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Take Action Now!

ZTA-10-05 --- Montgomery County Maryland Cell Tower Siting
Ordinance Proposed Amendments to limit Public Input

Speak Out to Protect Our Neighborhoods

From Harmful Cell Towers.

Submit comments to the County Council by June 1, 2010

Phil Andrews 240-777-7906

councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov
Roger Berliner 240-777-7828
councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov
Marc Elrich 240-777-7966
councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov
Valerie Ervin 240-777-7960
councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Floreen 240-777-7959 (President)
councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov
Mike Knapp 240-777-7955
councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov
George Leventhal 240-777-7811
councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Navarro 240-777-7968
councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
Duchy Trachtenberg 240-777-7964 (ZTA 10-05 Sponsor)
councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov

Watch Full Signal a new documentary on cell towers

on May 16th 2 – 4pm at the Rockville Library (More
screenings to come.)

Details Follow….

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES!

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Come see Full Signal on Sunday May 16th at the Rockville Public Library
and find out how communities the world over are working to protect their
neighborhoods from the proliferation of cell towers. (Details on page 8.)

Montgomery County is considering amendments to our cell tower

siting ordinance in response to the FCC Shot Clock ruling from last year.
This ruling forces jurisdictions to either approve or deny a cell tower
application within 150 days and a colocation application within 90 days.

At the County Council meeting on 5/11 it was made clear that the proposed
amendments are designed to streamline the application process. Ellen
Bogage, a lobbyist for T-Mobile, reported that they have plans for 164
sites with 50 of these taking place in the next year here in
Montgomery County. Industry pressure is the force behind Montgomery
County addressing the FCC Shot Clock ruling. It was mentioned at the
meeting that few other jurisdictions are taking action on this. (There is a
legal case pending on the FCC's ruling.)

There will be a county Work Session on the amendments on June 14th.

The deadline for comments to the County Council is June 1st.

Please find more on the proposed amendments below as well as

contact information on the County Council.

We need to make our voices heard. Tell the County Council that we want
to preserve public input in this process.

Please give me a call or email for more information or with any questions
you may have.

Angela Flynn
Wireless Radiation Alert Network
WRAN
301-229-0282
FAX 301-229-4752
Angelaflynn80@msn.com

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Regarding: ZTA 10-05 - proposed amendments to our Cell Tower Siting
ordinance (ZTA 10-05), which are in response to the FCC Shot Clock ruling.

There are some issues with the amendments that must be addressed.

The amendments may not be necessary:

The FCC Shot Clock Ruling is under reconsideration and is being challenged in the
US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, by the City of Arlington, Texas, along with
interveners from several jurisdictions across the US, including Fairfax County,
Virginia.

If the City of Arlington, Texas prevails in the Fifth Circuit then the County’s
zoning authority will be preserved. Either action could render the proposed
Zoning Text Amendment unnecessary.

Request that the proposed amendments be held until the court challenge by the
City of Arlington, Texas is settled.

The amendments do not require the application to be complete before

the Shot Clock starts ticking:

Paragraphs 52 and 53 of the FCC Ruling discuss the need for carriers’ applications
to be complete. The Ruling requires any determinations regarding incompleteness
of applications to be made within the first 30 days after filing.

Montgomery County documented this problem to the FCC in its Reply Comments
last year. It told the FCC that applications often omit important information and
“contain obvious errors, inaccurate or illegible plans and exhibits, or contradictory
information.” and that “it is hard to believe that restricting local discretion or
imposing strict time frames on local action will not increase the risk of serious
harm to the public.” (Please see http://whitmanhighcelltower.blogspot.com/ for
the recent errors found in the T-Mobile application for the Walt Whitman High
School site.)

Request that upon the submission of a Special Exception Petition for a

Telecommunications Facility, the Planning Board hold a Review Hearing for the
purpose of determining completeness and accuracy and that the “Shot Clock”
would stop ticking if the application was found incomplete or inaccurate, and
would not resume ticking until the application submitted was determined to be
complete and accurate.

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The proposed legislation would reduce public input, and also public
access:

The Planning Board’s previous function of holding public hearings on Special

Exception Petitions for telecommunications facilities has been beneficial in
providing public access to information. The proposed condensed processing times
may foreclose opportunities for members of the public to identify application
errors or omissions that would refute the carrier’s proposal for a cell tower siting.

