RSS 2.0 FeedSeptember 30, 2010, Bellmore Life
T-Mobile argues for cell tower at town zoning BoA
The cell phone company asserts that RF radiation is lower than many kitchen appliances
Even as the ink was drying on the Town of Hempstead’s new cell ordinance passed last week that puts restrictions on where telecommunications companies can place cell towers – unless they are absolutely warranted, T-Mobile argued at the town’s zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday that it needs to replace the North Bellmore Fire Department’s 120-foot communications antenna with its own cell tower to cover gaps in its coverage.
The telecommunications company is exempt from the new law because it applied for the cell tower before the law came into effect. T-Mobile attorney Robert Guadioso got the unusual Thursday afternoon hearing underway by objecting to Richard Comi sitting with the board and being considered an expert witness and counsel for the board.
Mr. Comi was a consultant to the town and helped it write the new ordinance. He is a principal for Albany-based The Center for Municipal Solutions, with offices in 39 states. “What expertise basis is he testifying under?” Mr. Gaudioso asked the board. “He is not a professional planner, a Realtor, an architect and lacks technological experience.”
He added that Mr. Comi does not have in his qualifications anything about being an expert on T-Mobile mobile phone systems, and that he is not an radio frequency (RF) engineer. Board Chairman Dave Weiss, Bellmore attorney and resident, noted the objection but said the board would accept Mr. Comi as an expert because he had testified before the board before as an expert witness.
Any questions Mr. Gaudioso raised about Mr. Comi’s expertise during the hearing could be addressed at that time. T-Mobile is seeking a special use permit to replace North Bellmore Fire Department’s 120-foot communications antenna at its maintenance facility on Newbridge Road with a 120-foot towercontaining six cell antennas concealed within the tower. It also wants to build seven cabinets near the base of the pole, which contain air conditioners to cool the tower because of the electronics installed within the pole.
Paul Gartelmann, an architect witness for T-Mobile, said the tower would be slightly larger than the present 36-inch base, at 42 inches, and would be built to G code. The current fire department pole was built 10 years ago, under E code. Mr. Comi, while accepting T-Mobile’s decision to build under G code, said that F code is the present standard, and he wondered if all the features inherent in the F standard were being transferred and applied to the G code. Attorney Jeff Toback, representing several North Bellmore residents in opposition to the cell tower, asked Mr. Gartelmann what wind forces the pole is built to withstand. “Standards for the area in question are a 2G force wind, or a three-second gust at 110 miles-per-hour, 85-90 mph with ice on the pole.”
“Would it withstand the tornado we just learned of in Queens?” Mr. Toback asked, inferring such a wind could topple a pole onto houses, as it did trees onto houses in Queens. “Objection,” Mr. Gaudioso rang out. “We don’t know what that wind was.” “Sustained,” said Mr. Weiss. Mr. Toback then turned questioning to the noise level expected from the cabinets. Mr. Gartelmann said the cabinets would emit 85 decibels at three feet, diminishing thereafter.
“Will there be 24-hour-7-day-a-week noise?” Mr. Toback asked. “They are air conditioners running about 36000 BTUs that would run only in hot summer weather,” and would be about 4-5 feet from the property line. Visual horizon unhindered Donna Stipo, principal of DMS Consultants and witness for T-Mobile, then spoke of the aesthetics of the pole. Commenting on the visual horizon of the pole, she said there would be no change to observers’ visual horizon because the pole would be the same height as the existing one. She did say that existing “wings” on the pole at present for fire department purposes would be put at the top of the pole instead.
Mr. Weiss asked Ms. Stipo if she had alerted the community to the aesthetics of the pole [the new town ordinance requires companies to place balloons at proposed sites to alert the community to their height and imposition]. She said she did not do outreach, but had photos presented to the community of the pole’s look to elicit opinions. Mr. Comi then asked Ms. Stipo if a pole 80 feet high rather than 120 feet high would have an affect on the aesthetics. Mr. Gaudioso objected to the question, but was overruled by Mr. Weiss. “She can answer.” “No, it wouldn’t make a difference if it was 80 feet high rather than 100 feet,” she responded. Radiation exposure addressed Dave Collins, an RF engineer testifying for T-Mobile, then spoke about the radio frequency concerns that have garnered attention concerning health issues.
With the Federal Communications Commission having set requirements for maximum levels of radio frequencies allowed, Mr. Collins told the board that the RF for the towers will be 1.4% of the total allowed. “All antennas that will be on the pole are 70 times below the limit set by the FCC,” he said. In fact, he said that the fire department communications devices on the antenna at present emit 3.9% of the total allowed, more than each of the T-Mobile antennas will emit.
