Help stop ZTA 25-11 and unlimited cell towers! [Montgomery County Loves to Put Cell Towers on School Playgrounds.]

SEE ACTION ITEM BELOW VIDEO.  

In 2022, the Parents' Coalition stopped Montgomery County from placing a cell tower in the home team bleachers at the new Woodward High School.  

At Wheaton High School, the new school building had to be built to accommodate the existing cell tower that used to be on the football field. 

Cell towers can be found on public school playgrounds all over the County despite the consistent opposition to these commercial compounds by parents and neighbors.  

Public school land is supposed to be land dedicated to the education of our children.  But unfortunately, in Montgomery County public school land is often handed over to commercial interests and children lose their outdoor spaces.  

Montgomery County Public Schools, Daly Elementary School in Germantown:

The Montgomery County Council is considering allowing wireless companies to effectively decide unilaterally when and where to put up cell towers – anywhere, anytime throughout the county, with no due process, and in many cases without even a building permit. We urgently need your help to stop this ill-conceived change. Click here to make your voice heard BEFORE the public hearing this Tuesday 9/16! ***************************************************************** The Montgomery County Council is considering Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-11, which would effectively allow wireless companies to unilaterally decide when and where to put up cell towers – anywhere, anytime throughout the county, with no due process and no minimum setbacks. And in many cases, without even a building permit. We urgently need your help to stop this misguided legislation. Click START WRITING on the right to email the Council Click here to read testimony from MC4T, which contains additional talking points. This Council is serving a four-year term, from 2022 until 2026. While the prior two councils (2014-2018 and 2018-2022) enacted bad cell tower zoning changes, fortunately this is the first time that this Council has tried to pass a cell tower zoning change. That also means that this Council has not heard from residents about this topic. The sponsor of ZTA 25-11 has not previously served on the Council and may not be aware of the level of widespread public opposition to cell towers in residential areas. This makes it all the more important for you to make your voice heard. Click START WRITING on the right to email the Council right now! Want to do more? SIGN-UP by Monday 9/15 at 2:00pm for the public hearing, to be held 9/16 at 1:30pm (you can testify by zoom) Submit written testimony in connection with the hearing, by 9/16 at 1:30pm Call your councilmembers and urge them to oppose ZTA 25-11 Forward this to your friends! Sponsored by Montgomery County Coalition to Protect Neighborhoods

Once Again, Superintendent McKnight will Try to Get @mocoboe to Hand Over Land Use Decisions to @mcps Staff. [An attempt in August 2022 failed.]

The Montgomery County Board of Education and Superintendent Monifa McKnight want to get the public out of decisions about Public School Land.  

On Thursday April 20, 2023, the Board of Education's Consent Agenda will include a vote to remove public input from some Public School Land decisions.

  

They tried to do this in August of 2022, but the resolution was pulled from the Agenda after a public outcry. 

Placement of an item on the Consent Agenda means that the item being voted on won't even be discussed.  It is assumed that the item is so trivial that Board of Education members will unanimously approve it without discussion. 

This Agenda item will hand over all these Public School Land Use decisions to the Superintendent and she can then hand those decisions over to Seth Adams, Director of Facilities Management, so that he can make the decisions without public notice, without public input and without oversight.  Seth Adams will be able to make these land use decisions even if they are of a controversial nature.  

What decisions might be included in this broad delegation of authority to the superintendent?  Moving bus depots, moving bus parking, cell tower compounds, removing trees/forests etc...? 

How might local Public School Land be changed by these decisions that will now be made by one MCPS employee alone behind closed doors? If the Board of Education approves this Resolution, those questions will be for the Superintendent and Seth Adams to know and the public to never find out.  

6.10 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature 

Watch now as #MCPS #Teacher Katherine Katzin talk about the #health effects of #5G cell antennas and wireless radiation. Then, use our 1-minute tool (Link in bio) to tell #MoCo Council you do not want cell towers 30 ft from your home!

Dear Neighbors, Watch now as #MCPS #Teacher Katherine Katzin talk about the #health effects of #5G cell antennas and wireless radiation. Then, use our 1-minute tool (Link in bio) to tell #MoCo Council you do not want cell towers 30 ft from your home!https://t.co/Sf9bshH67Z

— MoCo Coalition To Protect Neighborhoods (@MoCoCoalition) October 21, 2022

UPDATED: .@mocoboe Board of Education to Hand Over Power to MCPS' staffer Seth Adams, Remove Transparency, Remove Public Input from Land Use Decisions

 

The Montgomery County Board of Education wants to get the public out of decisions about Public School Land.  

On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, the Board of Education will vote to remove public input from some Public School Land decisions on their Consent Agenda.  

Placement of an item on the Consent Agenda means that the item being voted on won't even be discussed.  It is assumed that the item is so trivial that Board of Education members will unanimously approve it without discussion. 

The Agenda item will hand over all these Public School Land Use decisions to the Superintendent and she can then hand those decisions over to Seth Adams, Director of Facilities Management, so he can make the decisions without public notice, without public input and without oversight.  Seth Adams will be able to make these land use decisions even if they are of a controversial nature.  

What decisions might be included in this broad delegation of authority to the superintendent?  Moving bus depots, moving bus parking, cell tower compounds, removing trees/forests etc...? 

How might local Public School Land be changed by these decisions that will now be made by one MCPS employee alone behind closed doors? If the Board of Education approves this Resolution, those questions will be for the Superintendent and Seth Adams to know and the public to never find out.  

6.10 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature 

Cell Tower Collapses on Football Stadium Bleachers. Could this happen at @mcps Woodward High School site? Absolutely.

The Montgomery County Board of Education has secretly decided to put a cell tower in the bleachers at the football/soccer/lacrosse stadium they are building at the site of the former Woodward High School in North Bethesda.

The image shown is from the flyover video shown to the Board of Education in April 2022.  

Not a single Board of Education member said a word about the placement of the cell tower in the home team bleachers.  

This image shows what happens when a cell tower catches fire and falls on the football stadium bleachers at a high school in California.  The full story is in the video: 

The Montgomery County Board of Education knows not to say a word about putting a cell tower in stadium bleachers because they already know that parents and guardians are vehemently opposed to a cell tower in stadium bleachers. 

Just watch the first 10 minutes of the Wootton High School meeting shown in the video below where the Board of Education wanted to put a cell tower under the football stadium bleachers.  

To say parents, guardians and community members were opposed to this proposal would be a massive understatement.  In order to avoid hearing from parents and guardians again on this idea, the current Board of Education just isn't going to tell them.