STOP the AT&T proposed wireless Telecommunications Facility at 61 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown, CT
STOP the AT&T proposed wireless Telecommunications Facility at 61 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown, CT
The Issue
We, the undersigned, urge AT&T to reconsider the plans to install a cell phone tower on the property at 61 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown, Connecticut 06470.
The community of Dodgingtown has always valued the positive and productive relationship between the community and Dodgingtown Garage. We believe the mutually beneficial relationship we have enjoyed will be jeopardized by the installation of the cell tower.
Our concerns regarding the cell tower are based primarily on the unknown health effects and known negative impact on property values.
The health effects of such towers to residents who live in close proximity are at best unknown and at worst potentially devastating. Two schools, as well as, there are dozens of young children who live in and near the Dodgingtown property and close enough to the proposed tower location to be adversely affected by the cell tower’s emissions. According to an article in Pediatrics: The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Consistent epidemiologic evidence of an association between childhood leukemia and exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields has led to their classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a ‘possible human carcinogen.’ Concerns about the potential vulnerability of children to radio frequency (RF) fields have been raised because of the potentially greater susceptibility of their developing nervous systems; in addition, their brain tissue is more conductive, RF penetration is greater relative to head size, and they will have a longer lifetime of exposure than adults.” The same article further recommends “additional research and the development of precautionary policies in the face of scientific uncertainty.” Given the unknown health effects on children who reside near cell towers, we simply cannot afford for our children to be the “lab rats” who discover in 15 years that their daily exposure to cell tower emissions has resulted in an incurable illness.
Though AT&T asserts that its emissions will fall below standards set by the Federal Trade Commission, their assertions do not account for the fact that other carriers will be added to the tower in future years, thereby greatly increasing the emissions. Nevertheless, even if those emissions continue to fall below the FTC’s standards, the medical effects of such emissions remain uncertain and the risks remain too great.
As for the impact of the cell tower on property values, studies have proven that such towers do negatively affect property values. For example, a study in Appraisal Journal concluded that home values decreased anywhere from 2-20%, with the negative impact increasing the closer the property is to the tower. There are many other studies that find that the installation of cell towers in residential communities has a negative effect on property values. As you know, decreased property values of homes near the cell tower could lead to a negative ripple effect on property values throughout the community, even as the distance from the cell tower increases, much like the incidence of foreclosures negatively impacts property values throughout a neighborhood. We strongly believe that a cell tower located within 200 feet of houses and rising 50 feet above the highest trees in the area will adversely impact property values.
We believe that whatever short term benefit is gained by installing the cell tower will be more than offset by the negative long term health and financial impact of the community that may occur if the tower project is carried through.
Read more about this proposal at:
The Issue
We, the undersigned, urge AT&T to reconsider the plans to install a cell phone tower on the property at 61 Dodgingtown Road, Newtown, Connecticut 06470.
The community of Dodgingtown has always valued the positive and productive relationship between the community and Dodgingtown Garage. We believe the mutually beneficial relationship we have enjoyed will be jeopardized by the installation of the cell tower.
Our concerns regarding the cell tower are based primarily on the unknown health effects and known negative impact on property values.
The health effects of such towers to residents who live in close proximity are at best unknown and at worst potentially devastating. Two schools, as well as, there are dozens of young children who live in and near the Dodgingtown property and close enough to the proposed tower location to be adversely affected by the cell tower’s emissions. According to an article in Pediatrics: The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Consistent epidemiologic evidence of an association between childhood leukemia and exposure to extremely low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields has led to their classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a ‘possible human carcinogen.’ Concerns about the potential vulnerability of children to radio frequency (RF) fields have been raised because of the potentially greater susceptibility of their developing nervous systems; in addition, their brain tissue is more conductive, RF penetration is greater relative to head size, and they will have a longer lifetime of exposure than adults.” The same article further recommends “additional research and the development of precautionary policies in the face of scientific uncertainty.” Given the unknown health effects on children who reside near cell towers, we simply cannot afford for our children to be the “lab rats” who discover in 15 years that their daily exposure to cell tower emissions has resulted in an incurable illness.
Though AT&T asserts that its emissions will fall below standards set by the Federal Trade Commission, their assertions do not account for the fact that other carriers will be added to the tower in future years, thereby greatly increasing the emissions. Nevertheless, even if those emissions continue to fall below the FTC’s standards, the medical effects of such emissions remain uncertain and the risks remain too great.
As for the impact of the cell tower on property values, studies have proven that such towers do negatively affect property values. For example, a study in Appraisal Journal concluded that home values decreased anywhere from 2-20%, with the negative impact increasing the closer the property is to the tower. There are many other studies that find that the installation of cell towers in residential communities has a negative effect on property values. As you know, decreased property values of homes near the cell tower could lead to a negative ripple effect on property values throughout the community, even as the distance from the cell tower increases, much like the incidence of foreclosures negatively impacts property values throughout a neighborhood. We strongly believe that a cell tower located within 200 feet of houses and rising 50 feet above the highest trees in the area will adversely impact property values.
We believe that whatever short term benefit is gained by installing the cell tower will be more than offset by the negative long term health and financial impact of the community that may occur if the tower project is carried through.
Read more about this proposal at:
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Petition created on April 23, 2011