LAKE COUNTY — When a major cellular company applied to the county”s planning commission to put in a cell tower in Upper Lake, one woman”s appeal of the approved application got the attention of the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
Her concerns were mainly about electro-magnetic radiation and radio frequency (RF) emissions, and their negative effect on the health of those living in Upper Lake, where the 120-foot tower is proposed.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 says the county cannot decide where even if telecommunication towers will be built in the county “on the basis of environmental effects of radio frequency emissions,” but Dist. 1 Supervisor Ed Robey said he thinks there is more the county can do.
The telecommunications industry is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which includes not only cellular operations, but radio, television and other forms of communication that require towers that can use large amounts of electricity.
And that, opined Robey, may be what”s at issue. But at this point, he said he has more questions than answers.
After hearing Upper Lake resident Cheryl Little Deer”s appeal Tuesday, Robey questioned her about how electro-magnetic radiation is measured. She answered that the measure of a Gauss, named after a German mathematician, is used. A thousandth of that is a miligauss.
“I think the discussion of miligauss has more to do with the cell phones themselves that you put up next to your head than the towers themselves, but I don”t know that. I plan on finding out,” said Robey in a Wednesday morning interview. “I think there”s a lot of learning that needs to be done here,” he added.
Robey asked County Counsel Anita Grant to do some legal research into exactly what action the board could take.
“I think we actually can have a say in the placement of these towers, and I believe not just for aesthetic reasons but also for reasons affecting the general health, welfare and safety of our citizens,” said Robey.
Meanwhile, the exact number of telecommunication towers in Lake County is still in question. Little Deer said in a Wednesday conversation that she”d been given a printout by a planner of the county”s inventory of permitted towers in the county. On it, she said, 46 were listed.
A later interview with Community Development Director Rick Coel indicated that there are 32 such towers, 16 of which are cellular sites.
“The county really needs a telecommunications advisory board that will review these issues and advise the board on the development of a comprehensive countywide telecommunications plan,” said Little Deer Wednesday.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
