Located on the outskirts of Tampa, FL the newly developing residential community of Babcock Ranch bills itself as the “Hometown of Tomorrow.” Babcock Ranch maintains it is very deliberate in its vision for the town’s growth. Prospective residents can choose from a limited number of housing options in the solar-powered, sustainable town as part of a controlled vision for the community. According to WINK-TV, one structure some residents are petitioning to keep out of town is a prospective cell tower.
“Everybody understands that we do need cell service,” said resident Tracy Szelezt. “But we just want to oppose the placement of the towers.”
Although the American Cancer Society continues to assert that there is no viable evidence to indicate the cell towers present any sort of health risk, some Babcock Ranch denizens are concerned that their children may be at risk. They are campaigning to keep a proposed cell tower away from a local school in favor of moving it several miles away.
“We feel very passionately that we want the cell tower to be moved to a safer location, the cell tower is still effective at a greater distance by three to five miles. And so we really don’t understand why the cell tower needs to be placed right here where our children play and go to school and where residents are living,” explained Allison Burns, one of the agitated parents.
WINK-TV received the following written statement from Babcock Ranch administrators. They emphasized that a cell tower in town accessible to all residents promotes safety and the ability to summon emergency assistance if needed.
“Babcock Ranch’s core initiatives include technology and safety and our commitment to providing reliable cellular communications is of paramount importance to everyone who lives, works or visits our town. This is also a resiliency initiative – everyone needs to be connected in emergency moments and natural disasters,” read the statement. “Babcock Ranch will continue to provide a network of cell towers throughout the town to ensure that our communications network remains dependable for the safety and convenience of everyone. Cell towers are located throughout the country and have a proven track record of safety.”
Bill Pinho, the community patrol director of Babcock Ranch, noted that the proposed cell tower location would site the tower at the edge of an athletic field. “We just had an annual meeting that was virtual. No one brought these concerns to us. But if there are concerns out there, and it’s impacting a resident, we want to hear about it,” he commented, adding that he expected to discuss the matter further at upcoming town hall meetings.
Reader Interactions