The Sunnyvale Sun
News
Neighbors call for ouster of proposed cell tower
By Stephen Baxter
A 60-foot cell phone tower that would replace a baseball field light at Ortega Park took a step closer to construction April 9, as the Sunnyvale Planning Commission approved it with conditions.
Members of the Ortega Park Neighborhood Association plan to appeal the decision, and its land use permit is expected to be considered by the city council.
T-Mobile USA Inc. wants to build the $180,000 to $200,000 tower, and one or two other wireless providers also are expected to use it, a T-Mobile spokesman said.
Many Ortega Park neighbors oppose the project because they fear radio frequency radiation might harm youth baseball players and make the park more commercialized. The proposed tower at 636 Harrow Way in the park would replace a 60-foot light pole on the field's first base line, and it would have three screened antennas below the lights, and a wider pole to fit cables.
T-Mobile offered to lease the new pole from the city for $2,000 to $2,300 per month, and replace a two-story scorer's booth and storage shed worth $15,000 to $40,000. The city and T-Mobile would share the storage.
The planning commission balked at the new scorer's building because it would have more than doubled its size to roughly 266 square feet on the first floor and 153 feet on the second floor and remained the same height. The commission directed T-Mobile and the city's staff to keep the current scorer's booth and draft plans for a new storage shed under the bleachers. Neighbors say the scorer's booth is in good condition and could last another 10 years.
The commission voted 5-2 to approve the tower, with Commissioners Darab Ghaffary and Charles Hungerford dissenting.
A city staff report said radio frequency emissions from the tower would be far below the Federal Communications Commission standards at ground and second-floor levels, and are considered "safe for inhabited areas."
Concerned neighbors such as Dave Hu say radio frequency radiation can't alter human DNA, but it can heat a body at short range--similar to a microwave oven.
"There is a legitimate concern about RF radiation, and a lot is still unknown," Hu said. He lives on Crow Court and is treasurer and secretary of the Ortega Park Neighborhood Association.
Luke Lucas, a spokesman for T-Mobile, said the risk the tower posed would be no more than a household appliance.
"We have RF around us every single day," Lucas said. T-Mobile looked at three other sites for the tower, but the city's staff indicated the park would be the best option, Lucas said. He said cell phone customers with poor coverage demanded the tower.
Neighbors collected nearly 300 signatures for a petition that opposed the project, and some said the city should have a master plan for cell towers rather than considering them piecemeal. Members of the association also worry the tower will change the character of the park and decrease the value of their homes.
Field lights with interior wireless towers also are used at Fremont High School and Sunnyvale City Hall, and another project will be considered at Cupertino Middle School. T-Mobile has 17 cell towers in Sunnyvale, some of which are shared with other wireless providers.
Community meetings were held about the Ortega Park project Nov. 10 and Dec. 2, and the Parks and Recreation Commission held a hearing on Jan. 10 about the proposed tower. An informal poll conducted by the neighborhood association in December indicated that about 70 percent opposed the new tower.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits cities from opposing new cell towers based on health concerns, but Hu said Sunnyvale officials aren't looking for alternatives because of the money at stake.
Called Out: A cellular phone tower is already integrated into light posts at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.
