Editor's note: The Grand Lakes homeowner association voted unanimously Dec. 3 to oppose the installation of the cell tower near the neighborhood. The story below originally published Nov. 19. 

Residents of the Grand Lakes community in Katy attended a protest to show their opposition to a proposed cell tower near the neighborhood.

About 100 residents came to the demonstration held Nov. 17 at the location of the proposed 140-foot cell tower inside Property Commerce’s Grand Parkway Shopping Center at 6920 S. Fry Road, Katy, as construction crews conducted a balloon test to show the proposed height of the tower, said Lillian Taylor and Lijuan Wang, two Grand Lakes residents.

“We just don’t want a cell tower in our backyard,” Taylor said. “We all bought our homes here because it’s such a beautiful place to live.”

Vertical Bridge—a Florida-based communications tower operator and owner—aims to build a cellular tower disguised as a pine tree on a vacant lot north of McDonalds at 7104 S. Fry Road and west of The Home Depot at 6850 S. Fry Road, said Taylor and Wang.

T-Mobile would be the first user of the tower, which would provide better cell reception to those within a 2-mile radius from the tower, per Grand Lakes Community Association's website. Community Impact Newspaper reached out to Vertical Bridge and Property Commerce, but representatives were not immediately available.

Taylor and Wang said the proposed tower will be an eyesore and cause property values to decrease. They are also worried about any adverse health effects from the tower. However, the American Cancer Society states that there is little evidence indicating that cellular phone towers cause cancer, but only a few studies have researched the topic.

Wang said she has collected over 400 signatures from households opposing the tower. There are about 2,700 homes in the community, per its website.

Taylor and Wang along with others against the cell tower are set to attend the next Grand Lakes Home Owners Association meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 3 at the Seven Meadows Club house at 23610 Seven Meadows Parkway.