Lindero cellphone tower put on hold

After hearing from 11 citizens on Feb. 5, the Agoura Hills Planning Commission postponed a decision about whether to place a cell tower at Lindero Canyon Middle School. The public hearing was continued to March 5.

Representatives from Omnipoint Communication Inc., the agent for cellphone provider TMobile, has requested permission to build a cell tower near the center of the school campus.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District owns the property and approved a $60,000 annual contract with the cell provider about three years ago.

The facility would feature three 35-foot-high antenna flagpoles, each fitted with two antennas, said Frank Koppala, a representative of TMobile. An 8foot masonry enclosure would encase six groundmounted equipment cabinets, he said. While the facility will only serve TMobile users, it will provide emergency service to all cellphone users, he said.

Dropped calls in the area prompted the request. Koppala said since the school district was remodeling Lindero, the opportunity to install new towers was "ideal."

Omnipoint representative Jim Lee told commissioners that TMobile had gone to "great lengths" to find a site in the area, adding that, aesthetically, the pole design is the least obtrusive.

City officials are only allowed to rule on the aesthetics and location of the cell tower, not the the amount of radio frequency (RF) energy or radiation that is emitted. RF radiation does not mean "radioactive."

Beauty isn't everything

Agoura Hills resident Nancy Burns said she was concerned about RF exposure and called it an "invisible form of pollution."

Lisa Minich said she lives on Larboard Lane, uses T-Mobile and has never had a dropped call. She didn't see the need for any facility. If, however, the cell towers were approved, she wondered whether the money the district earned from the lease would go directly to Lindero.

MaryAnn Rush said she liked the way Agoura High School installed its cell facility—on the football field above the lighting.

"That 911 call could save someone's life," Rush said.

Julie Buckley said school officials were motivated by money, which distorted their decision.

Other speakers suggested that locations beyond the school should be looked into and that studies on the negative impacts of RF exposure should also be considered.

Koppala said the tower would emit low-power frequency in the same amounts as used in many home appliances. He added that an independent engineering firm completed an FCC required RF study and determined there were no health hazards associated with cell towers.

Planning commissioner Illece Buckley Weber asked why the school must post danger and biohazard signs near the facility if there is no threat.

Koppola said the FCC requires that people be warned about a prolonged exposure to any electronic equipment and that the warnings were a notification about the antennas, not RF exposure.

Problems with the site

"I wouldn't mind seeing a study why other sites aren't the best solution," Commissioner Cyrena Nouzille said.

Commissioner Steve Rishoff said he was not happy with how the federal preemption restricted the commission's ability to place conditions on the application.

"We need the city attorney to tell us where authority starts and stops," Rishoff said.

Commissioner John O'Meara said, "If we were permitted to consider environmental impacts of this I would be very hard pressed to approve this at a school site. This is not to say I can't be persuaded that there's a need for it."

The continued hearing will give the applicant the opportunity to establish the need and to demonstrate that there are no other acceptable sites, he said.