Regnart Residents Vow Political Action After Cell Antenna Vote

Residents from the neighborhood left Tuesday’s meeting angry and vowing political retribution after a council vote that approves the installation of cellphone panel antennas on a Bubb Road telephone pole.

Shaul Berger, whose two-story home sits in front of the pole at 11371 Bubb Rd., said he wasn’t sure if he would pursue further legal action after the decision. One thing he said he was sure of: that he and his neighbors would organize to vote out Mayor Gilbert Wong in November 2012 and any other council member who supported the wireless facility.

In the meantime, the T-Mobile company will be allowed to install three panel antennas at a height of 45 feet to the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. pole, along with four equipment boxes. The antennas are designed to serve a small area, in this case the Bubb and Rainbow roads.

As a condition of approval, the city is requiring that T-Mobile pay for radio frequency (RF) testing of Berger’s home after the antennas are installed. T-Mobile attorney Paul Albritton said at the meeting that the company would provide testing for any other neighbor who asked. 

Berger, who himself works in the wireless industry, contends that the frequencies emitted by the antennas will be at dangerous levels for nearby homes, especially at the second-floor level. He said he is also concerned for children attending Regnart.

According to an independent consultant paid by T-Mobile, Hammett and Edison, the antennas will emit frequencies far below federal standards. The standard is for 1.0 milliwatt per centimeter (MPC) squared; the T-Mobile antennas reportedly will emit .12 percent MPC at the ground level and .22 percent MPC at the second-floor level of nearby homes.

Tuesday’s vote was actually a reconsideration of the council’s decision in favor of the antenna on Nov. 29, 2010. Under city statutes, anyone denied in a council decision can petition for a reconsideration. However, in order to be successful, the petitioner must be able to meet at least one of five criteria, including being able to provide new evidence or proving the council conducted an improper hearing.

After a tense public hearing with a dozen residents demanding the council rescind its earlier decision, four of the five council members said Berger as petitioner presented no new evidence and no proof of problems with earlier council and planning commission hearings. Councilman Barry Chang voted in favor of reconsideration.

“You don’t listen to us!” one resident angrily shouted out while council members deliberated before the vote.

Several times during the meeting, residents shouted out while T-Mobile representatives or council members spoke.

"Our questions are not being answered!" one resident shouted.

Although the council could have focused on whether Berger’s petition met the criteria for a reconsideration and not discussed questions raised at earlier council and planning commission hearings, Mayor Wong allowed staff and T-Mobile officials to answer residents’ questions raised on Tuesday night.

One question raised repeatedly was why the cellphone facility couldn’t be installed somewhere else. According to T-Mobile officials, other locations were researched, but none were able to meet the technical requirements that would provide coverage in an area that currently has no coverage.

Another question raised was why couldn’t T-Mobile share the approved in January, now that AT&T has made a bid to merge with T-Mobile. T-Mobile attorney Albritton said the merger may not be approved by the FCC, and even if it was approved, it could be months or years away.

Albritton said by law the two companies must be considered separate in any decisions made before completion of the merger. He also said the Results Way location was too far away to provide coverage for the targeted neighborhood.

No answer was good enough for residents, however, who angrily left council chambers after the vote.

Councilwoman Kris Wang followed them out into the lobby, spending several minutes explaining that the council had little choice. Not only did the petition not meet the criteria for reconsideration in the council’s opinion, but by federal law, municipalities cannot refuse wireless facilities if they are within federal standards.

Berger noted afterward that T-Mobile’s attorney, Albritton, “was hinting to the city, if you don’t approve, we will sue you.

“So what’s the message? I have to find a lawyer and sue the city? Maybe that’s what I’ll do.”