Subject: Two lawsuits over antennas in Marin County (Kelley).
Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 044328 -0600
From: Roy Beavers
To: guru
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"
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........From EMF-L.........
The link is a good way to read this story -- if it stays up........
There certainly appears to be an air of arrogance (as well as ignorance)
in the stance of the public officials here......???? ...........guru.....
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Two lawsuits over antennas in Marin County
Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001 21:41:29 -0800
From: Libby Kelley
To: "Friends and Advisors"
http://www.marinij.com/news/stories/index5001668.html
I hope this link still works after today. If you cannot access it and are
interested, let me know and I can fax the article.i
Marin Independant Journal. Saturday, March 3, 2001
Antenna center of lawsuit
by Richard Halstead
A group of five San Rafael residents has filed suit and requested a preliminary
injunction to block construction of a 60-foot-high antenna atop San Rafael Hill
- a crucial component of a $21.5 million countywide public safety radio system.
According to the suit, the antenna will expose people who live nearby or use an
adjacent Open Space trail to radio frequency radiation above the standard set by
the Federal Communications Commission.
One of the plaintiffs, lawyer Michael Van Zandt, estimates the antenna would be
situated 500 to 600 feet from his house.
The legal action also claims construction of the antenna would violate the San
Rafael zoning ordinance by allowing a telecommunications facility in designated
Open Space.
But San Rafael City Manager Rod Gould, whose city is one of two defendants in
the suit, said all the points raised in the complaint have been addressed during
public hearings.
"The lawsuit is an unfortunate and brazen attempt to slow or stop a project that
even the proponents agree is necessary for the overall public safety of all of
Marin's 250,000 residents," Gould said. After a five-hour meeting Jan. 23, the
San Rafael City Council rejected an appeal of the Planning Commission's approval
of the antenna.
The new system - which will consist of microwave dishes, radio antennas and
radio equipment linked at 17 sites throughout Marin and Sonoma counties - is
designed to replace a patchwork of aging communications systems.
The Marin Emergency Radio Authority, the other defendant in the suit, is
building the system. The Radio Authority is made up of 26 Marin public agencies,
mainly police and fire departments.
Brock Arner, the authority's executive director, said he plans to move full
speed ahead with construction of the antenna and could start work within weeks.
"We've submitted plans and we're awaiting the issuance of a building permit,"
Arner said.
MERA can go ahead with construction, Van Zandt said.
"But they would do it at the risk that the judge would order them to tear it
down if we prevailed with the lawsuit," Van Zandt said. "That would be a waste
of taxpayers' money, obviously."
Van Zandt expects a Marin Superior Court judge to rule on the request for the
injunction, which could prevent construction while the suit is pending, within
the next 30 days.
The suit asserts that both MERA and San Rafael failed to acknowledge the
cumulative effects that would be produced by 30 antennas on Turrini Tower, which
is within 300 feet of the proposed MERA tower site.
"The City's Planning Department files contain incomplete information with regard
to the number and type of antennas on the Turrini Tower," the suit asserts.
It also claims that the city of San Rafael has understated the environmental
consequences by failing to take into consideration the added radio frequency
radiation that will be created if some of the 37 existing antennas at the San
Rafael Hill site are allowed to remain.
According to the suit, none of these antennas have permits from the city,
violating the city zoning ordinance and general plan, and the city does not know
how much power they emit.
The City Council approved the project with only the five MERA antennas included.
The suit, however, says the City Council stated that the existing antennas would
be allowed on the MERA tower after passing through a separate permit process.
"This decision by the City Council has the effect of segmenting the
environmental analysis," the suit states.
The San Rafael Hill antenna would serve as one of the hubs of the new system and
as such is indispensable, Arner said. Uncertainty regarding its future has
delayed finding an alternative site for an 80-foot MERA antenna that was
initially planned for Marin Municipal Water District land at 99-1/2 Mt. Tiburon
Road.
Currently, MERA is exploring the feasibility of locating that antenna on Angel
Island, which is state-owned land, Arner said.
MERA is paying Motorola, which built the new radio system, $2.54 million to
manage site development and acquisition for the system.
Nevertheless, MERA will bear the cost of the lawsuit, because Motorola has no
responsibility for acquiring permits, Arner said.
