The Sunnyvale Sun

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Objections to some plans for cell towers in 5 areas

By Stephen Baxter

Three cell phone companies are pursuing plans to install five wireless communications towers in parks, a school and a golf course in Sunnyvale, and residents from several neighborhoods are expressing concern.

Growing wireless demand in residential areas of Sunnyvale and other South Bay cities also is leading companies to choose parks for cell towers, planners from several cities say.

On June 12, the Sunnyvale City Council is expected to consider an appeal from Ortega Park neighbors on a plan to replace a 60-foot light post with a post with wireless antennas on the first base line of a baseball field at the park. The planning commission had approved it April 9.

The commission, on April 23, also approved a 65-foot light post that would double as a cell tower at Cupertino Middle School. No appeal had been received as of May 2, officials said.

At Ponderosa Park in Sunnyvale, T-Mobile USA Inc. has proposed installing a fake pine tree to mask a cell tower next to some mature pines near the basketball courts. The plan passed the Sunnyvale Parks and Recreation Commission on April 11 and is headed to the planning commission.

A Sprint Nextel Corp. tower at Washington Park also has been approved by the parks department and will be reviewed by the planning commission. Parks staff are in talks with Verizon Communications Inc. for a possible tower at Sunken Gardens Golf Course, according to city planners.

In Ponderosa Park, about a dozen people attended two meetings in March about the proposed fake tree, and neighbor Joe Quinlan said he wished the city's website would have given details and pictures of the proposal.

"What concerned me was the lack of openness," he said. Other neighbors are concerned children will be exposed to high radio frequency radiation, though the levels are far below the Federal Communications Commission's standards for safety. Cell phone reception is weak on Oleander Court and other areas near Ponderosa Park.

Sunnyvale's relatively flat streets and miles of low houses make cell phone towers hard to locate, experts say. Tall buildings and industrial areas work better, but spanning coverage more than a half-mile can be difficult.

There are about 20 towers and 80 wireless communications sites in Sunnyvale.

In Cupertino, the city council in 2003 passed a Wireless Facilities Master Plan, which outlines the city's expectations for installing cell phone towers. It invited residents, city planners, politicians and the city's wireless providers to create the master plan, and Verizon and Cingular participated.

It said the city's most preferred locations are existing buildings in industrial areas, and its least preferred locations are new structures in residential areas. The city also published maps of existing towers and preferred locations or proposed towers.

"The city council wanted to address it comprehensively. They wanted to get an idea of how many more antennas would be in demand in Cupertino and have design guidelines that we could hang our hat on," said Colin Jung, Cupertino senior planner.

Most of the best sites for companies and residents on industrial sites already have antennas installed. Covering neighborhoods is the challenge, Jung said.

The master plan essentially sidesteps concerns about radio frequency radiation because the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits cities from stopping new towers if their projected radiation levels fall below Federal Communications Commission guidelines.

The tower proposal in Ortega Park, near Inverness Way and Eagle Drive in Sunnyvale, would emit less than 0.4 percent of the FCC's radiation limit. Other sites would be similar.

Andy Miner, Sunnyvale's principal planner, says the city's hands are tied on opposing towers based on health concerns.

"It's nothing we can do. It's gone to court ... and the city attorney says, 'You can't deny a request based on health terms,' " Miner said.

It is unclear how many more sites wireless providers will want to rent from Sunnyvale, but recent consolidation in the cellular communications industry will likely mean fewer requests. AT&T and Cingular merged, as well as Sprint and Nextel.

"There aren't as many carriers," Miner said.