Neighbors who live near a water tank in the area of High Tower Road are concerned about the number of cell phone antennas attached to the 63-foot-tall structure.
"The (cell) towers are right in the middle of the neighborhood," said Elizabeth Pirro, who has lived on High Tower Road for nearly 40 years.
There are now three cell antennas on the tank, the latest addition for Pocket Wireless of San Antonio, Texas. The installation took place in the spring, according to several neighbors.
The public said at a hearing 10 years ago they didn't want any antennas, Pirro said. "I thought they voted not to put any there."
Pirro and another neighbor, Roland Frechette, said residents were told by town officials about 10 years ago that only antennas for the police and fire departments would be installed on the water tank. Minutes of the meeting, which the neighbors said was held at Town Hall, were not immediately available.
Pirro would also like to know if there are plans for other antennas in her neighborhood. "Did they sneak them up there?" she asked.
State law allows cell phone antennas to be installed on public structures - such as water tanks - without the approval of the Connecticut Siting Council. Municipalities control how many and what type of antennas may be installed.
The Water Department will get $2,600 a month from Pocket Wireless under a lease signed in February. Water Department Superintendent Thomas West said the money from that lease and other antenna agreements is used to maintain water tanks and other infrastructure.
The Planning and Zoning Commission has jurisdiction over the approval of cell antennas on public structures in Southington. The Pocket Wireless application was approved last November, and The commission's secretary, James Sinclair, said no one from the neighborhood raised any concerns.
But Frechette said he's concerned about radiation from cell phone antennas. Cellular antennas emit electromagnetic radiation, according to the Siting Council. "There's a lot of stuff up there," Frechette said about the water tanks. "It's more than what they were supposed to put there."
The Federal Communications Commission regulates the amount of radiation that can be emitted from cell towers and other antennas. The levels of radiation are controlled to limit human exposure, according to the FCC's Web site. The FCC says high levels of radiation can damage human tissue and some studies have shown even even lower levels can affect human health.
Sinclair said that, if residents bring up their concerns about cell antennas, he would follow through and ask the town planner to research what the scientific community has published on the subject.
"I feel bad the neighbors were not informed. Maybe we should consider (antennas) as a special permit application," he said.
If antenna applications were required to be filed as special permit projects, all the adjacent land owners would be notified about the application, Sinclair said.
"If the neighborhood wanted to have a meeting about it, I would attend," Pirro said.
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Southington residents object to cell phone antennas
Source: MyRecordJournal.com
Date: 08/11/2009
