Cell Phone Tower

With the permitting of Sprint to put in a 35-foot antenna only 100 feet from the Cliff House at Mussel Shoals, some questions should be asked loud and clear:

What happened to the guidelines for cell phone and PCS towers proposed by the Planning Commission? Didn’t the Board of Supervisors ask, or rather demand, a policy for controlling this problem?

Didn’t the Faria Beach fiasco prompt a decision to prevent further proliferation of pulsing, galvanized towers over homes and parks? To reduce the health risk? To protect property values? To decide just how much of the county skyline is to be uglified, how much of our coastline is to be given over to this architectural pornography rather than preserving scenic views?

What happened to the piles of paper detailing these guidelines that were submitted by the county planners?

Why was there a workshop involving telecom lawyers and community activists to discuss these issues? Why has nothing come of all this?

Once the Sprint tower is in place, there will be no stopping others under the federal act that prohibits discrimination against additional towers. More than 100 communities across America have declared moratoriums, enacting ordinances to place these antenna farms where they are less objectionable.

In Ventura it is still open season, the welcome mat is out for any and all telecom companies to have their way with our neighborhoods. As one site locater for a cell phone company said, “Getting a permit in Ventura is as easy as going to Ticketron.”

BILL STRATTON

Ventura