Sausalito allows temporary antenna
By Mahrya Post
Sausalito officials have agreed to let AT&T Wireless Services put up a temporary
antenna on city-owned Cypress Ridge property after being sued by the Bay Area
cellular company. "The city council is deeply disappointed that they were sued,"
said City Manager Dana Whitson. "The issue is deeply felt in the community and
the council remains supportive of the community and their concerns." AT&T
Wireless, formally Cellular One, filed a lawsuit against the city of Sausalito
in December after the City Council rejected its November appeal to put two
antennas up at the northbound Rodeo Avenue off-ramp from Highway 101. As a
result of the lawsuit, the two sides agreed to test the Cypress Ridge site,
located near Rodeo Avenue, as an alternative to the company's original proposal.
Councilwoman Sandra Bushmaker declined to comment further on the litigation, but
read from a statement made by city council members: "The council remains opposed
to this location, but recognizes that either the state or federal courts could
disagree. ... This is only a temporary testing antenna designed so that Cellular
One can determine the feasibility of the site and so that the community can
observe all of its features and potential impacts." Whitson said the city came
to this agreement in order to give officials more time to respond to the lawsuit
and prevent a hearing in court. Lewis Loeven, director of national
implementation strategies for AT&T Wireless, also declined to comment on the
litigation, saying only: "The city and the company are working together to try
to get a site so coverage can be provided to the public on a temporary basis."
The lawsuit filed against Sausalito states that the decision made by the council
in November "affects the ability of a public utility to provide public utility
services to its customers." When this issue went before council last November
many residents, citing environmental and health concerns, were worried that the
antenna was too close to Martin Luther King Elementary School and homes.
Resident Linda Pfeifer said this agreement sends the wrong message to cellular
companies. "It sends the message that with a threat of a lawsuit we will reverse
our own guidelines," she said. "I empathize with the city council's predicament,
but on the other hand locals have spoken out loud and clear on this issue and we
don't want antennas near our children and near our homes." The agreement gives
the city the right to take down the temporary site at anytime, after giving AT&T
10 days notice. Planning Director Charlotte Flynn said the cellular company must
obtain an encroachment permit and building permit before the test site can go
up. The council imposed a moratorium on new antenna proposals this past summer
to give the city time to come up with some guidelines. The moratorium is
expected to be lifted in June. If the test site is determined to be feasible by
the city and AT&T, the company must go through the normal application process to
obtain a permanent site.
By Richard Halstead
--------------0298DF0F5A3BCCFD8F000EC8
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
........From EMF-L.........
The link is a good way to read this story -- if it stays up........
There certainly appears to be an air of arrogance (as well
as ignorance)
in the stance of the public officials here......???? ...........guru.....
-------- Original Message --------
| Subject: |
Two lawsuits over antennas in Marin County |
| Date: |
Fri, 02 Mar 2001 21:41:29 -0800 |
| From: |
Libby Kelley <libby@energyfields.org> |
| To: |
"Friends and Advisors" <info@ccwti.org> |
http://www.marinij.com/news/stories/index5001668.html
I hope this link still works after today. If you cannot access
it and are interested, let me know and I can fax the article.i
Marin Independant Journal. Saturday, March 3, 2001
Antenna center of lawsuit
by Richard Halstead
A group of five San Rafael residents has filed suit and requested a
preliminary injunction to block construction of a 60-foot-high antenna
atop San Rafael Hill - a crucial component of a $21.5 million countywide
public safety radio system.
According to the suit, the antenna will expose people who live nearby
or use an adjacent Open Space trail to radio frequency radiation above
the standard set by the Federal Communications Commission.
One of the plaintiffs, lawyer Michael Van Zandt, estimates the antenna
would be situated 500 to 600 feet from his house.
The legal action also claims construction of the antenna would violate
the San Rafael zoning ordinance by allowing a telecommunications facility
in designated Open Space.
But San Rafael City Manager Rod Gould, whose city is one of two defendants
in the suit, said all the points raised in the complaint have been addressed
during public hearings.
"The lawsuit is an unfortunate and brazen attempt to slow or stop a
project that even the proponents agree is necessary for the overall public
safety of all of Marin's 250,000 residents," Gould said. After a five-hour
meeting Jan. 23, the San Rafael City Council rejected an appeal of the
Planning Commission's approval of the antenna.
The new system - which will consist of microwave
dishes, radio antennas and radio equipment linked at 17 sites throughout
Marin and Sonoma counties - is designed to replace a patchwork of aging
communications systems.
The Marin Emergency Radio Authority, the other defendant
in the suit, is building the system. The Radio Authority is made up of
26 Marin public agencies, mainly police and fire departments.
Brock Arner, the authority's executive director,
said he plans to move full speed ahead with construction of the antenna
and could start work within weeks.
