Cobblestone residents upset with proposed Verizon cell tower

Though convenient, mobile phone technology has its tradeoffs. To provide faster service and greater Internet capabilities, phone companies are constantly building new towers to accommodate customers’ demands.

Residents of the Cobblestone Farms subdivision were recently notified of a proposal to build one such tower on Troy Skouson’s farm property bordering the northwest corner of the subdivision. Ryan Mott of Shaw and Associates is the Verizon representative who informed the residents.

“We were notified on June 14,” said Cobblestone resident Joanne Taylor. “Some of us have been dealing with Mr. Mott but he has not really been informative, only advising he would check into our concerns.”

The residents have several issues. First is the potential eyesore of having a tower looming over their backyards and blocking their view of the Estrella Mountains. They also fear an increase of vehicle traffic and the potential of more vandalism in the area. Residents claim the proposed location is not properly monitored and that adolescents gather there. They claim the tower would attract kids who would be destructive. They also worry about the generator noise related to the equipment and a decrease in home values. Their greatest concern though, is their health.

They researched the potential dangers of electromagnetic fields created by cell towers and sent a letter to Mayor Anthony Smith and the city council listing their research and findings. One of the studies shows that the proportion of newly developing cancer cases was significantly higher among those patients who had lived during the past ten years at a distance of up to 400 meters from the cellular transmitter site, which has been in operation since 1993, compared to those patients living further away, and that the patients fell ill on average eight years earlier.

Cobblestone residents were invited to a public hearing last Tuesday to voice their concerns to the council.

“Only a handful of Cobblestone residents were notified by mail of this proposal and the public hearings,” said resident AnneMarie Knorr. “We are only aware of five homes that received information in the mail. 

“The Verizon reps and the city of Maricopa staff stated that they are only required to notify people within 300 feet of the cell tower. The 300 feet buffer of notification is not sufficient for a 65 foot tower that is going to impact the safety of thousands of Cobblestone residents.” 

Though it was on the July 19 city council agenda, Mott made a request to postpone any action because he did not have a presentation for council to review. His request was granted, but council proceeded with the public hearing for residents to express their concerns. The residents who spoke claimed the tower would not benefit city residents. They said it was intended to improve coverage for the Gila River Indian Community to the north.

Mott said the tower would upgrade the current Verizon service for both city residents and the Indian community. When asked why the tower wasn’t being built on reservation land, Mott said that option was considered but the Indian community did not want the tower. Mott said other places were explored, and that the placement near Cobblestone was at the furthest allowable point on the Skouson property.

Councilmember Carl Diedrich said he understood the concerns of the residents, because a tower was placed behind his home and agreed it was unpleasant to look at. Councilmember Alan Marchione said he had spoke with Penascos Restaurant owner Rosalinda O’Hare, who lives in Cobblestone and told him she was opposed to the tower.

The mayor advised Mott to include other options in his presentation, and the matter was postponed until the Aug. 16 council meeting. Mott apologized for not being ready to address council, but said at the later date he will be more prepared to answer their questions.

Taylor said the words from councilmembers were encouraging, but by moving the date of Mott’s proposal, their concerns about the tower still remain.

“With what’s happened as far as communications with us, we feel there are attempts to intentionally have us left in the dark,” said Taylor. “We hope that when Mr. Mott and Verizon publically speak on this, our points are still taken into consideration and accurate information is presented.”