Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Albany Council Denies Upgrade to 423 San Pablo Cell Tower
On Nov. 7, the Albany City Council voted to deny the proposed expansion of the cell tower at 423 San Pablo Ave. on the basis that this tower was built before the city adopted wireless regulations and does not conform to those regulations, cities have the right to refuse to extend the lives of non-conforming uses as specified in the Albany zoning ordinance, and the only way an exception to the regulations could be granted would be if the applicant demonstrated with a thorough analysis of alternative locations that there is no other feasible site from which service could be provided. The city has been requesting this alternative site analysis from Verizon for more than a year, but Verizon has refused to prepare it. Verizon is free to apply to locate the new antennas at any site in the city that conforms to our ordinance. Thanks to all who wrote letters, spoke at the council meeting, and donated to pay for the independent attorney and radio frequency engineer who analyzed Crown Castle/Verizon's documentation.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Mon, Nov. 7, 2011 Hearing on New Antennas for 423 San Pablo Cell Tower
The Albany City Council Final Appeal Hearing on New Antennas for 423 San Pablo Ave. cell tower is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, 7:30 PM at City Hall, 1000 San Pablo Ave.
ARROW opposes any expansion of this tower because adding new antennas would extend its life indefinitely and set a precedent making it very difficult for residents who live near other towers that predate and violate our ordinance to stop the expansion of those facilities.
This tower violates the city's current zoning regulations for wireless towers (it is 17 feet too tall for the zone where it is located and too close to a residence). The zoning code prohibits expansion of towers such as this, which were built before the city's wireless regulations were adopted and do not meet the requirements of those regulations.
Insist that the city honor its own ordinance and protect our right to site wireless facilities responsibly, away from homes and schools.
Please check back a few days before the hearing for updates on the key issues that will be addressed at this hearing and a sample letter you can send to the City Council opposing expansion of this tower.
ARROW opposes any expansion of this tower because adding new antennas would extend its life indefinitely and set a precedent making it very difficult for residents who live near other towers that predate and violate our ordinance to stop the expansion of those facilities.
This tower violates the city's current zoning regulations for wireless towers (it is 17 feet too tall for the zone where it is located and too close to a residence). The zoning code prohibits expansion of towers such as this, which were built before the city's wireless regulations were adopted and do not meet the requirements of those regulations.
Insist that the city honor its own ordinance and protect our right to site wireless facilities responsibly, away from homes and schools.
Please check back a few days before the hearing for updates on the key issues that will be addressed at this hearing and a sample letter you can send to the City Council opposing expansion of this tower.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Increased cancer risk for those living within 1/3 mi of a cell tower
A new study by Brazilian scientists has confirmed the finding of two previous studies in Germany and Israel showing 3 to 4 times greater incidence of cancer for those living within one-third mile of a cell tower, with radio-frequency radiation exposures from the tower at levels lower than those allowed by the U.S. standards. The study, by Dode et al. will appear it the Sept. issue of Science of the Total Environment and summarizes the results of the German and Israeli studies:
Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil Science of The Total Environment, Volume 409, Issue 19, 1 September 2011, Pages 3649-3665
Mortality by neoplasia and cellular telephone base stations in the Belo Horizonte municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil Science of The Total Environment, Volume 409, Issue 19, 1 September 2011, Pages 3649-3665
423 San Pablo Appeal Hearing rescheduled to Mon., Sept. 19, 7:30PM
On Tues., Sept. 19, 2011, the Albany City Council will hold a hearing on the denial of new Verizon antennas on the cell tower at 423 San Pablo Ave. behind the former Wachovia building. The hearing will be at City Hall, 1000 San Pablo Ave. at 7:30PM.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Crown Castle/Verizon tries again to add antennas to 423 San Pablo Cell Tower + other wireless updates
On Sept. 5, 2011, the Albany City Council will hear Crown Castle/Verizon's appeal of a second denial of their application for new antennas at the cell tower at 423 San Pablo Ave., behind the former Wachovia building. The only way Crown Castle/ Verizon could obtain a permit to place new antennas on the pole would be to prove that there is no other site that the meets the requirements of Albany's zoning code from which wireless service can be provided to Albany residents. Crown Castle/Verizon has not performed the required analysis to demonstrate that there is no other feasible site; they declined to work with the city's consultant to prepare a complete alternatives analysis and looked only at existing nearby Crown Castle and Verizon sites but did not research new locations that conform to the city's ordinance.
New antennas cannot be added to the pole, which predates Albany's wireless zoning regulations, because it is too tall for the district where it is located, aesthetically offensive, and located within 15' of an apartment building.
In other wireless news, AT&T is expected to reapply soon to add antennas to the roof of 1035 San Pablo Ave., and T-Mobile is expected to apply to construct cell antennas on top of a utility pole at the intersection of Carmel and Solano Avenues. AT&T applied for antennas at 1035 San Pablo a year ago but was sent back to the drawing board and encouraged to look at other sites with a greater setback from residential districts because the antennas did not meet zoning requirements.
All three of the proposed antennas listed above are in the San Pablo-Solano commercial district, which is the last-preference zone for cell antennas in Albany's ordinance because of proximity to and impacts on residential districts.
New antennas cannot be added to the pole, which predates Albany's wireless zoning regulations, because it is too tall for the district where it is located, aesthetically offensive, and located within 15' of an apartment building.
In other wireless news, AT&T is expected to reapply soon to add antennas to the roof of 1035 San Pablo Ave., and T-Mobile is expected to apply to construct cell antennas on top of a utility pole at the intersection of Carmel and Solano Avenues. AT&T applied for antennas at 1035 San Pablo a year ago but was sent back to the drawing board and encouraged to look at other sites with a greater setback from residential districts because the antennas did not meet zoning requirements.
All three of the proposed antennas listed above are in the San Pablo-Solano commercial district, which is the last-preference zone for cell antennas in Albany's ordinance because of proximity to and impacts on residential districts.
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