Plans to build a 14-story cell tower in the residential neighborhood of Dacula, GA have some residents seeing red. As Patch reports, a citizens group led by outspoken organizer, Beverly McLee, has garnered both support and resistance.
McLee shared her frustrations with the source, unsympathetic to developer CitySwitch’s request for more time. Her troop of online compatriots are ready to show up and go to battle in person, she explained. “No agenda, no plan, no pamphlets, no presentation, no nothing. Just poster-sized visuals of false representations of the proposed tower,” she noted.
Tower opponents scheduled their own strategy meeting and invited CitySwitch to attend. At that point, District 3 Commissioner, Jasper Watkins, got involved and suggested a community meeting. CitySwitch’s attorney, Andy Rotenstreich, then informed the commissioner that a Dacula Park Activity Building meeting was already on the calendar.
“Mr. Watkins is not on our side,” said resident and attendee, Brooks Lonergan. “He wasn’t in attendance and he’s done little to nothing to help us, and one could even argue he has seemed to be more on the side of the tower building company rather than ours as he should be in his position.”
Positioning himself with the citizens group, State Rep. Charles “Chuck” P. Efstration, III told Patch, “As to the construction of a cell phone tower in this residential area, it’s out of place with the zoning around it. I’m very concerned that the county commissioner who represents the district failed to attend the meeting last week.” He noted that there is still no resolution, adding, “I feel like the concerns expressed from the community need to be listened to and I’m hopeful that the county commission will deny the requested permit so that the cell phone tower is not built in this location.”
While the matter is still under discussion, AT&T has stated that,”This site is part of our ongoing investment to improve service and coverage for our Dacula customers. When selecting a new cell site, we work with local officials to find the location that balances the needs of our business with the concerns of the community.”
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