LOS ALAMITOS : Building of Antenna OKd Despite Protests

A group of parents has failed to stop the construction of a 60-foot cellular telephone antenna close to two local schools and a park that they say could potentially harm their children.

The City Council on Monday denied the group’s appeal of a Planning Commission ruling that granted AirTouch Cellular a permit to build the antenna near Los Alamitos Elementary School, McAuliffe Middle School and Laurel Park.

In voting unanimously following a three-hour public hearing, council members said they could not find sufficient scientific evidence to support the parents’ claim that the antenna poses a health risk to children and adults.

“No one seems to give us exact conclusions or definitive opinions,” Councilwoman Alice Jempsa said. “We have to go with a reasonable level of safety--which we have in this case.”

Jempsa said that the antenna also would provide better communication service, which the community could need during medical emergencies or disasters.

Although she said she was disappointed with the council’s decision, Debbie Feldman said that “we feel we had a fair hearing.”

“We’ll just have to keep watching to make sure that our children are safe,” said Feldman, who organized Parents Against Monopoles Near Kids to oppose the construction of the cellular telephone antenna.

Feldman and her group have argued that the equipment has no benefit to the community while their children are being exposed to potential cancer-causing radiation from the radio transmitter.

But AirTouch Cellular, an Irvine-based company, had experts tell the council and residents at Monday’s public hearing that the antenna would not cause health problems.

“I know of no one who has claimed that he has been affected by cellular-based stations,” said Peter Polson, a Cupertino-based consultant who has conducted studies on the biological effects of so-called radio frequency transmission for the past three years.

Polson said that his study of the proposed Los Alamitos antenna indicated that the levels of radio frequency radiation are safe.

Tom Rothwell, a resident who supported the antenna construction, said that part of the problem is “educational.”

“We tend to get emotional and fear about the things we don’t know about,” said Rothwell, 65, a retired engineer. “But the risk (of radiation) is very low.”

The Planning Commission imposed 17 conditions on April 18 when it granted the permit to AirTouch Cellular to build the antenna.

Councilman Ronald Bates on Monday asked that an independent study be conducted at AirTouch Cellular’s expense to determine if radiation is within safe levels.

The tower would be built in six months and could be in use early next year, AirTouch Cellular officials said. It will be built on a 5.74-acre site on Portal Drive, north of Katella Avenue, an area currently designated as planned, light industrial under city code.

A six-foot-tall screen, a chain-link fence and landscaping will surround the tower.

“We’re very pleased,” said Hardy Strozier, a consultant for AirTouch Cellular. “This will be a boost to the safety of the community.”