Attend Dec 4 Sebastopol City Council meeting Health Crisis at Petaluma Avenue Homes

[Dogenzip]

There has been much interest on WACCO about the the residents of Petaluma Avenue Homes (PAH) with serious illnesses and others who have died. Their homes are located within 250 feet of the Crown Castle cell tower located on the hospital property.

Please attend a a public hearing at the Sebastopol City Council December 4 at approximately 8:00 PM. The residents of Petaluma Avenue Homes are requesting the City of Sebastopol to send a letter asking Crown Castle, AT&T and the Palm Drive Health Care District Board to immediately power off the antennas facing their homes and then either move the cell tower 1,500 feet away from Petaluma and Walker Avenue homes; raise the cell tower antennas by 150 feet; or remove the cell tower completely.

Your attendance and support would be greatly appreciated by the residents of Petaluma Avenue Homes.

[ChefJayTay]

[Barry]

While I am highly skeptical of people being affected by wifi and common ambient EMF (including cell service, Radio/TV, etc)... I'm more open to the possibility of hyperlocal effects nearby EMF transmitters. Petaluma Ave Homes are not adjacent to a transmitter, but they are close enough to raise a plausible concern and take prudent cautions.

[ChefJayTay]

People tend to be afraid of what they know little about...

From the World Health Organization...
https://www.who.int/peh-emf/publicat...acts/fs304/en/

In fact, due to their lower frequency, at similar RF exposure levels, the body absorbs up to five times more of the signal from FM radio and television than from base stations. This is because the frequencies used in FM radio (around 100 MHz) and in TV broadcasting (around 300 to 400 MHz) are lower than those employed in mobile telephony (900 MHz and 1800 MHz) and because a person's height makes the body an efficient receiving antenna. Further, radio and television broadcast stations have been in operation for the past 50 or more years without any adverse health consequence being established.

[Barry]

There has been much interest on WACCO about the the residents of Petaluma Avenue Homes (PAH) with serious illnesses and others who have died. Their homes are located within 250 feet of the Crown Castle cell tower located on the hospital property.

Please attend a public hearing at the Sebastopol City Council on December 4 at approximately 8:00 PM...

The meeting starts at 6pm with the selection of a new Mayor, approval of the consent calendar, and then on to cell tower/Petaluma Avenue Homes issue. I think they may well begin the cell tower issue before 8pm... and if you want a seat, I suggest you get there by 6pm!

More info here

[luke32]

Barry, could you expand on "possibility of hyperlocal effects nearby EMF" please? Or, in other words, what the hell does that mean?

... I'm more open to the possibility of hyperlocal effects nearby EMF transmitters. Petaluma Ave Homes are not adjacent to a transmitter, but they are close enough to raise a plausible concern and take prudent cautions.

[Barry]

Barry, could you expand on "possibility of hyperlocal effects nearby EMF" please? Or, in other words, what the hell does that mean?

You left out the keyword in your quote. Transmitters! ie. I could see a problem with living near an EMF transmitter (ie cell tower).

[luke32]

I left out the word "transmitters", but that's not what provoked my comment.

What I was writing about was your seeming to say "Without offering any evidence I can see where the science is wrong about there being no problem living near a cell phone tower (from the WHO piece, "... the body absorbs up to five times more of the signal from FM radio and television than from base stations...") but I will hide the fact that I have no evidence about the science being wrong - by throwing in some smoke ("hyperlocal"). I will also stoke the flame with some sort of support for those who are raising the issue ("... close enough to raise a plausible concern and take prudent cautions.").

I'm curious; what do you have in mind in the way of "prudent cautions"?

You left out the keyword in your quote. Transmitters! ie. I could see a problem with living near an EMF transmitter (ie cell tower).

[Barry]

Relocating the transmitter.

...I'm curious; what do you have in mind in the way of "prudent cautions"?

[ChefJayTay]

Relocating the transmitter.

Is there a reason THIS tower is concern? There's 4 more just in downtown Sebastopol.

Cell Tower Map

Are we going to move them all? Cause I sorta like having cellular service.

[Barry]

Is a cell tower at the hospital making people at Petaluma Avenue Homes sick?

By E.I. Hillin, Staff Writer, [email protected] Dec 12, 2018

excerpt:

Dennis Colthurst, PDHCD director, spoke to the council and to the public during the meeting pledging action on behalf of the health care district, the entity that owns the property where the Crown Castle tower resides. He said he wanted to assure everyone that this situation is not a case of, “us versus them.”

“We are opening an investigation and if something needs fixing, we will fix it or have the companies fix it,” he said.

City Attorney/Manager Larry McLaughlin said the reason for the public hearing was to give council a chance to hear from residents. He reaffirmed that the city has no jurisdiction over the cell tower and only holds jurisdiction over the use permit itself, which was granted in 2017.

“I don’t believe there are any legal grounds to revoke that use permit,” McLaughlin stated.

In 2007 the affordable co-housing complex was owned by Petaluma Avenue Homes, LP, but is now listed under Berkeley-based Satellite Affordable Housing Associates. The company could not be reached for comment by presstime.

McLaughlin said the issue is complex.

“There’s the psychological aspect of having to live in the shadow of this cell tower; there’s the aspect that this cell tower is on property that’s owned by a health care district and the residents have a number of health concerns; there’s the aspect of this that the city really doesn’t have any legal jurisdiction over this topic,” he said.

...

The council made a motion to send a letter to the health care district asking for specific mitigation measures. The changes requested include moving the cell tower 1,500 feet away from apartments and raising it 150 feet. The letter also requests the cell tower be powered off while the process is taking place.

Councilmember Sarah Glade-Gurney said the issue reminded her of the city’s history with SMART meters.

“We were just this little city who took on the issue because of our public concern and we’re not discouraged by the no jurisdiction situation and I think right now we have that situation where our public is telling us there is a health and safety concern and our responsibility is to act,” she said.

Crown Castle was founded in Houston in 1994 with 133 cell towers. According to their website, they now have more than 40,000 towers and 100 offices nationwide.

See full article here