"We've submitted plans and we're awaiting the issuance
of a building permit," Arner said.
MERA can go ahead with construction, Van Zandt said.
"But they would do it at the risk that the judge
would order them to tear it down if we prevailed with the lawsuit," Van
Zandt said. "That would be a waste of taxpayers' money, obviously."
Van Zandt expects a Marin Superior Court judge to
rule on the request for the injunction, which could prevent construction
while the suit is pending, within the next 30 days.
The suit asserts that both MERA and San Rafael failed
to acknowledge the cumulative effects that would be produced by 30 antennas
on Turrini Tower, which is within 300 feet of the proposed MERA tower site.
"The City's Planning Department files contain incomplete
information with regard to the number and type of antennas on the Turrini
Tower," the suit asserts.
It also claims that the city of San Rafael has understated
the environmental consequences by failing to take into consideration the
added radio frequency radiation that will be created if some of the 37
existing antennas at the San Rafael Hill site are allowed to remain.
According to the suit, none of these antennas have
permits from the city, violating the city zoning ordinance and general
plan, and the city does not know how much power they emit.
The City Council approved the project with only
the five MERA antennas included. The suit, however, says the City Council
stated that the existing antennas would be allowed on the MERA tower after
passing through a separate permit process.
"This decision by the City Council has the effect
of segmenting the environmental analysis," the suit states.
The San Rafael Hill antenna would serve as one of
the hubs of the new system and as such is indispensable, Arner said. Uncertainty
regarding its future has delayed finding an alternative site for an 80-foot
MERA antenna that was initially planned for Marin Municipal Water District
land at 99-1/2 Mt. Tiburon Road.
Currently, MERA is exploring the feasibility of
locating that antenna on Angel Island, which is state-owned land, Arner
said.
MERA is paying Motorola, which built the new radio
system, $2.54 million to manage site development and acquisition for the
system.
Nevertheless, MERA will bear the cost of the lawsuit,
because Motorola has no responsibility for acquiring permits, Arner said.
Sausalito allows temporary antenna
By Mahrya Post
Sausalito officials have agreed to let AT&T Wireless
Services put up a temporary antenna on city-owned Cypress Ridge property
after being sued by the Bay Area cellular company. "The city council is
deeply disappointed that they were sued," said City Manager Dana Whitson.
"The issue is deeply felt in the community and the council remains supportive
of the community and their concerns." AT&T Wireless, formally Cellular
One, filed a lawsuit against the city of Sausalito in December after the
City Council rejected its November appeal to put two antennas up at the
northbound Rodeo Avenue off-ramp from Highway 101. As a result of the lawsuit,
the two sides agreed to test the Cypress Ridge site, located near Rodeo
Avenue, as an alternative to the company's original proposal. Councilwoman
Sandra Bushmaker declined to comment further on the litigation, but read
from a statement made by city council members: "The council remains opposed
to this location, but recognizes that either the state or federal courts
could disagree. ... This is only a temporary testing antenna designed so
that Cellular One can determine the feasibility of the site and so that
the community can observe all of its features and potential impacts." Whitson
said the city came to this agreement in order to give officials more time
to respond to the lawsuit and prevent a hearing in court. Lewis Loeven,
director of national implementation strategies for AT&T Wireless, also
declined to comment on the litigation, saying only: "The city and the company
are working together to try to get a site so coverage can be provided to
the public on a temporary basis." The lawsuit filed against Sausalito states
that the decision made by the council in November "affects the ability
of a public utility to provide public utility services to its customers."
When this issue went before council last November many residents, citing
environmental and health concerns, were worried that the antenna was too
close to Martin Luther King Elementary School and homes. Resident Linda
Pfeifer said this agreement sends the wrong message to cellular companies.
"It sends the message that with a threat of a lawsuit we will reverse our
own guidelines," she said. "I empathize with the city council's predicament,
but on the other hand locals have spoken out loud and clear on this issue
and we don't want antennas near our children and near our homes." The agreement
gives the city the right to take down the temporary site at anytime, after
giving AT&T 10 days notice. Planning Director Charlotte Flynn said
the cellular company must obtain an encroachment permit and building permit
before the test site can go up. The council imposed a moratorium on new
antenna proposals this past summer to give the city time to come up with
some guidelines. The moratorium is expected to be lifted in June. If the
test site is determined to be feasible by the city and AT&T, the company
must go through the normal application process to obtain a permanent site.
By Richard Halstead
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Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.emfguru.com