Residents Say Phone Tower Is Health Risk

Ventura County officials should demand that more stringent safety standards be met before allowing the installation of a new 35-foot-high cellular antenna tower at Faria Beach, say opponents of the project.

Faria Beach resident Bill Stratton said he believes the proposed Pacific Bell antenna tower poses health risks to residents and visitors of the tiny community north of Ventura. He said the new tower would emit what he considers dangerous levels of electromagnetic radiation.

County officials contend that federal law prohibits local governments from regulating the placement of cellular phone antennas based on exposure to radio frequency emissions if those emissions meet established safety standards.

But Stratton said the law actually does not take effect until Sept. 1. As a result, he said, the county can establish its own safety standards.

County Planning Director Keith Turner said his office is still reviewing the law and hopes to get clarification from the Federal Communications Commission before the Board of Supervisors meets today to consider the antenna project.

But Turner said his office still believes that the proposed antenna tower more than meets the FCC’s safety standards for radiation exposure. The proposed antenna would emit 375.8 microwatts per centimeter squared, far below the FCC standard of 1,200 microwatts.

If he does not hear from FCC officials before today’s 1:30 p.m. hearing, however, Turner said he will recommend that the supervisors hear testimony from opponents of the project who are concerned about health risks.

Pacific Bell wants to place four panel antennas on a single 35-foot pole at 3945 Pacific Coast Highway, near Faria County Park. Two existing antennas owned by AT&T; and AirTouch Cellular are located across the highway.

Opponents say that allowing a new antenna tower would essentially create an “antenna forest” that would increase health risks and destroy the area’s natural beauty as well as property values.