Geneva panel says no to 85-foot Verizon tower near Eagle Brook – Shaw Local

After a three-hour public hearing Thursday evening, the Geneva Planning and Zoning Commission voted against recommending a special use permit allowing an 85-foot Verizon cell tower at a shopping center at 1749 S. Randall Rd.

Petitioner Doug Dolan of Dolan Realty Advisors and president of DRA Properties, the company that will own the cell site, testified that the tower meets all the requirements for a special use.

The tower would be light gray in color, unobtrusive and blend into its surroundings with all antennas and hardware hidden inside. that real estate appraiser reports showed it would have no effect on property values; and that it is necessary to avoid an interruption of Verizon's mobile phone coverage.

Dolan said it was a reworked version of a 2021 proposal that was not approved.

“Our need with Verizon Wireless is very strong for a cell site here,” Dolan said. “We plan to demonstrate why this site is the best site. … The proposed use of the specified location is consistent with the master plan. … Cell phone towers are permitted in this (zoning) district if they meet special use standards.

Dolan said Verizon needed the additional tower to fill a coverage gap because the system was close to capacity.

But about a dozen residents of the nearby Eagle Brook subdivision challenged the accuracy and integrity of all the documents provided, as well as Dolan's testimony.

The presentation by resident Emily McCafferty, who lives on Eldorado Drive, criticized Verizon's reports that cell towers do not negatively impact property values.

McCafferty presented a large-scale PowerPoint comparing home sales of those already near other cell towers in Eagle Brook to those of a comparable subdivision in Wheaton built by the same developer, Keim Custom Homes.

Slide after slide, McCafferty chronicled a universal decline in home sales price values ​​influenced by cell phone towers.

The total projected drop in value for the 83 Eagle Brook homes closest to the tower — if approved — was more than $3 million, according to McCafferty's research.

“That's what these residents stand to lose and what the city of Geneva stands to lose, to Mr. Dolan's benefit and to Verizon's benefit,” McCafferty said. “This tower belongs to an industrial or commercial area that is not closely surrounded by residences.”

Other residents also took a stand, like Dale Rathunde of Crystal Tree Court, who presented a petition containing 136 names of residents whose streets connect to Bent Tree – the street behind which the cell tower is proposed – all opposed .

Rathunde disputed Dolan's assertion that more connections to cell towers are needed, saying cell phone ownership has plateaued since 2021.

“It showed no evidence of exponential growth that was going to happen or would happen soon in the region,” Rathunde said.

Rathunde disputed the Verizon engineer's affidavit that said existing towers were nearly full and users would experience call drops.

“If that were the case, Verizon would be able to show an increase in dropped call rates over time, especially during peak hours,” Rathunde said. “Without real evidence, the city does not know if the capacity problem was real. »

Instead, Rathunde said Verizon is pushing this tower near residential neighborhoods to support its home internet product to entice people to ditch cable and switch.

Resident Cheryl Reis, who also lives on Eldorado Drive, echoed Rathunde's assertion, citing the 1976 film, “All the President's Men.” and the famous phrase “follow the money.”

Reis said: “Just follow the money to see who benefits. In our case, with this proposition, if we follow the money, it's actually quite obvious. Ironically, there is nothing secret or clandestine about this, the only one who benefits from it is Mr. Dolan and his real estate company.

Don Manikes, another Eldorado Drive resident, disputed the petitioner's report that a cell tower could actually improve the property values ​​of nearby homes.

“As a real estate attorney with 30 years of experience, I can tell you this is not credible,” Manikes said. “No serious person would assert or believe that… the houses closest to the tower will benefit [from] an increase in value from this.

Amanda Driscoll, who does not reside in Eagle Brook, said she purchased a home in Geneva in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I can't tell you how many houses I passed up because … when I got to the house there was a huge cell tower,” Driscoll said. “I didn’t even go in…It’s really important for new home buyers.”

Dolan responded that the cell tower “would be a great asset to this area.”

Dolan cited the property appraiser's report that cell towers have no impact on property values.

“My testimony is as good as anyone else’s,” Dolan said. “The condition that you cannot see them [cell towers] is an unrealistic condition.

In voting to recommend denying the special use request, commissioners cited McCafferty's presentation and Verizon's lack of specific information that its system was near capacity.

Dolan said the company information is proprietary and would be provided to the city council, but would have to remain confidential.

“The grid is not down yet,” Dolan said. “Network engineers are patching at the moment. …tactics used to maintain the network at maximum efficiency. These fail. So this is our testimony.

In voting 6-0 to recommend denial, the commission cited special use standards that affect property values ​​and neighborhood character.

The commission also recommended that before Dolan presented the application to the City Council, he signed a lease from Verizon for the tower, a structural design plan for the foundation and tower, a review of the National Policy Act of the environment regarding the location and construction of the tower. , as well as information showing that the current system is at capacity.