A proposal to construct a 140-foot-high cell-phone tower in the backyard of Faith Lutheran Church on West Market Street in Fairlawn has upset its next-door neighbors.

St. Hilary Catholic Church, which has an adjacent school and church, wants no such structure in the neighborhood, saying it will be an eyesore and a potential danger to the children who use the nearby soccer fields.

The Rev. Jean Hansen — pastor of the Lutheran church that has postponed a $2.5 million expansion for want of pledges — says the potential windfall being offered by T-Mobile has nothing to do with the delayed building plans.

Nonetheless, T-Mobile representative John Sindyla says the church stands to gain at least $15,000 per year for having the tower on its property and a potential to earn $30,000 a year if other providers rent space on the tower.

''Our concern is the cell tower and enclosure will be a great temptation for the 690 children of our school and hundreds of children who
use the soccer fields during warm weather,'' said the Rev. Steve Brunovsky, pastor of St. Hilary.

''I envision many balls and objects ending up inside the enclosure and children and teens attempting to climb the fence to retrieve them.''

He said the tower would be 10 feet away from the soccer field and located in a triangular area of undeveloped property in Faith Lutheran's backyard, but on St. Hilary's property line where the parish's parking lot and soccer field meet.

''We have the most to lose,'' Brunovsky said. ''The members of Faith Lutheran attend services once a week and they are gone. We have children in school here all day as well as our offices.''

He said he feels the tower will become the dominant visual feature of the two properties and take away the aesthetic value of the property and protrude above the trees.

Moving forward

Nonetheless, Hansen said the church council, made up of 12 elected lay people and the pastor, plan to sign the lease at the end of the month. The proposal would then go to the city of Fairlawn for consideration.

Faith Lutheran has 250 members while St. Hilary lists 1,500.

Sindyla said he first approached the city of Fairlawn to place a tower in Croghan Park on Miller Road.

''The company said there was a coverage gap in this area with their wireless service,'' said Chris Randles of the city's Building and Zoning Department. ''But it didn't fit the criteria of having to be at least 300 feet from a residential property, so we weren't interested.''

Sindyla said he then sent an e-mail to the church.

''After approaching a city, I tend to go to nonprofit organizations, then next, privately owned properties.''

He said the proposed flagpole style tower is the most aesthetically pleasing because all of the antennas are on the interior of the tower with nothing sticking out.

Fairlawn presently has three cell towers, one by City Hall, another on North Cleveland-Massillon Road near FirstEnergy Corp.'s substation and the other on Brunsdorph Road next to the highway.

Neighbors notified

Hansen defends the church council's decision.

''Before we voted to sign the lease, we went to the bank next door, to the building manager at Camelot, the condo behind us, visited all the homes in the French Quarter and talked to residents or if they weren't home, left a fact sheet about the proposal,'' she said. ''So far, the only outward response, which has been primarily negative, has come from St. Hilary's.''

But Camelot Condo owner Delores Rinehart said a survey was taken of the 60 condo owners there and more than 40 voted in opposition of the proposal, some didn't vote, others are out of town.

''The pastor of Faith Lutheran did go door-to-door with information,'' she said. ''But by that time, everything was already agreed upon. It's all happening so quickly, I doubt if most people even know about it.''

One parent who sends her 3-year-old son to the preschool at Faith Lutheran said she had just shot off an e-mail to the pastor.

''I asked Pastor Jean with such a controversial topic why she didn't feel it was important enough to send home letters to Faith's school family and not just to neighbors in the community so we would know what was going on,'' Heather Thoman said. ''There is such an unknown about the potential health hazards of cell-phone towers that I don't want to place my children if that environment.''

Difficult decision

She said she did not threaten to take her child out of the preschool, but will think very hard about sending him back.

''We feel our hands are tied because Fairlawn officials say communities can't just say they don't want the cell towers to be built, according to the Federal Communications Act of 1996,'' Thoman said.

Officials also said there is no conclusive evidence that there are any health ramifications from the cell towers, and that reason can't be used to deny the proposal.

Those in opposition say they want to know why another location wasn't considered and suggest the motivation for the proposed tower could be money.

''We had to put our building project on hold,'' Hansen said, while insisting that the building issue is separate from the cell tower proposal.

Faith Lutheran — a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — was able to gather only $1 million in pledges for the $2.5 million project.

''There are better ways to raise money,'' Thoman said. ''A church shouldn't have to go to a corporation for it.''

''I guess their financial concerns outweigh the concerns of their neighbors,'' Brunovsky said. ''We have always had a good relationship with the church, but it's disappointing that they asked for our input, but have ignored our concerns. This certainly puts a strain on our relationship.''

Hansen said 50 percent of the money has already been designated to the church's outreach ministry, outside the congregation.

''What good is an outreach ministry if you have alienated your next-door neighbors?'' Brunovsky said.