This petition applies to any and all in the Vancouver, Clark County area, within city limits and unincorporated areas.  Please sign this petition to help us gain attention and set a precedent that we the people have the power to halt and deny access to giant corporate interests installing 100-200' cell towers in the middle of a residential neighborhood. 

Vertical Bridge BTS II, LLC plans to apply for permits with Clark County regarding a proposed 120' monopine tower structure to be built at 4903 NE 54st Street, Vancouver, WA 98661.  The tower will allow up to 4 carriers.  This is a residential address leasing to the tower company.  Surrounding this small parcel of land are residential, permanent homes close by on every side, as well as the Douglas Carter Fisher Park that hosts a popular playground as well as a wildlife marsh with significant bird activity.  Hundreds of residential homes are within a quarter mile from the proposed tower.  A few houses are less than the 120 feet from the proposed site, which is a city requirement.  Vertical Bridge BTS II is proposing to install said tower for T-MOBILE and will apply for a waiver from the city.

The most demonstrative opposition to this application is that the city prefers cell towers to be placed in commercial zones and there is a commercial zone without a cell tower within a quarter mile from Vertical Bridge BTS II proposed application location.  In additional, there are already two other cell towers within approximately a quarter mile from the proposed tower location and an additional tower in the Minnehaha/Truman Neighborhood is not necessary. Our current wireless service is fully sufficient and functional.  Any individual seeking more service can have it installed directly in their homes if in fact they do so without imposing any wireless radiation on his/her neighbor properties.  Many times signals are blocked due to materials and partitions within the home and improvements need to be made within the home as opposed to outside the home.  Professional assessments regarding wireless signals in the home are available to residents should they need to.

Furthermore, We are opposed to the install of cell antennas and associated equipment at 4902 NE 51st St. and on any other residential property located in the Minnehaha/Truman neighborhood and adjacent neighborhoods that are mainly residential homes, schools and parks.  The proposed site is nested within our home radius, as would other, where we habitat for SAFETY, and this would be directly in front of and within a dangerous radius of where we as a community sleep, eat, and care for our children.

Our opposition to the proposed site at 4902 NE 51st St. is based on the following concerns related to having cell towers, antennas, smart cells, mini cell towers, or any derivative of a cellular communication installment or instrument for the purpose of transmitting signal, within a dangerous radius of homes and neighborhood community spaces:  We require this radius to be a minimum of 2000 feet away from our homes and neighborhood community public space, at this time.  This radius requirement may increase given the increasing evidence about the physical, physiological, and biological harm cell towers are proven to emit on human health, as well as the other detrimental to our neighborhood value and property values, as well as the installation and any similar installations being in conflict with federal law, state, and local law.  This radius approximates the area which is compromised in value by installation of noted cellular devices, and derivatives of such devices/instruments.

 

1. HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO WIRELESS EMISSIONS

While the FCC claims that wireless facilities are safe, the U.S. Department of the Interior states that “the electromagnetic radiation standards used by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) continue to be based on thermal heating, a criterion now nearly 30 years out of date and inapplicable today.” Other countries now limit public exposure to levels far lower than the standards currently set by the FCC.

Studies have shown that even at low levels of radiation, there is evidence of biological damage, brain tumors, cancer, weakened immune function, childhood leukemia, reduced sperm count and ovarian follicles.  Also included in studies are:

Spontaneous Abortion
Genetic Mutations
Memory disruptions
Hindered learning
ADD
Insomnia
Brain disorders
Hormonal imbalances
Infertility
Dementia
Heart complications

Here are a list of international studies that have concluded cell phone towers indeed pose health risks to biological beings:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935122011781​

https://www.gavinpublishers.com/article/view/case-report-the-microwave-syndrome-after-installation-of-5g-emphasizes-the-need-for-protection-from-radiofrequency-radiation​

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935118303475​

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15368378.2017.1350584​

Research Report for European Parliament Released July 2021

The Research Report for the European Parliament regarding RF-EMF carcinogenicity, found 950 papers on humans, and 911 on experimental rodent studies. In regards to reproductive/developmental studies, they found 2,834 papers for epidemiology and 5,052 studies for experimental rodent studies. To read their conclusions please click on the link just above this paragraph.

In May 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the type of radiation that cell towers emit as a Class 2B carcinogen, meaning “possibly carcinogenic to humans”, the same category as lead and DDT.

The American Association of Pediatrics raises concerns that children may be more vulnerable than adults “because of the potentially greater susceptibility of their developing nervous systems; in addition, their brain tissue is more conductive, radio frequency radiation penetration is greater relative to head size, and they will have a longer lifetime of exposure than adults.”

Hundreds of scientists are urging that our exposure to cell towers, cell phones, and other wireless radiation emissions be reduced due to the scientific evidence showing effects at legally allowable levels. These scientists have written letters to schools and lawmakers  urging that children and the public be protected. They have joined in numerous scientific appeals to governments and institutions calling for action to strengthen safety limits.

2. ADDITIONAL NEGATIVE IMPACT ON SAFETY

There are non-radiation safety hazards posed by wireless installations on utility poles in residential neighborhoods, which current City regulations do not address. These include pole overloading and resulting fire and electrocution hazards when poles topple due to earthquakes, vehicular accidents or high winds; and explosive and toxic chemical hazards from backup batteries.

3. NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE RESIDENTS

The close proximity to homes in neighborhoods, specifically Minnehaha/Truman neighborhood and Douglas Carter Fisher Park, would be an intrusion into the privacy of the residents. Workers performing routine maintenance would have direct views into homes.

Wireless companies require access for maintenance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. That maintenance (often done at night) brings work crews, trucks with lifts, radios, lights and noise that will affect many neighbors.

4. NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PROPERTY VALUES

The health hazards and unsightliness of these installations will have a negative impact on property values. The perceived threat alone would lower property values. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) guidelines categorize cell towers with "hazards and nuisances," and HUD requires its certified appraisers to take the presence of nearby cell towers into consideration when determining the value of single-family residential properties. Studies have shown that proximity to a cell tower can lower property values from 5 to 20%.

5. NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY

Allowing this 120' Monopine cell tower, and others scheduled for the neighborhood, will set a precedent allowing for co-location and additional antennas in our neighborhood community and neighboring communities.  Once a cell site is established, our ability to protect ourselves from additional hazardous exposure of more installations becomes more of a challenge.  Are residential streets shaded by canopies of cell antennas what we want for our future neighborhoods?

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To Councilmember Glen Young, Michelle Belkot and Vancouver City Government: We ask you to support us in preventing this cell installation and any future wireless installations near our parks, schools, and homes. We ask for your help to put an end to this ongoing community threat, distracting us from caring for ourselves and our children. We ask you to facilitate legislation to keep cell towers out of our neighborhood communities and away from our homes and neighborhood community public space. Urge Wireless Companies to find preferred locations in commercial zones.

To the Vancouver City Government and City Attorney: We are your constituents and we are asking you to fix the laws that regulate the placement of wireless telecommunications facilities.

We, the undersigned, strongly oppose the construction and installation of cell towers and other wireless facilities, including but not limited to antennas, smart cells, satellites, and mini cell towers in our residential neighborhoods near schools, parks and homes.

We urge you to expedite this process. We urge you to enact an Interim Control Ordinance to impose an immediate moratorium on all wireless telecommunication facilities in the Public Right of Way and/or applications for approval of such installations until legislation outlining rigorous safety standards for communities with regard to cell towers, antennas, smart cells, mini towers and other wireless devices is enacted.

Thank you for your consideration and attention to this important matter.