By now I am sure that many of you have already heard several people throwing around the term "NIMBY"; Not In My Back Yard.
Most of the people using this term live nowhere near where this proposed cell tower is to be placed. If they did, I assure you that they would be fighting just as hard as the rest of us to assure that this dangerous structure is not allowed in our residential area.
There is hope though. Lawsuits have been won once these towers are allowed to be placed where they clearly do not belong!
Here is an excerpt from an article that I found:
The 'NIMBY' Factor
"Concern for property values is one factor driving the establishment of the ordinances. Setback requirements prevent residents from having cellular towers in their backyards, or even in their line of sight. The ordinances may protect residents' interests, but enacting those ordinances actually conflicts with the demand for cellular service.
The conflict results in a "not in my backyard" situation, says John Sieber, vice president of engineering for CompComm. "They're demanding the services, but they don't want the means to deliver the services," he says. "The issue that gets communities upset is aesthetics. There's a lot of concern about property values."
In 1994, a couple in Bunker Hill Village, Texas, filed suit against the city for allowing construction of a 100-foot cellular tower 22 feet from their backyard fence. Although the tower, built on city property, was approved by city officials, the couple argued that their home had depreciated in value by 10 percent since its arrival. They also claimed a loss of privacy because employees climbed the tower for regular maintenance.
In October 1998, the city settled its portion of the suit with the couple. Earlier this year, a jury ordered the company that owned the tower to pay $1.2 million to the couple. Residents and officials also are concerned about possible negative health effects caused by radiation emission from the towers. The Federal Communications Commission has set standards for emissions, and the TA requires that cellular towers meet those standards. However, some residents say that is not good enough.
In 1997, a group of concerned residents in Boca Raton, Fla., united as Families Against Cell Towers (FACT) to protest the installation of a cellular tower on a school property. They claimed that there is not enough evidence to prove that the emissions are safe for children.
Most studies are conducted on adult males, whose body weights differ vastly from those of third-graders, FACT notes. "It is our belief that the key issue is not proving irrevocably that the cell towers are dangerous, which we believe they are, but instead showing that significant health questions and concerns are being raised across the United States, and we need to protect our children and halt the cell tower's construction until we know more," said FACT spokesperson Gary Brown on a local web site."
Read the entire article here.
