Concerns over small cell infrastructure in Fountain Hills

OPINION — Fountain Hills is being asked to accept a change that will affect every resident and every neighborhood. Allowing small cell infrastructure in residential areas is not a small decision. It carries lasting consequences for our entire town.

1. Property values will be impacted. Homes near visible cell installations can become harder to sell and may lose up to 20 percent in value, and the effect spreads beyond one property. If an antenna is visible from a yard or window, neighboring homes are also affected.

Furthermore, residents face increased insurance rates or even cancellation of policies due to increased risk of property damage and physical injury from structural failure. These impacts fall entirely on homeowners, without compensation or the ability to sue the telecom companies.

2. Real estate agents will lose income. Homes sit longer on the market, sell for less, and create more frustration for sellers and agents.

3. It becomes harder to buy and harder to sell. Buyers hesitate, deals stall, and many families will simply choose another community.

4. Fountain Hills risks losing its identity. People move here for beauty and residential character, not to live next to small cell installations.

5, A review in Environmental Research found evidence that people living near small cell installations reported DNA damage, headaches, sleep problems, and other symptoms, along with some evidence of increased cancer risk and biological changes.

6. Once installed, this infrastructure is nearly impossible to remove, locking in consequences for decades. This will not impact just a few homes. It will change property values, marketability, and quality of life across the entire town.

Fountain Hills should protect its residents, its homes, and its future by rejecting this plan. This decision will affect every single person in our town whether they realize it now or not.

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