Response from CITY (Final notice on Venice cell towers)

Hello.

If you can forward this to your list again, I would appreciate it.

This email will be the last update on the cell phone tower hearing for this Thursday.

I had 2 conversations with Councilman Bill Rosendahl's office (with Whitney and Marina, assistant planning deputies) and they were extremely illuminating and educational. The major points are below.

http://saamphoto.com/clients/towers

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) Councilman 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 will be in attendance and will voice that the community is against the towers, but both deputies have said that they very very rarely win against the cell companies. 1 or 2 cases per 60.

5) When I asked what type of towers these would be, no one knew. The company has not stopped by the office to present plans but the councilman's office thinks that it's 6-10 poles scattered on the roof in a grid. We can ask to have this presented at the meeting, along with coverage maps.

6) I asked if the councilman had access to the state law that regulates cell towers, especially in the case of "adequate coverage," and I was told that they did not have access to these laws.

7) I 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 as part of that meeting without the knowledge of residents.

8) The city does not have a map of tower locations.

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I wanted to thank everyone who has helped out. I'm frustrated that so little information has been available and that we received the hearing notices so late.

Though I feel like there is a chance we CAN win this one, it seems that unless the federal government revisits the issue of health around cell towers, communities have very little chance of having a choice in the matter. We have gathered 160 signatures in just 4 days for such a small area!! Amazing! It is certainly inspiring enough to consider a federal campaign.

Many have written about their personal medical concerns. It's tough to ride the fine line between a call-to-action and an educational exchange. I hope the information the community has accrued in such a short time acts more as guide than a cause for serious anxiety.

as always, the most up-to-date information and PDF (including this text) is available here:

http://saamphoto.com/clients/towers

saam

City Hearing Thursday November 1, 2007 at 9:30 AM:

West LA Municipal Building
Second Floor Hearing Room
1645 Corinth Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90025 (map)