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A proposal to install a wireless cellphone tower near a tennis court at a Fairfax County community swim and tennis club has divided residents in the Mantua neighborhood of Northern Virginia.
On Tuesday, the Mantua Swim and Tennis Club is scheduled to host a meeting for its 600 member households to vote on a plan that would allow Verizon to install a 150-foot wireless tower next to a tennis court.
The scheduled vote is for a proposed bylaw amendment. Verizon would need to get zoning approval from the county if members vote to advance the proposal.
In a statement, the club said it has provided independent studies and detailed responses to anticipated questions to its member households. The plan, it said, would help improve service for Verizon customers, something some residents have advocated for.
But other club members, and residents of surrounding neighborhoods, fear the tower would be an eyesore and decrease their property values. Some have posted on neighborhood Facebook pages wondering about possible health effects of living near the tower.
鈥淭his is a situation of concentrated cost to a small number of people and diffused, very minor benefits to other people,鈥� said Jason Brennan, who lives in Mantua and has already voted against the project. 鈥淚t’s like a bunch of us are going to be looking at this really ugly thing for a long time. It will devalue our property, and in exchange, our pool club gets a small amount of money and a number of other people have slightly better cellphone coverage.鈥�
By leasing the club property for the tower, the Mantua Swim and Tennis Club would get rent every month and extra funds for future carriers that choose to utilize the tower, The project won鈥檛 include strobe or beacon lighting, the club said, and Verizon will ultimately pay for it to be removed.
The club鈥檚 property includes land in both Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. The tower would be built on land within Fairfax County.
Matt Mullin, president of the Mantua Citizens Association, said while the group doesn鈥檛 have an official position on the proposal, 鈥淢antua is a hilly, forested community of about 1,600 homes. Cell service can be poor because of those beautiful trees and hills, and people have experienced dropped calls.鈥�
Some houses already have red signs on their lawns urging neighbors to vote against the idea, 鈥渇or health, safety and property values,鈥� the signs said.
鈥淭his is imposing a significant cost on the value of my property, and I don鈥檛 want to bear that just because you鈥檙e not willing to get on the phone and take a $25 bonus to switch carriers to get one that works,鈥� Brennan said.
Neighboring support
In a statement, the sports club said only members are voting because it鈥檚 a 鈥減rivate, member-owned club. Under Virginia law and our bylaws, only members have legal voting rights on club business.鈥�
But nearby community members have concerns too. In a letter, the Board of Directors of the Pickett鈥檚 Reserve neighborhood said the tower would 鈥渆ssentially be in the backyard of several of our homes.鈥� There are about 90 homes in Pickett鈥檚 Reserve, the letter said.
鈥淲hile both neighborhoods would benefit from increased cellphone coverage, we certainly would not do so at the expense of the existing tranquility that is currently shared by both of our communities,鈥� the letter said.
In a separate letter, the Stockbridge Homeowners鈥� Association board said it surveyed some of its residents and found some are supportive of improved service and the funding that the tower would generate for the pool community. Others worried 鈥渢he construction of the tower could be dangerous to people playing tennis and those living close to the site,鈥� the letter said.
Brennan said the circumstances have 鈥渞eally made me lose a lot of respect for my neighbors. These people do what I call ‘pearl clutching.’ Pearl clutching is when you talk in a passive aggressive tone and then when someone challenges you, you clutch your pearls and go, 鈥業 can鈥檛 believe you鈥檙e talking that way.鈥�”
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