Deny Amending Zoning to allow Verizon Cell Tower at Abundant Life Church

We, the undersigned, as concerned Canton, Westland and Wayne residents, ask The Canton Township Michigan Planning Commissionl to not approve the amendemnet to rezone the property at Abundant Life Church Hannan Road and Palmer Road to construct a Verizon Cell Tower at the Abundant Life Church and nearby homes on Hannan Road, Canton/Westland Michigan.

We join several neighborhoods, cities, counties, schools, organizations and courts around the world who are saying "no" to wireless facilities with antennae in their neighborhoods, for one or all of the following reasons:

1. Aesthetics: Our neighborhood is comprised primarily of residential homes, and a church. The proposed wireless monopole doesn't fit in with the environment and is incompatible with the character of our neighborhood. It would also set an unwelcomed precedent for our neighborhood.

2. Residents already have adequate cell phone and wireless data coverage in the area and so we don't need a new Verizon Wireless antenna here. Even the Verizon website's Coverage map shows complete coverage in this area, with no gaps. Of course Verizon Wireless will tell you that they "need" one there, but there are always other options and other locations. There is not a real enough "need" to warrant putting the residents in this area at risk for health problems or a decrease in their property values.

Further Verizon stated in public meetings in June/July 2015 that this was not an ideal area for the cell tower and that they had alternative locations at Stevenson Middle School but would need to change the flag shape. They also mis-stated that there was no industrial in the area and there is. The I275 Freeway is nearby and a tower can be easily erected in that location up the street and not near homes or ecologically sensitive areas.

3. Environmental sensitive area includes wetlands, underground tributaries which have been well-documented by Wayne County, the MDEQ, Canton Township, Westland and Wayne. This is a regulated wetland area. We oppose construction of any new industrial equipment in this area.

4. The devaluation of real estate. In March, 2014 the National Institute for Science, Law and Public Policy’s survey “Neighborhood Cell Towers & Antennas—Do They Impact a Property’s Desirability?” found that an overwhelming majority of respondents (94%) reported that cell towers and antennas in a neighborhood or on a building would impact interest in a property and the price they would be willing to pay for it. Many studies by Dr. Sally Bond, Ph.D. have shown that a cell phone tower negatively affects the real estate values of homes surrounding it. Canton, Westland and Wayne residents don't want decreased property value for homes and neighborhood, and we would hope the City wouldn't want the value of home properties and subsequent property tax revenue to decline, either. https://sites.google.com/site/nocelltowerinourneighborhood/home/decreased-real-estate-value

5. Residents, citing the precautionary principle and recent scientific studies, don't want the adverse health effects and increased cancer rates associated with wireless facilities and antennae, more specifically ;long term low frequency radiation exposure. Children are especially vulnerable to absorbing electromagnetic and radio frequency radiation, and so the residents don't want this facility being placed so close to schools, homes, and a community park where children play, learn and live. For instance, the Abundant Life Church is attended by numerous babies, infants, toddlers, children and teenagers every Sunday and throughout the week as they engage in sporting activities outside.

The cell tower is also nearer to residential homes and a new development of over 50 homes planned across the street.

The surrounding neighborhoods of are all residential homes with many children. It has already been established in the June/July hearing that people are concerned about their health and well being including cancer, EMF and related concerns. There is a body of well-documented research independent of the Cancer Society who is dependent on donation from businesses and isn't so independent.

6. The City's Mission does not support a cell tower in a residential neighborhood.

Given the adverse health effects from cell towers, the decreased property values and the fake pine tree look of the proposed facility, the City Canton, Westland and Wayne will fail to live up to its Mission if they approve of this project.

For these reasons above, other citizens, residents, organizations, schools, and communities across and country and around the world have recently passed resolutions or said "no" to cell towers in or near their schools, parks homes, and communities, and want the right to regulate and prohibit them, and question the appropriateness of a proposed location. They have acted because current federal laws and regulatory agencies have failed to keep up with technology, relying on old, obsolete or incomplete data, and have failed to take into account recent studies that reveal the harmful health effects of wireless radiation on our bodies.

The Township of Canton, City of Westland and City of Wayne need to join these groups in saying "no" to wireless facilities and tower/antennae in and near their neighborhoods, schools, churches and parks.

I am signing to say NO to amending any zoning in the area of Hannan Road, Palmer Road, Abundant Life Church and Fellows Golf Course to accommodate a Verizon Cell Tower. The hearing is planned for Thursday, January 7, 2016 at the Canton Township Planning Commission Meeting Location.