Prompted by controversy over a company?s plans to place high-voltage equipment at a local high school, state lawmakers are considering banning cell phone towers on public school property in Baltimore County.
Baltimore County?s Democratic state Sen. Bobby Zirkin has introduced legislation he said will help other communities avoid battles like the ones parents of students at Randallstown High School fought last year over a proposed 11-story cell tower.
“I understand the need for a cell phone service but there are plenty of other places in Randallstown where our kids don?t hang out,” Zirkin said. “It?s one of these no-brainers, as far as I am concerned.”
In August, Baltimore County?s highest appellate board halted an agreementschool officials signed with Omnipoint Communications, the parent company of T-Mobile. The lease authorized the company to build the tower near Randallstown High?s tennis courts for $1,500 per month.
Community leaders said Monday that the company recently renewed efforts to build the tower elsewhere on school property. The proposed legislation would make it difficult for T-Mobile and other wireless carriers to ensure reliable coverage, said company spokeswoman Jane Builder.
“We believe that wireless siting decisions are best left to local decision makers who are in touch with the public safety and communications needs of area residents,” Builder said.
Education officials in Howard and Montgomery counties are permitting cell towers on school grounds, they said, but Baltimore County has entertained no other requests since the Randallstown controversy, school authorities there said.
The wireless industry often runs into a “conundrum” between consumers? demands and their preferences on tower siting, said Joe Farren of the CTIA, a wireless industry association.
“The good news is, we?re often able to find middle ground,” Farren said.
