VILLA GROVE, Colo. — Nearly a third of the full-time residents who live in the small town of Villa Grove in Saguache County are now suing county commissioners after the approval of a 195-foot-tall cell phone tower in town. The county wants to build a massive telecommunications tower right on the edge of town, just a few hundred feet from the few homes there are in the picturesque town outside of Salida.
"Even our trees, which are the tallest things in town, are only about 60 feet," said Paula Maez, one of the plaintiffs suing the county commissioners. "I’ve never sued anyone in my life, but I felt strongly enough about this that I stood up and will continue to stand up."
Maez said there are only around 30 full-time residents in Villa Grove. There are no stoplights and only a handful of stores. Most people who live here have been here for decades.
"We don’t have a lot in Villa Grove," said Marquita Oliver, who is the reverend in town and also worked as the budtender at the dispensary. "We have pottery, pot, pie, a post office, and upholstery."
There are not a whole lot of changes in the small town. The cell phone tower has everyone talking.
"We recently had our Saguache County commissioners approve conditional land use for a cell phone tower that’s going in just to the northeast of here, basically right on top of our little town," Maez said. "195 feet of metal monstrosity."
Commissioners and the cell phone company both say that the tower would help with cell phone service in the rural area. However, the lawsuit hoping to stop the tower states it would only impact cell service within a five-mile area.
9NEWS wanted to talk to the Saguache County Commissioners about why they approved the cell phone tower even after more the half the town showed up to commission meetings to speak out against it. Their attorney said they won’t be talking about it.
The people who live here worry about how it will look and the health impacts it could have.
"I haven’t done enough studies to know if it’s going to radiate me or anything, but if it is, I’m not for it," said Carol Sperry, who calls herself one of Villa Grove's newest residents having only lived there for less than five years.
While the county wants to increase cell phone service in the area, most people said their cell phone service is perfectly fine right now.
"I have a $49 Walmart phone that works great," Villa Grove resident Kim McDaniel said. "I get good reception."
Others, like Philip Earing who runs the upholstery business in town, told 9NEWS they moved to Villa Grove so that they wouldn't be as connected as others who live in large cities.
"Cellular service is not a part of our life," Earing said. "I know for a lot of people it is. For people out in the city, they want to be connected all the time. We don’t want to be connected."
Allen Yarmark runs the pottery shop in town. He’s one of the few who wants the tower.
"If it provides better cell service in the area, then I’m all for it," Yarmark said. "The people who are in direct line of sight don’t want it. The people who aren’t in the line of sight don’t really care."
Earing, Maez and almost a third of the town are now suing the county commission to stop the tower from being built.
"We just don’t want it to be in town," Earing said. "We’re not against the tower, just not in town."
In a town that’s fast to drive through, they’re fighting to keep change slow.
"Nothing much has changed in my 44 years being here, and that's part of the charm," Maez said. "That’s the way we would like it to stay."