12/02/2003 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 12/Z/2003 Cleveland won that. There are other cases pending involving young children contracting lymphoma and other forms of cancer. This is not a case of environmental issues-it is a case of hazardous situations of unknown causes. The school board, Council President and members will get a registered letter along with registered letters of every family doctor of everyone who has signed the petition advising them of the potential hazardous affects of the cell frequencies and their potential for harmful diseases, especially cancer in children. Is the school board willing to put a generation of kids at risk and the ensuing. legal ramifications that will follow for decades to come? The school board has an ethical obligation to inform all the students and their parents of what they are purporting to bring on the school grounds so that parents and students can make an intelligent decision as to where they will get their education. Will that be under a cell tower with all the inherent hazards or another school that is free and clear of any potetrtial dangers? This should be brought up in committee again because she doesn't think Council realizes what this will do down the line The federal government is not sure or clear what this can bring. She has a petition signed by people who will have legal representation that, if anything happens to them or their children, they will come back on the school board and sue. President O'Grady noted that the school board is a separate governmental agency. Council has no authority over them. Questions to the school board should be put to them. Councilman Nashar noted that there is going to be a 6 foot cyclone fence with evergreens landscaped around that area. He has spoken to the Sprint representatives and they have agreed to change the placement of the antenna. It will be mounted flat surface to the pole so it will not be so distracting to the residential area. President O'Grady asked that the discussion focus on the legislation which is not a cell tower, it is the overlay district. Councilman Limpert noted that this is the first step towards getting a cell tower there- not last step. This particular legislation is only to add it to the overlay district. From there, the property owner will have to agree to a cell tower there and then it will go through the various boards and commissions. Residents will have adequate opportunity to address the school board. Councilman Gareau said that, contrary to what some residents believe, this is not a done deal and the cell tower has not been approved. Once the proposal comes forward, they will have to comply with the regulations or get a variance or go to court. The proposal will first be heard by the city's boards and commissions. When Sprint makes application with the Building Department, the department will check to see if all of the conditions of the code are satisfied. If so, it will be sent to Planning Commission. Adjacent property owners will be notified of the meeting. They may have to go to BZA for variances. If they don't get a variance, that can stop the project. All the public purposes and issues stated by Mrs. Puinno are factors that will come before BZA and Planning Commission. Nothing that has been said here is anybody ignoring the code or waiving the code or saying it doesn't apply. It just is extending the overlay district to this property. If the school boards wishes to enter into negotiations with the cell tower people, they are free to do that. After that the administrative process and the code has to be followed. If they don't, they will have to get variances and comply or the appropriate waivers. This is not a done deal. Those questions are not before Council. The question is whether or not to allow towers in general on that particular location by extending the district to cover that particular parcel. ~~ ~~~~u~~. , ~ ~_~~