Council Weighs City Stance On Wireless Technology

Caught between a hungry telecommunications industry and some members of the public who are skeptical about wireless towers near their homes, the Palo Alto City Council held a long and, at times, highly technical study session Monday night on the city's wireless infrastructure.

The meeting was triggered by fierce public opposition to some recent applications from AT&T for , but also because city staff expects that Palo Alto will see many more future requests to set up new towers. The company pulled two applications to set up wireless "poles" at Eichler Swim Center and after residents protested, and the council has already approved AT&T's plans to rig a cell device at Hotel President, 488 University Ave. 

The company has an additional nine pending applications with the city to set up wireless devices on existing poles in residential areas, also known as Distributed System Antennas. The council took no action Monday night but discussed how the city should balance the growing need for wireless coverage and the right for residents to protest wireless architectures in sensitive areas, such as the Little League lights on a baseball field. 

That's the key, Councilman Greg Sharff said. "Finding the balance between good coverage and aesthetics."

Councilman Larry Klein made a point, however, that only a portion of the public is protesting. In the last few weeks, he said, the city has received hundreds of emails voicing support for the growth and improvement of Palo Alto's wireless infrastructure.

"I'd like to make it very clear that we have some members of the community, on some sites, who are adverse to (cellular) carriers," Klein said. "It's not just straight community versus carrier."  

The city's zoning rules require a detailed and strict application process to install a new device in Palo Alto's residential areas, but contain some streamlining for companies who plan for "co-location," or installing a device somewhere that already has wireless infrastructure. The city could get roughly 50 such applications over the next few years, said Planning Director Curtis Williams.

It comes down to the industry's need for a wider spectrum, to cater to new technology and battle the competition, he said.

"The community, however, has raised several concerns," Williams said.

Visual intrusion, health concerns over radiation and property value are the biggest, he told the council. The Federal Communications Commission regulates the radiation output at a wireless facility, but it's a self-regulated industry as far as enforcement goes, said Deiter Preiser of RCC Consultants, a firm that specializes in the telecommunications industry.

In other words, monitoring whether a site is in compliance with the FCC's health standards is up to the local city or agency. The FCC also requires that a local agency act within 90 days of an application.

The health factor ticked off some council members. Greg Schmid said the FCC's health standards are based on a 1986 study. Besides comparing the situation to the nuclear meltdowns in Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and post-tsunami Japan, he said it's no wonder some residents raise questions over the validity of a 25-year-old study. 

"Engineers get it wrong," Schmid said.

Even so, the growth of wireless consumption is outstanding. While the health concerns are largely theoretical, Preiser said cellphone use is becoming a dominate force over landlines. For example, he said, 40 percent of American homes have no landlines, and three-quarters of 911 calls now come from cellphones.