A Cellular Tower in your neighborhood?
Nearly 200 Venetians have signed a petition
against a battery of T-Mobil cell towers planned for 658 Venice
Blvd.
The neighbors are concerned about health
hazards connected with the tower radiation, yet the telecommunications
corporations are so powerful that they have passed a federal law that cities
cannot deny cell tower installation for health
reasons.
Saam Gabbay has spearheaded
the quick campaign against the towers. He states that in conversations with the
city council office, the following has come to
light:
1) If a company obtains approval
to build cell towers, then all other cell providers can build towers on that
same building without further approval or public
notice.
2) The federal courts have
ruled that local cities may not consider health risks or impacts when building
towers. Even if at a later date the laws change, current laws prohibit cities
from considering health as an issue in these
matters.
3) Unless we find a new and
unique tactic, the only legitimate ways to fight the tower are to find out if it
is breaking building codes, is unsightly (which t-mobile can modify), is
damaging wildlife, or is unnecessary (meaning, there is no service gap in that
area).
4) Councilmember Bill Rosendahl
feels the same way as the community in that the true impact of cell towers is in
question, but the law prohibits health discussions by the city. A deputy from
his office says that they very very rarely win against the cell companies, about
one or two cases in 60.
5) T-Mobil has
not presented its plans to the council office but staff thinks that it’s
6-10 poles scattered on the roof in a grid.
6) Council staff said they did not
have access to the state law that regulates cell towers, especially in the case
of “adequate coverage.”
7)
Gabbay was told that “towers are everywhere.” That many towers are
included in new constructions and that when there is a public notice for new
construction, towers are bundled without the knowledge of
residents.
8) The city does not have a
map of tower locations.
Posted: Thu - November 1, 2007 at 02:13 PM