Unbeknownst to Menomonee Falls residents, US Cellular worked behind the scenes with the village government to install a monstrous 120-foot monopole cell tower surrounded by an unsightly 8-foot wall surmounted by three rows of threatening barbed wire right in our residential neighborhood on the corner of Appleton Avenue and Lilly Road! Lights were to flash around the clock day and night, one 3-ton air conditioner would run continuously and another would cycle on and off with no sound insulation in the building constructed inside the fence to protect the "mechanicals." If built as proposed, this structure could tip over and fall across Lilly Road or half of Appleton Avenue and crush someone or even fall on a neighbor's house, draw lightning, and accumulate ice and other debris that could fall and cause serious injury to unsuspecting drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians. In addition to creating an offensive eyesore to the entryway into the Falls and our neighborhood, it would be a serious health hazard through the EMF it would generate. Adverse effects of visual pollution are well-known and property values have been known to plunge as low as 20% or more as a result of similar installations.
However, on September 15, US Cellular withdrew their conditional use permit request to build this monopole due to overwhelming popular opposition! The firm then proposed constructing a similar structure half a block away at Fire Station No. 3 on Lilly Road! The Village Board approved a lease agreement for this site on September 18 and on October 3, the Plan Commission accepted a conditional use permit request for the site. All the objections to the first proposal applied for this new proposal – the potential harm to residents in the neighborhood is incalculable. To add insult to injury, they also approved a lease and accepted a conditional use permit for a similar tower on County Line and Pilgrim Roads in the historic district of Old Falls Village , which is also surrounded by residential properties! On November 7, 2017 the Plan Commission approved these permit requests, unanimously for the Old Falls Village site and 4 to 1 with one abstention for the fire station site - this, when they had voted unanimously in August to deny the permit for the original site. The Village Board made the final decisions on the conditional use permits for these sites on December 4, 2017. Astonishingly, board members voted unanimously to approve the Old Falls Village construction and unanimously to oppose the fire station site! See the Actions Page for more details and for what comes next! There is still work to be done!
However, on September 15, US Cellular withdrew their conditional use permit request to build this monopole due to overwhelming popular opposition! The firm then proposed constructing a similar structure half a block away at Fire Station No. 3 on Lilly Road! The Village Board approved a lease agreement for this site on September 18 and on October 3, the Plan Commission accepted a conditional use permit request for the site. All the objections to the first proposal applied for this new proposal – the potential harm to residents in the neighborhood is incalculable. To add insult to injury, they also approved a lease and accepted a conditional use permit for a similar tower on County Line and Pilgrim Roads in the historic district of Old Falls Village , which is also surrounded by residential properties! On November 7, 2017 the Plan Commission approved these permit requests, unanimously for the Old Falls Village site and 4 to 1 with one abstention for the fire station site - this, when they had voted unanimously in August to deny the permit for the original site. The Village Board made the final decisions on the conditional use permits for these sites on December 4, 2017. Astonishingly, board members voted unanimously to approve the Old Falls Village construction and unanimously to oppose the fire station site! See the Actions Page for more details and for what comes next! There is still work to be done!
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