and currently the school, which sits on private property, has approved the tower. All the city has to do is approve a permit that comes with a simple check list. Green Bay City Council President, Tom De Wane told the news site that they council does not have a “say in this.” If the tower company meets all of the checklist requirements, the city can’t say no.
N.E.W. Lutheran released the following statement to WLUK-TV News:
“We have had clear and consistent communication with our neighbors through Alderman Tim De Wane regarding the location of the cell tower. We have attempted to work with the organization that is constructing the tower to try and identify an alternative site. Although modifications were made to the original plan to shorten the tower and to increase the privacy around the fence line of the base of the tower site, the actual site itself cannot be moved. We thank Alderman De Wane for his assistance in working through this process with our neighbors to address their concerns.”
Neighbors with homes close to the school voiced the close proximity as the reason they are opposed.
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