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Family protests proposed cell phone tower in Farmington Township
By Jordan Cohen
WEST FARMINGTON
Molly and Emir Salem say they will leave the home they built five years ago in rural Farmington Township if telecommunications giant AT&T’s plan to construct a cellphone tower near their home is approved by the township zoning board.
“This was our dream house, but who would want to live near a tower?” Molly Salem asked before a meeting last week with township trustees. “Our family has owned this land for 25 years, but our intent is to move if [the tower] goes up.”
An attorney representing AT&T says the 190-foot tower will be built on the site off Hoffman-Norton Road regardless of whether the Salems like it because the company has the right under the federal telecommunications law. In addition, the owner of the property where the tower will be located has signed an agreement consenting to the construction.
The Salems’ attorney, Robert Burkey of Warren, said the zoning board had granted a zoning exemption to AT&T, but not all adjacent property owners had received notices about the plans from the company.
Although the Salems did, relatives who own 10 adjoining acres did not. Burkey said the company is required to provide those notices to all adjacent property owners.
The Salems presented receipts showing they had sent certified mail containing letters of objection to township trustees last May, well before the board’s decision.
“We were denied due process,” Emir Salem said. “We were not told the board was going to act.”
The zoning board had granted the exemption after Gordon McClean, zoning inspector, said he knew of no opposition. McLean said he was unaware of the Salems’ letters.
After an executive session with trustees that included the Salems, attorneys and the zoning inspector, the company agreed to start over and request a conditional zoning permit instead. That means the zoning board will have to schedule a public hearing.
“We have a limited window of opportunity,” said Burkey when asked if his clients faced an uphill fight.
Burkey noted that the tower would be located approximately 340 feet from the road, which meets legal requirements.
Donet Graves, a Cleveland attorney who represents AT&T in zoning matters, said the company has federal law on its side.
“We will be able to demonstrate need as required under the law,” Graves told The Vindicator. “No matter what, that tower is going up.”
One reason for Graves’ confidence can be found on his website, which notes that the attorney “successfully argued the benchmark case that held wireless telecommunications carriers were not subject to township zoning regulating tower and antenna placement except in limited circumstances.”
Kevin Bontrager, township trustee chairman, said he sympathizes with the Salems’ plight, but there is nothing the trustees can do.
“This involves private property, so we’re not even involved,” Bontrager said. “It’s strictly up to the zoning board of appeals.”
McLean indicated he doubted that the zoning board would be likely to change its mind because of the federal court ruling exempting the carriers. No date for the hearing has been set.
The Salems, parents of two sons including a 3-month old, said they had hoped their children could someday build homes of their own on the property — a dream Mollie Salem said will not come true if the tower is built.
“It feels like David versus Goliath,” she said.