Neighbors oppose cellphone tower in their backyards
AVON, Ind. (WISH) — A new cell phone tower is being planned in Avon, but a group of concerned neighbors say it should be built somewhere else.
The proposed 150-foot tower would be in a residential neighborhood in parts of Avon and Plainfield. A county permit coordinator said the planned property line is about 40 feet from the backyards of several homes near Bradford and Smith roads.
“I’m just concerned as a resident,” Stephanie Paluchniak said. “Who is going to to want to buy my house in the future — a brand-new home — with a cellphone tower behind it?”
Paluchniak and her neighbors got letters from a Kentucky law office stating that California-based Skyway Towers was asking for the county’s approval to build the tower on land behind Paluchniak’s home.
Skyway CEO Dan Behuniak said the company plans to lease the land from its current owners, and Verizon Wireless would be using the tower.
“You get a mortgage. You do the right thing as a reisdent, as a citizen of this community. And then you have to fight somebody?” Paluchniak said. “But that’s what we’re going to do. We’re not going to back down.”
Paluchniak said she is going door-to-door to make sure her neighbors not only know about the plan, but are ready to show up and speak up for a Jan. 22 public hearing at the Hendricks County Government Center. The meeting starts at 7:30 p.m.
Matt Noble, who moved to the neighborhood about a year ago, said he is clearing his schedule that night to be at the meeting.
“I have a little girl on the way, and I want to be able to go in the backyard and play and enjoy the atmosphere, the envrionment, without having to look at an ugly cellphone tower,” Noble said.
To make the plan a reality, Skyway will need approval from several agencies. Behuniak said if he can get the green light, he hopes to start construction toward the end of 2019.
Behuniak said the company will work with the county for the best solution but cell towers have to be placed near homes.
Other carriers could use the tower, but Verizon has expressed a need, Behuniak said.