Earlier today I asked the question, how many towers/antennas could there be within 4.0 miles of the Kalamazoo Country Club at 1609 Whites Rd.

Curiousity got the best of me, so I looked.  I want to encourage you to see for yourself.  You can do this at www.antennasearch.com.  Best of all, it's free. 

Here is what I found after I entered the address.  According to AntennaSearch, there are a total of 93 towers and 373 Antennas within 4 miles of the proposed site!  Best of all, the proposed MetroPCS tower already shows up on the map!  They must be very confident indeed. 

Click here to see the proposed MetroPCS tower depicted at AntennaSearch. 
 
 
MetroPCS is making waves in Grand Rapids too!

It seems they are interested in bolting antenna on the outside of several prominent church steeples in the Grand Rapids area.

There is a great article in the Grand Rapids Press.  Cick here to read it. 

Among other things, the article points out the fact that MetroPCS is committed to a cheaper antenna technology that requires twice as many antennas as other providers.

I want to re-emphasize the importance of innovation.  If cities didnt require phone companies to install their phone lines in an orderly fashion, cell phones may never have been invented!

Mr. Harger's article also includes a link to a very interesting site:  www.antennasearch.com.  Using the site, he found a total of "570 antennas sending and receiving signals for cell phones, radios and pagers within a 4-mile radius of [Grand Rapids] City Hall."   

I wonder how many antennas there are within a 4 mile radius of the Kalamazoo Country Club?

 
 
This is my home.  It's in a good neighborhood, and I get along with the folks who live near me; my neighbors.

Sometimes neighbors forget themselves.

I had a neighbor once who used to let his dog "do his business" in my yard.  Don't get me wrong, this was a good neighbor.  We would talk, and say hello when we saw each other.  We'd usually exchange a bottle of wine or a tray of cookies at Christmas, or stand at the fence and talk.

We also talked (several times) about his dog's odious contributions to my lawn.  The first talk was apologetic and full of promises.  The second talk was tense for both of us.  He must have seen the look on my face the third time, because he turned around and went back into his house.

I was shocked, and feared that I had pushed this issue to the point where a dog-turd would end our relationship.  A minute passed slowly as I picked up a few sticks.  Then, without further ado, my good neighbor came back out of the house.  He had a smile on his face and a bag in his hand.  He took care of that little mess because (I think) he understood the symbolic importance of his act.

The Kalamazoo Country Club is a good neighbor.  They take great care of their lawn.  They are generally quiet.  Likewise, I have tried to be a good neighbor to them.  Here is the problem; they got a new dog named MetroPCS.

Their dog isn't going to come into my yard.  Rather, it is going to drop a 170-foot tall, energy-emitting turd in prominent view of my home. Humor aside, a 170' tower will be visible from many homes, and become part of the skyline around many more.  It will add the appearance of a manufacturing district to our residential neighborhood.  It cannot help but to depress property-values that are only now coming back from a dangerous depression.

I hope my neighbor will recognize their un-intended imposition on our neighborhood before their actions become irreversible.  If not, I am confident that the Zoning Board of Appeals will uphold the letter and spirit of the Zoning Ordinance.