New cell tower placed on Agoura school campus

After two meetings with extensive public input and tough deliberations, the Agoura Hills Planning Commission approved the installation of a cellphone tower at the Lindero Canyon Middle School campus.

Under federal laws, the commission was allowed to debate the cell tower only on the merits of location and aesthetics, not the amount of radio frequency that might be emitted, an issue that worried some critics.

Commissioners asked OmniPoint Communications Inc., a subsidiary of T-Mobile Wireless, if other locations besides the school had been considered. Spokesmen for the telecommunications company said they had reviewed two other locations and concluded Lindero Canyon Middle School was the best site for the new tower.

OmniPoint representative Jim Lee displayed maps with colored areas to show how the site would provide moderate mobile phone coverage to an area that is currently not served.

"As you can see, it fills a void space in our coverage," Lee said.

Lee said his company decided against an installation at St. Paul Lutheran Church on Thousand Oaks Boulevard, and that placing antenna on a light poles would not be a viable option. Lindero Middle School proved to be the best choice, he said.

When Commissioner Cyrena Nouzille suggested the Lindero Golf Course driving range, Lee said the site wasn't among the choices.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District approved a $60,000-per-year contract with the cell provider three years ago, but OmniPoint still needed approval by the city since the site will be used for commercial purposes.

The planning commission approved the request for a conditional use permit in a 3-1 decision with Illece Buckley Weber opposing. The City Council is expected to go along with the decision.

Three, 35-foot-high antenna flagpoles, each fitted with two antennas, will be installed in the middle of the campus, which is currently undergoing major renovation. An 8-foot-high masonry enclosure will surround the six groundmounted equipment cabinets, Lee said.

"It really comes down to weighing the risk," Agoura Hills resident Julie Buckley said.

MaryAnn Rush, a nurse and businesswoman, supports the cell tower placement at the school. She said the antenna at the top of a flagpole posed no health risks to children.

"The antenna is the size of a knitting needle," Rush said.

Nouzille felt "frustrated" that the commission was being forced to approve the facility under strict federal regulations.

"Our hands are somewhat legally tied," Nouzille said.

While Federal Communications Commission rules require the city to base its approval on several findings, including the health and public safety of citizens, the federal guidelines limit the discussion to location and aesthetics only, she said.

"This is the same government that told us that DDT was safe in the '50s," Nouzille said. "There's not much we can do about it."

Buckley Weber conducted private research and said it was uncertain as to whether the gap in Lindero cell service is covered by another telecommunications company.

"There are other providers in the area," Buckley Weber said. She added that she didn't believe that the applicant looked seriously at other locations as requested by the commission.

Another issue that irked the panel was the designation of Lindero Canyon Middle School as a commercial zone. All residentially zoned areas are prohibited from cell tower placement.

"I see it as a residential area," Buckley Weber said. "I feel a little bit like a dog chasing its tail. (OmniPoint) is coming to us, but we have to pass it. Why are we going through this exercise?" she asked.

Commissioner Steve Rishoff said the city has limited discretion in the approval of the facility. The federal preemption, he said, limits cities and states from imposing almost any restriction.

Commissioner John O'Meara was equally frustrated.

"We are required to accept what we are being told by TMobile and not question it," O'Meara said.

He added that the commission could not seek any other opinion except TMobile's, and its only discretion was which "pretty flowers" could be selected for landscaping or whether the flagpole should be shortened.