luly 28. 2010
fc*** ^Jortkinb (Observer
IN S ID E
The Week in Review
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S U S i J F W3t_E P U R C H A
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Cell Tower Lawsuit Next
S ustainability
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pages 4-5
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pages 6-7
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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
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n o lo g y . N e ig h b o rh o o d s ra n g in g
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D arlington have skirm ished w ith the
city and Internet providers o v er e f
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forts to install w ireless antennas.
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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
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page 8
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page 13
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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