WPCNR FOR THE RECORD. July 14, 2020: The following is a copy of the online petition referred to in the previous letter submitted to WPCNR which is being circulated to limit areas where 5G mirowave antennas can be installed in the city of White Plains. In March the city approved 5G tower installations in the downtown business area, but fiber optic cables are currently being installed at locations in the Highlands and at Ridgeway and North Street. Here is the petition presentation:
SIGN ON TO PETITION TO WHITE PLAINS MAYOR ROACH AND COMMON COUNCIL MEMBERS PETITION TO THE CITY OF WHITE PLAINS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO ENACT PROTECTIVE AMENDMENTS TO ITS WIRELESS CELL ANTENNA CODE REGARDING 5G WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATION FACILITIES IN RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBORHOODS. PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND OTHER INFORMATION AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE.
PETITION
Dear Mayor Roach and Council Members Brasch, Hunt-Robinson, Kirkpatrick, Martin, Presser and Puja,
We, the undersigned, petition the City of White Plains to take urgent action to enact protective amendments to its wireless cell antenna code regarding 5G wireless telecommunication facilities in residential neighborhoods. It is imperative to act immediately in order “to promote the safety of life and property.”
We are neighbors from across White Plains. We are all seeking a safe place to live and a decent quality of life for ourselves, our children and our community.
It has come to our attention that the City of White Plains has made a decision to adopt a wireless cell antenna code (law) that is extremely weak on protections and gives free rein to the telecom industry in our City to install powerful 4G/5G wireless antennas in our residential neighborhoods, adjacent to our houses, apartments, schools and play areas.
These cell antennas would expose us, involuntarily, to constant wireless radiation, making our homes and schools and the entire City of White Plains unsafe and diminish our quality of life.
Your most fundamental responsibility as our elected officials is to protect our health and safety, and ensure that the municipality and its residents are appropriately protected. We urge you to take steps to immediately adopt a protective municipal code regarding wireless antennas, and explore every possible legal remedy to amend the recently approved franchise agreement with Verizon Wireless.
We also request the immediate reinstatement of Citizens to Be Heard sessions at all Common Council meetings. The recent elimination of this long held precedent, which can easily be accommodated for meetings held on Zoom, deprives residents of their lawful and constitutionally protected right to express their grievances face to face.
BACKGROUND FACTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WIRELESS RADIATION ***
Wherever implemented, the rollout of 4G/5G wireless technology requires a dense deployment of cell antennas in local residential neighborhoods on utility poles and lamp posts. There is a large body of peer reviewed science that shows significant biological effects from exposure to wireless radiation, including “clear evidence” of cancer, heart abnormalities, neurological, reproductive and cognitive damage. Our children, pregnant women, the elderly, individuals with implanted medical devices, cardiac and neurological problems are at greater risk from these exposures.
The telecom industry claims that their technology is safe. However, the sworn Senate testimony of the major telecom executives is that they have conducted “no research” on the health effects of 5G wireless technology, and have no plans to do so.
Moreover, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has not updated its exposure standards since 1996, which only factor thermal effects but not other biological impacts. The agency continues to refuse to update their wireless radiation exposure standards to reflect the most current scientific research that include biological impacts, despite warnings from other branches of government and from hundreds of medical and public health professionals who have called for a moratorium on the 5G wireless technology rollout and for the FCC to develop rigorous standards for wireless devices and infrastructure.
Installing 4G/5G antennas is not required for public safety, national security or connectivity. Indeed, fiber optic to and through the premises, which telephone customers have financed for decades through rate increases and extra fees on their phone bills, is safer, faster, more secure, more energy efficient and less expensive than wireless connections. The City of White Plains has no business granting telecoms permission to install wireless antennas in our communities in the first place when the telecoms have failed to deliver the fiber optic broadband to and through every house, apartment, and office we consumers were promised and already paid for.
*** Index to the Digest on the Independent Science on the Effect of Wireless Radiation on Human Health
https://www.americansforresponsibletech.org/scientific-studies
*** Cell Towers, Antennas Problematic for Buyers, National Association of Realtors, July 25, 2014:
https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2014/07/25/cell-towers-antennas-problematic-for-buyers
KEY PROVISIONS THAT ARE NEEDED IN THE WHITE PLAINS CODE:
1. A provision to allow installation only in commercial and industrial zones not in or within 1000 feet of residential zones and mixed use zones.
2. A provision to establish an effective setback for installation in commercial and industrial zones with a 1000 foot setback from any of the following:
Residential zones, mixed use zones, schools, daycare facilities, medical
facilities, nursing homes, parks, playgrounds, sports facilities, houses of
worship.
3. A provision authorizing the Town to conduct random, unscheduled and
independent testing of any wireless antennas installation to ensure
compliance with the Federal Communications Commission’s radio frequency radiation guidelines for the general public, to be paid for by the applicant or corporate entity operating the antenna;
4. A provision requiring certification and documentation that any proposed
small cell installation(s) addresses an existing and significant gap in coverage in the service area;
5. A provision requiring photo simulations of the proposed installation(s) from the perspective of any property owner within 250 feet.
6. A provision that all property owners within 250 feet of any proposed
installation(s) have been notified of the filing of an application for a permit within five days of such filing, and that the application, including all related documents, shall be made available for public inspection and copying.
7. A provision requiring proof and documentation that the applicant and
corporate operator of any proposed small cell antenna have obtained
liability insurance which does not include a “pollution” exclusion.
THIS PETITION IS SPONSORED BY 5G ALERT WESTCHESTER.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT [email protected]
