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The Danville Town Council is set to vote on the complete repeal and replacement of its wireless communication facilities ordinance, relating to the placement of cell towers and equipment, at its regular meeting Tuesday evening.
Since March the establishment of cell towers is an issue the council has been working to update and regulate. The new ordinance has been proposed after several months of public hearings, study sessions and attempts to address community input concerning cell towers.
The new ordinance “establishes appropriate development standards to preserve and protect the Town’s unique character while allowing the provision of wireless services as required under state and federal law,” administrative services director Nat Rojanasathira wrote in a staff report. “The Ordinance also references a separate exhibit which would adopt specific design guidelines for the development of wireless communication facilities.”
General development standards proposed in the ordinance are intended to address community comments and concerns by establishing guidelines for towers’ concealment, height, setbacks, and noise and design, among other provisions.
Preferred locations have been established for any new towers to be installed within town limits. These locations restrict tower placement to areas outside of downtown Danville, at least 250 feet from any residential dwelling, roadways, open space and “public and semi-public areas.”
Facilities do not necessarily have to be placed within preferred locations, town staff say, but proposed facilities that are not would be subject to a more comprehensive review process involving the town’s Planning Commission.
Design guidelines have been established in the proposal, to maintain the town’s aesthetic integrity and provide more specific standards on how the towers can look. These guidelines, Rojanasathira added in the report, were also made to enable the ordinance to adapt and “keep up” with changing technology.
The regular meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Meeting Hall, 201 Front St.
In other business
*Representatives from Chandler Asset Management will give the town its quarterly investment report, detailing how the town’s investments with the company are being handled.
According to a town staff report, Danville has $10,196,758 managed in its local agency investment fund.
*The council is also expected to discuss a previously considered proposal to update the town’s animal control ordinances in order to match those of the Contra Costa Animal Services Department.
Regarding the cell towers – With the increase of wireless communications, man-made EMF (Electromagnetic Field) pollution is starting to be recognized as a 21st century crisis. For people who have begun to suffer from too much radiation, it can be difficult to live in a safe zone away from our increasingly wired world. Studies are showing people are suffering from headaches, memory loss, decreased fertility, heart problems, and sleep problems just to name a few.
I agree- nobody wants to look at this objectively. The telecom lobby is so strong and the customer ignorance so great that everyone believes this is for the best. We should not have EMF radiation zapping us everywhere! Our bodies need down time. In fact, we should at least give ourselves a break overnight and unplug. But we can’t vecause we have smart meters. Alexas, nests, smart TVs, smart phones on 24/7. Even if we don’t, our neighbors do so we get it from their “smart” devices.
And we don’t know what the next generation of 5G will do- but i don’t feel comfortable in a total WiFi environment. My two cents (sense!)
I assume the Town will reimburse me for the loss of property value as one is scheduled to be put near my home.
Also, be prepared for lawsuits when people begin to get sick!
The squirrels are chasing after the anti-EMF nuts that have been left lying around.
There’s no significant studies showing anything but people enjoying their better cell reception from phone towers.