Mayor Ponto:

We oppose cell towers so close to homes that residents are endangered by lightning, fires, falling ice and debris and collapsing towers. Stop the adverse economic impact on our neighborhoods. Stop the dangerous precedent you will set for all of our neighborhoods.  Protect all residents by selecting one of the alternative sites away from homes to build the Verizon cell tower.

The City selected land zoned residential for a Verizon cell tower. The land has a real estate deed restriction, “the site shall be kept in a condition compatible and harmonious with the surrounding area” that the City agreed to in 1977 upon purchase.  A 15 story cell tower surrounded by a 10 foot high fence and four accessory buildings within a foot of residential property are not compatible and harmonious with the residential neighborhood. Honor the wisdom and intent of our past leaders.

We support cell towers, but not when they endanger the lives of residents of Brookfield and destroy our neighborhoods. 

Additional information is provided below.

Resident Safety

Mayor Ponto and Director Ertl selected land zoned residential for a proposed Verizon Wireless cell tower which will greatly endanger the lives of adjacent residents and their homes in the following ways:

   1. Chunks of falling ice and debris from the proposed 150 foot tower, a few feet        from residential properties, may injure or kill children playing in the                        backyards or may damage adjacent homes.

   2. Powerful electrical currents will travel in a split second on the ground into the        backyards and homes of adjacent residents after lightning strikes the cell            tower. The electrical currents may electrocute residents or injure them for            life and may damage their homes. (There is inadequate land to install a                ground lightning protection system.)

  3.  The tower with its pointed shape and height will attract more lightning that             may strike residents and their homes directly within hundreds of feet of the           tower. (In the past 15 years, more than five lightning strikes of homes have           been identified in the Still Point neighborhood.)

  4.  Three accessory buildings will be within a foot, and a fourth building within a        few feet of residential property. The buildings will be as large in total as a              ranch home.  Each building will have backup generators and air conditioning        units. These air conditioning units and four generators, along with three                other existing generators within 100 feet, will have a total noise level that has        not been addressed.

  5.  Holding tanks will hold hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel and when burned            will produce obnoxious fumes that will permeate the air within close                      proximity to homes.

 6.  Homes are within striking distance of the 15 story cell tower, if the tower               failed and fell to the ground.

 7.  Fires on the cell tower, especially during construction, may spread to nearby       homes. The City’s fire department does not have equipment to fight a fire on       a 15 story cell tower.

 8.  The precedent set by constructing a cell tower with no safety zones or                 property set backs will permit other cell carriers to build towers in other                 Brookfield residential neighborhoods under non discriminatory rules of the           Federal Communications Commission.

Real Estate Restrictions

Mayor Ponto and Director Ertl selected land zoned residential for a Verizon cell tower that has the following characteristics:

 1.  A real estate deed restriction as follows, “the site shall be kept in a condition         compatible and harmonious with the surrounding area.” The City agreed to           this restrictive provision when the residential land was purchased in 1977 for       a water tower.

 2.  Only a water utility easement to access the property.

 3.  No drainage system for water expelled from the Water Tower.

 4.  Inadequate land to shield any of the buildings or cell tower.

Incomplete Verizon Application

 On January 7, 2013, Mayor Ponto and Director Ertl accepted an application that was incomplete from Verizon to construct a cell tower on land zoned residential.  Verizon was not notified until five months later that the application was incomplete for the following reasons:

 1.  An alternative site analysis was not submitted as required by City of                     Brookfield Municipal Code and thereby, failed to establish that there are no           alternatives and/or options available to provide adequate personal wireless           coverage within the City.

 2.  A system to mitigate ground lightning and other safety endangerments of life       and property was not submitted.

 3.  It failed to establish that the adjacent properties and surrounding Still Point           and Glen Kerry neighborhoods would suffer no adverse impacts from the             proposed cell tower.

Failure to Perform Due Diligence

Mayor Ponto and Director Ertl selected land zoned residential for a Verizon cell tower and did so:

 1.  Without engaging outside expertise to advise them on the following:                     (Consistent with requiring developers to pay costs relating to their                         applications, the City would not bear the costs of third-party experts, but               would require Verizon to pay the costs.)

      a.  The Verizon application, especially the implications of recent                                  advancements in wireless communication, such as 4G LTE networks,                Advance Wireless Service upgrades and small cell deployment.

      b.  Significant gaps in service, if any. (Verizon has currently four macro cell              towers within approximately two miles of the proposed site.)

      c.  Radio frequency and other technical aspects of alternative sites.

      d.  Impact of Federal Communication Commission rules on denial of the                    Verizon application and on approval of cell tower sites that go beyond                    what is currently required.

 2.  Without developing a long-range telecommunications plan that addresses:

      a.  Recent technical advancements in wireless telecommunications.

      b.  The changing nature of the industry, especially capacity issues relating to            video/internet data transmissions and the purchase of spectrum.

      c.  The consolidation of cell carriers.

      d.  New rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission.

 3.  Without changing the City of Brookfield Municipal Code to include protections       for residents, such as safety fall zones, minimum set backs and testing of           radiation from cell towers.

 4.  Without drafting new cellular lease agreements that minimize the costs to           the City, such as eliminating the contingent liability provisions in the current         leases, and that maximize revenues based on going-rates and size of                 equipment.

 5.  Without documenting the accounting for cellular lease revenues and related         costs, if any, in accordance with the Public Service Commission and other           authoritative bodies.

Adverse Economic Impact on Neighborhoods

Residents are justifiably concerned about the proposed cell tower reducing the value of their homes and properties.  Real estate agents will readily acknowledge that people don’t want to live next to cell towers. Agents say people don’t want to live near a cell tower not just for health reasons, but also for aesthetics and safety reasons. Also, studies have shown that cell towers diminish the value of homes, especially in neighborhoods with similar characteristics of those near the proposed cell tower site.

The proposed cell tower will reduce the property values of homes in the Still Point and Glen Kerry neighborhoods with over 250 homes by millions of dollars.  As a result real estate agents will suffer lower commissions and the City will have lower property tax revenues as well.

We Support Telecommunications Infrastructure

We fully support wireless telecommunications infrastructure in the City of Brookfield through careful planning, diligent review and judicious approval processes that both protect the safety of residents and advance the progress of wireless services for its residents. However, commerce without morality is not progress.

We urge Mayor Ponto to select an alternative site or other options for the proposed Verizon Wireless cell tower to protect the safety of all residents and preserve the residential neighborhoods of the City of Brookfield.

Please join me and the Brookfield Residents for Responsible Local Government to protect the safety of families and their homes by signing this petition today!