LA County Supervisors Deny Cell Site Permit After Appeal from Hacienda Heights Residents 1


Hacienda Heights homeowners successfully halted an approved “installation of 12 antennas mounted on the legs of a 151 ft. existing Southern California Edison lattice tower with associated equipment situated at the base, enclosed by a 6 ft high concrete block wall.” The LA County Board of Supervisors heard their appeal today and asked staff to draft findings denying the permit.

Residents living near the site testified at this morning’s hearing that the applicant, T-Mobile, provided no verifiable proof that it had investigated other, less intrusive sites; or that it had a “significant gap in coverage”.

Resident Kihachiro Tajima asked, “Where is the technical information to show that they need this installation?..to show that they’ve investigated other sites?”

Vernon Sewards, whose home was closest to the proposed installation, testified that he asked T-Mobile repeatedly for documentation about alternative site analyses and never received any. Sewards also asked the county for a map of cell sites in the vicinity, but after several follow up calls never received one. He further testified that there was no posted notice of the hearing, and although the LA County Executive Board assured him that property owners within 500 feet would receive notification, they got none. He called this “a pure case of vital information falling through the cracks.”

Other residents said the land behind their homes (the proposed site of the tower) was a designated native habitat, and that CEQA exemptions wouldn’t apply to the cell site. Several speakers expressed strong concerns about close-range exposure to radiofrequency emissions from the towers, concerns that elected officials are required by federal law to ignore in their deliberations.

Two T-Mobile representatives and T-Mobile’s outside counsel in this matter spoke after that. Each stuck to discussing the specifics of the permit, stating that they had investigated alternative sites and had provided technical information about their coverage gap and the need for this site. One said T-Mobile’s goal was to provide both outdoor and indoor coverage in the area.

Board chair Don Knabe followed up with questions related to the recreational open space where the antennae site was proposed, and residents’ complaints about the unreliability of technical information. He asked county staff, “Do you have any technical experts that can evaluate the claims made by the applicant?” Staff answered that the Planning Commission had no one to evaluate the technical aspects of the permit application.

Knabe offered a motion to deny the permit based on project information submitted to the board, and based on the applicant’s not providing proof of a significant gap in coverage or proof of investigating alternative sites.

The draft wireless ordinance prepared by the city of Glendale, and scheduled for discussion at community meetings starting tomorrow, directly addresses some of the concerns Hacienda Heights residents had with this cell site application. Glendale residents, now is the time to influence an ordinance that will affect placement of cell sites in the city!


One thought on “LA County Supervisors Deny Cell Site Permit After Appeal from Hacienda Heights Residents

  • Mr Meyer

    Could you please give me the name of the attorney who helped you we are in need of him for almost the same reason the story sounds like ours. please reply soon. Meyer

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