Sleepy Hollow residents fight cell tower
About 50 Sleepy Hollow residents called on village officials Monday night to block a 125-foot tall cell phone tower from an area they say is too close to homes, parks and schools.
Neighbors, who say the tower is unnecessary, held documents that read "Say No to Cell Tower in Sleepy Hollow," while others passed out literature on the health risks associated with cell phone towers.
"If this pole is erected and people start getting sick, who's going to step up and take care of people?" asked Sherry Wied. "If you can give me a 100 percent guarantee that these towers are safe, then I might listen."
Attorneys from Lora, Chanthadouangsy and Castellanos, the Elgin law firm contracted by T-Mobile to seek out appropriate sites for cell towers, said the location was necessary because of the network's setup. The cell tower would improve the coverage area by a quarter-mile radius.
"T-Mobile wants to provide the most robust network possible," said Wanchay Chanthadouangsy. "This is the area that lacks the most coverage."
T-Mobile would lease the land for the tower, which would be hidden in a "stealth flagpole," at a cost of $1,800 a month for up to 30 years.
But that monetary gain did little to appease residents whose chief concern was how the towers would affect the health of local residents and property values.
"I have T-Mobile and I have never had a problem with it," Joel Hale said. "However, if you put a tower in, I will cancel my service."
After more than an hour of questioning the attorneys, about a dozen residents addressed the board.
Trustees did not vote on the approval of the tower and at least one board member sided with the residents Monday night.
"One tower is better than two, but one tower in the middle of Sleepy Hollow for better coverage isn't a good idea," Trustee Scott Finney said. "I am not sure you have enough data or enough showing that you need the tower in this location at this time."
The board will consider the cell tower at a future regular board meeting.