Citizens demand regulation of cell phone towers

The Fairfield City Hall Council Chambers were packed Wednesday evening with citizens demanding greater regulation of cell phone tower siting inside city limits.

Fairfield City Council Property Committee Chairman John Revolinski acknowledged research both proving and disproving the link of cell towers to cancers, tumors and other health problems.

He prefaced the open forum, saying, ?There are certainly a lot of studies that have shown harmful effects of [electromagnetic fields] from cell phone towers. The thing is these kinds of arguments would be more appropriate at a congressional hearing because ultimately the Communications Act of 1996 precludes the prohibition of cell phone towers based on radiation effects.

?From our side, we?re limited. If we use that as a reason to not allow towers to go up, we can be taken to court,? he said.

City attorney John Morrissey said although the city does not have the power to impose restrictive taxes or ban all towers outright, the city does have the ability to regulate cell towers based on aesthetics and height limitations.

For many in the audience, that was not enough.

At the center of the controversy is an 85-foot tower U.S. Cellular obtained a permit to build at 509 W. Depot Ave. Doug Greenfield reported negotiations ? involving Mayor Ed Malloy and U.S. Cellular ? to move the tower to the former Iowa Malleable site are under way; however, U.S. Cellular has refused to move the tower outside of city limits because the company is looking to improve call reception in the downtown area.

Greenfield was the first of several to express concern about property devaluation because of the inability to maintain tenants in buildings close to the proposed tower site.

?There are 2,000 people at least at this end of town that are completely and seriously opposed to this tower and will not stop at anything ? whatever they have to do to protect themselves because they feel that they are threatened by this,? Greenfield told the committee. ?You?ve got to think, ?I?ve got to have a law or ordinance in place that represents these citizens as well.?

?The goal is you guys come up with something or we do it as a group,? he said.

Already tower opponents have collected more than 1,000 signatures from people vowing to cancel their service with U.S. Cellular if the tower is constructed. Some have even said they are prepared to move out of the community.

For the complete article, see the Thursday, March 19, 2009, Fairfield Ledger