From Mr. CD:
Hello Neighbors.
In 2007 the community successfully blocked the installation of T-Mobile cell phone towers on the Public Storage building at 658 Venice Blvd, just east of Abbot Kinney. Exactly 3 years later, Clear Wireless LLC is attempting to do what T-Mobile failed to do and add a new set of cell antennae to the building.
About halfway down this note are a few simple steps you can take if you are interested in blocking this project again.
We all obviously want to have good reception yet we don’t want cell towers looking at us from 100 feet away when we wake up in the morning, and this is the issue with the proposed site.
The science and health issues surrounding living close to cell towers is a huge grey area. US government agencies have strict guidelines on what they think is a safe distance and safe amount of radiation that a human being can absorb. At the same time, there are conflicting reports both in the US and other countries that are certainly cause for reflection (if not alarm) on the matter. They describe everything from interruptions in melatonin creation (creating sleep issues) to more disturbing studies that show a 3 or 4-fold increase in cancer for people who live close to them.
Most of the community feel that reception in that area is just fine and there is no real dead spot to fill. On that basis alone, we feel that the cell tower should not be built especially around such a densely populated area.
The hearing to attend in person or by proxy (you can write a note) is on Thursday, December 2, 2010 at 9AM at the West LA Municipal Building (2nd floor hearing room).
The address is 1645 Corinth Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90025 (cross street Santa Monica Blvd).
The city has been quite helpful regarding this matter and there are a few guidelines to follow during the meeting. I’ve listed them below.
1) Do not mention any medical reason whatsoever when discussing your distaste for the project. The reason is simple. The hearing is being held in the office of zoning administration and not at the FCC which handles medical safety around cell towers. That means we are only allowed to discuss the building project and not health concerns to humans.
2) The best way to beat the tower is to discuss that you oppose any modifications made to a building that is already an eyesore and that was such a controversial and unwanted building when it was being planned and approved. The approval process of that building took a long time and many people weighed in on how it should look. Therefore, we simply do not want the current design to be modified in any way, especially a modification that ads height. Any other issues around the building modification can be considered fair game.
3) You can talk about the fact that you oppose anything put on this already high building that may add to its current height.
4) You may ask to see the proposed design and object to how it looks.
5) You can talk about how these towers have been shown to affect birds and bees. There is material available on the net to support you.
In 2007, we posted a free online petition which was signed by around 200 people. I have been told that this petition has been accepted again though I cannot confirm this. It’s easy to create a free online petition and get a good handful of signatures if someone wishes to further insure success for those interested in stopping this project.
It should also be noted that certain neighborhood council leaders may be for this project because it creates a good amount of revenue for the storage facility as Clear Wireless LLC will probably be paying them a lease for allowing the towers to live on their roof.
I’ve heard that a separate 50′ free standing tower is also proposed simultaneously in Venice. I regret I don’t know the location of this one but it seems that since it’s not on a building, it may not need a community hearing. If anyone has information on that, please share.
Below are a few names to contact in concert with anything you wish to share at the hearing
Whitney Blumenfeld in Rosendahl’s office: Whitney Blumenfeld
Jim Murez from the VNC Land Use Committee: James Murez
Thanks again for your support.
