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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 28, 2010)
luly 28. 2010 fc*** ^Jortkinb (Observer IN S ID E The Week in Review This page Sponsored by: Page3 FredMeyer What's on your list today?, page 2 S U S i J F W3t_E P U R C H A H E lL » * *= E P M ' NC cou Cell Tower Lawsuit Next S ustainability "c.tfííV Tift pages 4-5 O pinion pages 6-7 I ouw pRofi^ ■ i to T O nrp sso S>-T*t Roof V fca ~TM Northeast neighbors say they’ll go to court J ake T homas T he P ortland O bserver U n ease a m o n g P o rtlan d re si dents about the p lacem ent o f w ire less technology has reached a new level, w ith a gro u p o f residents p re parin g to file a law suit seeking to p revent the p lacem ent o f an an tenna in a northeast neighborhood, c laim ing that C ity Hal 1 is kow tow ing to the w ireless industry. Portland is a city restive about the proliferation o f w ireless tech ■ ' ’’’U T J V C " '' n o lo g y . N e ig h b o rh o o d s ra n g in g <&> ‘T I I 7 v X * J ”5 S from A rb o r L odge to B rentw ood- 1 ‘ I■ ■ ■ r i » <■/ / > D arlington have skirm ished w ith the city and Internet providers o v er e f 0 « ’ 'w * L forts to install w ireless antennas. W . 'i Á “, A nd C ity H al, has been ill at ease •X. w ith federal policies that have m ade it easier to install w ireless facilities all o v er the city. R espectP D X is an organization --------------------------------------- ---- ................. based in the B eau m o n t-W ilsh ire n eighborhood that hopes to put the photo by J ake T homas /T he P ortland O bserver brakes «n the p lacem ent o f w ireless A sign expresses the displeasure with a proposed cell phone tower antennas in Portland. L ast w eek, the In the Beaumont-Wilshire Neighborhood o f northeast Portland. group an nounced that it intended installation o f w ireless technology O ’N eill, w ho lives n ear the Frem ont to file a law suit against the C ity o f w ith livability issues by estab lish site and is also the chairperson for P ortland and C learw ire, an Internet ing a p rio ritizatio n system for w ire R espectPD X . service provider, over the p lace less antennas. T he system aim s to T here are about 800 w ireless a n m ent o f a cell phone antenna on place them in industrial areas or tennas in Portland, a n u m b er th a t’s 3707 N .E. Frem ont St. high traffic streets aw ay from resi likely to rise. T he city m ak es $5,000 C learw ire, com m only referred to d en tial n e ig h b o rh o o d s w h en ev er o f f o f each w ireless facility installed as "C lear”, has been h oping to place p o ssib le. on a public utility pole. a w ireless antenna near W ilshire T he law suit claim s that the city's W ireless tech n o lo g y has com e M arket since at least 2008 to fill in a O ffice ofC able Com m unications and under increased scru tin y o v er co n coverage gap. The m ove rankled Franchise M an ag em en t did not fol cerns that radiation em itted by trans resid en ts o f B eau m o n t-W ilsh ire, low this process w hen it approved m itters and cell phone can be cancer w ho w orry that the antenna w ould the p lacem en t o f the antenna on causing. San F rancisco en acted an dim inish the livability o f the su r 37th A venue and F rem ont Street ordinance last m onth req u irin g re rounding area. T hey are co ncerned because there is a site nearby that is tailers to label cell phones w ith the that the constant hum from a nearby not in the m iddle o f residential area am ount o f radiation they em it. Last equipm ent cabinet w ould be a co n a n d b e tte r s a tis f ie s th e c i t y ’s spring, M aine law m akers c o n sid stant irritant and that the potential p rio ritizatio n system . ered a sim ilar state-w ide legislation, health effects o f w ireless tech n o l Steve C rew , the law yer taking the w hich ended up falling flat. ogy, and the antenna- attached to a case, did no t kn o w the ex act loca C ity Council also jo in ed A rling nearby utility pole- w ould be a blot tion o f the altern ativ e site w hen ton, Texas last year in challenging the on the streetscape. co n tacted by the P ortland O bserver. federal preem ption that local govern The federal Telecom m unications “ I an ticip ate that th e y ’re going m ents c an ’t use health concerns to A ct o f 1996, w hich helped open the to argue that th e y ’d get b etter co v block w ireless facilities. It also voted floodgate for the d issem ination o f erage [at the site on 37th and Fre earlier th isy earto ch allen g eaF ed eral w ireless technology, severely lim m o n t],’’ said C rew . C om m unications C om m ission rule its how local governm ents can reg u B oth the city a tto rn e y ’s office seeking to expedite the installation o f late cell tow ers and antennas. and the O ffice o fC ab le C om m unica- w ireless facilities. by “ ""»««»UK hack C areer page 8 * ___ __ *-x. ENIETlÀlNMtNI C lassifieds page 13 I F o o d page 20 Local g o vernm ents c a n ’t block tions and F ranchise M anagem ent the installation o f a w ireless facility declined to com m ent, as did C lear. on health grounds. B ut it can use H ow ever, the city a tto rn e y ’s office land-use law s to steer them out o f had not been served w ith papers residential areas, according to D avid regarding the law suit by p ress time. S o lo o s, the a ssistan t d ire c to r o f T he plaintiffs in the suit say they P o rtlan d ’s O ffice o fC a b le and Fran a re n ’t after any m onetary dam ages chise M anagem ent. asid e fo ratto m ey fees. Instead, they T he city has en co u rag ed w ire hope it will bring clarity to P ortland’s less pro v id ers to install sm aller a n p rioritization system for w ireless tennas that blend into the cityscape, antennas, acco rd in g to a press re rath er than bulky and alien-looking lease. c e llu la r to w e rs . A c c o r d in g to “ It seem s that C learw ire is b e t Soloos, no cell tow ers have been ting that C ity H all w ill ignore the built in a residential o r open space process and pu t the interests o f B ig area since 2004. B usiness ab o v e the local co ncerns Last year, C ity C ouncil passed o f o ur citizens. W e hope the C ity w ill an ord in an ce m eant to balance its tell C learw ire, ‘T h a t’s not the w ay o b lig a tio n s to acc o m m o d a te the P o r tla n d ,” ’ sa id P la in tif f C o lin
