Usually, debates over cell towers involve threats to the health and property values of those who live nearby.

In the case of a proposed T-Mobile tower near Snellville, much of the debate is over whether the 126-foot tower would stand in the way of approaching aircraft to private Lenora Field, a small privately owned grass runway.

Mark Jimenez is a pilot who lives in the Lakeport subdivision, just off the 2,600-foot field. His home has a hangar in the backyard where he stores his single-engine experimental plane.

"Airplanes aren't like cars that you can make a quick turn and avoid something and come back around. You need a lot of room," he said.

The tower, planned for a site on Centerville Rosebud Road, a half-mile northwest of the air field, is needed to improve service in the area, according to filings by T-Mobile, the cellular company that wants to build it.

According to planning documents, neither the Gwinnett County Airport Authority nor a private firm hired by T-Mobile found fault with the placement of the tower.

The report by the private firm, SiteSafe, said the location conforms with FAA guidelines.

But pilots said they must fly into the airport from the north to avoid flying over the neighboring Lakeport subdivision or Whispering Pines, another nearby subdivision that has its own airfield.

The tower's location could interfere with that flight path, particularly in emergency situations, and result in a crash, the pilots said.

Michael Sullivan, the land-use attorney hired by T-Mobile to shepherd the project, said he had not yet discussed the pilots' concerns with his client and declined to comment on the specifics until he has had a chance to meet with the community.

But he did say that based on current information, T-Mobile believes the tower poses no threat to safe operations at the airport.

Flight issues are not the only concerns, however.

Residents near the site say their property values would plummet and their lives would be endangered should the tower be allowed.

"I can't think of anything more horrible to have to look at when I go out my front door," said Carmen Demos, who lives across the street from the cell tower site.

Her son, Nick, also lives there. He said he is a lung cancer survivor who rejected radiation treatments after an aunt suffering from cancer died from complications of radiation treatment.

"You can imagine how many signals will be coming through that tower," he said.

Although federal law doesn't allow commissioners to consider health effects as part of their decision, Demos and neighbors say they plan to present studies showing health consequences of cell towers when the case goes before the County Commission next month.