“All of these frequencies are measured in milowatt per square centimeter,” he continued, “or 1% of 1 megawatt.” By comparison, he told the board that everything around us emits an electrical energy, and that kitchens in average households emit a total of 3-7% of radio-frequency radiation; two people standing shoulder-to-shoulder will emit 1/2-1% RF radiation. He then reminded the board that the antennas will emit 1.4% RF radiation.
Mr. Comi would later tell Bellmore Life that the argument for health concerns was borne of perception only, not scientific studies, inferring that the real work still to be done was perhaps in educating the public about how little radiation there is in cell towers. He added that the growing argument that a cell phone will increase in radiation as it works to receive a weaker signal, thus putting users at greater risk the farther away the phone is from a cell tower, was also false. A “cell tower will only emit what it can emit to a certain distance, and no more,” he said.
How coverage is determined Lydia Trujillo, another RF engineer speaking on behalf of T-Mobile, said the firm arrived at its conclusion that more coverage was needed by using both a propagation test and a drive test. A propagation test uses software to predict needs based on the information fed into the program. She said height, radius to be covered and other parameters are fed into the program, and it predicts coverage needed. A drive test collects signals of all frequencies from a vehicle that drives around the environs. The information is then overlayed onto the propagation test to determine the need for coverage.
“Both tools are starting points and references” for going forward, she said, and “gives good representation of where the gaps are and what coverage is needed.” “Are you getting any calls from users who have been dropped?” asked board member Gerald Wright. She answered by speaking more to the reliability of T-Mobile service, saying 95% of reliability was the goal of the company. Her presentation to the board showed white areas, representative of gaps in coverage, and green areas, where there is sufficient coverage. Mr. Wright then asked: “Do the white gaps mean you will need to come back here and ask for more coverage?” Yes, she answered. When a member of the board asked if power could be turned up at each site to emit stronger radio waves, referring to the several existing T-Mobile sites near North Bellmore that could be used instead to maintain coverage, T-Mobile witness Trujillo said no.
“Each site is designed specific to that site, there are no standard sites.” Clutter decides coverage, too She said that when propagation software is used, it programs in “clutter,” such as terrain, buildings specific to that area and other objects in the community, to help it predict what will affect the signal and how much of the signal will be affected. David Lynch, a Realtor testifying for T-Mobile, said the 120-foot pole had been in place for 10 years with no reduction in home values, and he did not see any reduction taking place with the new cell tower. The new cell tower “will have no deleterious affect upon surrounding real estate.” Opposition attorney Toback asked Mr. Lynch that, if this pole was a brand new pole, and not an existing pole, would he still agree that this was a good location to put a cell tower? Mr. Lynch hesitated, and then answered that he would have to restudy the case. “If the antennas were on a water tower would it still have the same impact?” Mr. Toback then asked. “A water tower with more wings on it would be more obtuse, yes,” responded Mr. Lynch. For the opposition For the opposition, Mr. Toback called David Sabia, whose “Green” solar home was featured on Bellmore Life’s front cover on August 18. Mr. Sabia explained that with his home only a few feet from the fire department property line, and several solar panels on his roof, he was concerned about shade from the new tower reducing the effectiveness of his solar panels. Mr. Toback asked the board for a time extension in deciding the case until a solarmetric study could be done to determine the extent of the shade being given off by the new pole.
But Mr. Weiss denied the request for a time extension, and also for a solarmetric study, saying that residents have “no air rights” above their homes. He said instead that existing building code will determine what can be built and not built beside or next to another building. “Another building can be built next door and the determination to build that building would come under the building code, and we couldn’t stop it,” he said. Mr. Sabia also raised the issue of noise emitted from the cabinets. Several ideas from both T-Mobile representatives and Mr. Toback were discussed about what kinds of noise abatement materials could be used, such as concrete walls or “baffling blankets,” to reduce the noise. Bob MacAlouso, another resident in opposition, raised the issue once more of home property values, citing both the noise factor and the radiation emitted.
He submitted a letter into evidence written by North Bellmore Realtor Ann Cunningham. She conducted a study and determined that there could be a 10-15% reduction in home property values because “the tower is no longer just a tower, but is now a cell tower.” After all evidence was in, and the hearing concluded at 5:30 p.m., Pam Dempsey of Wantagh, who lives near the Wantagh-Farmingdale Jewish Center where T-Mobile wants to put another cell tower, told Bellmore Life she was concerned the board will simply take the word of experts “in blind faith.” “If you take a phone and it works, then there is coverage. If doesn’t work, then there is no coverage,” citing a report by Ms. Trujillo saying it is T-Mobile’s intent to get 95% reliability of coverage.
But Mr. Comi explained that T-Mobile’s interest may be more in having calls within the coverage area remain open calls and not dropped all the time. “That’s what’s meant by 95% reliability,” he concluded.
