Introduction
The City of San
Diego has established a policy of approving Cell Antenna installations on street
lights in residential neighborhoods. They have approved 5 or 6 already,
several in Point Loma, one at Del Mar Heights and Durango and we're trying
to stop them from approving one behind our home
in Carmel
Valley.
There are many more in the pipeline. We need to make sure our local Planning
Boards are well aware that we intend to fight to protect
property values of our homes and visual impact of our
neighborhoods.
Our Case
We're fighting an
installation of an Antenna that was originally proposed to be
under 50 ft from our home in Carmel
Valley. Fully visible from our back-yard, our family room and our
master bedroom. Want to see a sample picture of an Antenna? Check
out: http://kmtool.net/cellantennas.htm.
Now picture that on the Street Light in front or behind your home. Sprint
wanted to use the Traffic Lights at the intersection nearby where 4 tall
traffic light poles and other utility
equipment reside. The City, though it has done
so in the past, is now refusing to permit
antenna installations on Traffic Lights. That led Sprint directly to the
Street Light close to our homes. We believe the
Antenna will negatively impact the property values of all of the homes in close
proximity to the Antenna. (A 2003 article in an Assessment Journal which is a
publication for Appraisers stated "proximity to a wireless tower needs to be
considered as a negative amenity that may reduce residential property
valuation.")
Why You Should
Care
Your
house could be next. The
City has drafted proposed new regulations and a policy on Antenna site location
and they do not afford any additional protections for homeowners. The City
Council is due to review the new regulations/policy in June or July
04. Cities
with similar lenient policies in residential neighborhoods saw triple the
number of residential applications from companies. Now is your
opportunity to let your City know how you feel; don't wait until we're stuck
with bad regulations and you receive a notice of an installation on your
street. Some San Diego cities
have won this battle (Rancho Penasquitos) and
Rancho Santa Fe is waging this battle even as we speak with a recent victory
this month. We have a window of opportunity here…please help us take
advantage of it.
What To Ask
For
Re-consider Traffic Lights as a better
alternative to Street Lights whenever possible
Re-evaluate the current draft of
the proposed regulations and/or policy to include homeowner protections such
as:
- consider
requiring minimum setbacks (200ft -500 ft is what many other cities require -
we can give you a list if you're interested ) within single family zones
Demand that the City force the phone
companies to submit a complete plan community by community so the entire effect
can be evaluated in public. Rancho Santa Fe recently demanded nothing less and
won.
What You Can Do
Sign
a Petition at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/antennas/petition.html on
placement of antennas in close proximity to residential and another on property
value affects at
http://www.petitiononline.com/property/petition.html
This information can then be used when
the City Council votes on the new regulations/policy as well as before then to
potentially influence the authors of the regulations/policy to reconsider
stronger homeowner protections in the draft.
E-mail Your City Council man/woman: see bottom of this white paper for e-mail addresses and click here for sample e-mails you can cut and paste into a note and forward to them
Call your City Council man/women: see bottom of this white paper for phone numbers
Please
forward the link to this site to any San Diegans you know who might be
interested. All of the communities in the County are affected. Several
residential approvals have been made already; one on Del Mar Heights Road and
Durango, others in Point Loma and more.
Feel free to contact us with any questions. We can provide you with a historical account of some local cases, the state of the law, etc. if you want more information.
Many thanks,
Jennie &
Stuart Starr
Carmel Valley (Mayfield
Neighborhood near Del Mar Heights Road) Residents
e-mail: antennas@kmtool.net
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