The Tower Committee categorizes many of the documents contained in each

telecommunications application as “proprietary and confidential”, even though
some of these documents will later appear in the Special Exception Petition. As a
result, a member of the public has little if any access to the information about a
proposed site during the Tower Committee’s review process.

The process could be totally consumed by the Tower Committee’s processing of

the Tower Committee Application as the first 30 days could precede the filing of
the Special Exception Petition. The proposed legislation has retained the
requirement for the Special Exception Petition to contain the Tower Committee’s
recommendation, thus eliminating any opportunity for evaluation of the Special
Exception Petition until after the Tower Committee’s process has concluded and a
Tower Committee Recommendation has been made.

Request that the public be given ample opportunity for input regarding tower
siting. This should include: That all residences and businesses within 1,000 feet
of a proposed site be notified by the carrier of an application prior to the
application being filed; that the time clock for an application be delayed until the
public has full access to records of the application and the opportunity to petition
the Planning Board at the Review Hearing; and that the public’s First Amendment
rights are upheld by providing an opportunity for the public to address health
concerns of proposed antennas*.

This legislation sets the stage for overwhelming the existing systems
and frustrating the public:

Currently there are numerous carriers in the county. If they were all to file for
special exceptions for multiple sites the County would be overwhelmed and would
not be able to investigate the petitions adequately in the time frame of the Shot
Clock.

Request that limits be set regarding facility special exception petitions to one
active filed special exception petition for a new facility and one active co-location
petition, per carrier.

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References

In the Matter of A National Broadband Plan for Our Future, Reply Comments of
Montgomery County, Maryland.
GN Docket No. 09-51, 21 July 2009,
http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?
native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=7019917716

Amendment to Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/council/pdf/agenda/c
ol/2010/100511/20100511_10.pdf

CELL TOWERS AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS – LIVING WITH

RADIOFREQUENCY RADIATION
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24352550/Cell-Tower-Rpt

Latest Global Action: The French Senate bans cell phones in schools,
advertising to children under 14 and many other precautionary health actions on
cell towers.

French Senate Article 72 (Articles L. 32-1, 34-9 and L. L. 34-9-1 of the Code of
Posts and Telecommunications electronic articles L. 5231-3 and L. 5231-4 [new]
Code of Public Health and Article 17a [new] law of 15 June 1906 on the
distributions of energy) - Regulatory Guidance on electromagnetic waves

http://www.senat.fr/rap/l08-552-1/l08-552-1102.html

Here is the google translation - http://tinyurl.com/2azgmmm

Some highlights:

Afsset - French Agency for Health Safety Environment and Labor

10/15/2009

CE Article
Everyone has the right to health and protection against the harmful effects of
electromagnetic waves.

CE It is revealed that "the Court of Appeal of Versailles, by a decree of February

4, 2009, upheld the conviction of a mobile operator to dismantle an antenna
relay, whereas it caused an abnormal disturbance Neighborhood. Since that
case, the judgments in this direction is growing. These decisions reveal the
growing concern of many of our fellow citizens for their health and that of their
children."

CE Article 9 Any decision on the establishment, alteration or maintenance of a

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facility used in radio telecommunications networks must be displayed clearly and
visibly in the public areas of the building affected by the work.
Decisions on the siting radio used in telecommunications networks in
condominiums must be taken unanimously by the owners.
Decisions on the siting radio used in telecommunications in low-rent housing
should be a consultation of residents.
The lack of consultation in void the lease between the owner or owners of the
building and the network operator.

CE Article 11 Bans advertising of mobile phones for children to children under

14.

CE Article 16 The installation of Wi-Max and LTE (long term evolution) are
suspended for a period of 5 years from the enactment of this Act. Where
possible, the terminal facilities Wi-Max and LTE are replaced by an existing wired
broadband. In all other cases, prior approval of the Regional Directorate for
Industry, Research and Environment will be required.

Amendment Prohibits the use of mobile phones in kindergartens, primary

schools and colleges.

Here are contacts for the Council. Nancy Floreen is the current
President and the amendments were sponsored by Duchy Tractenberg.

Please send comments by June 1st 2010.

General County Council Contact Information

100 Maryland Avenue • Rockville, MD 20850
(240) 777-7900 (voice) •
(240) 777-7914 (TTY for hearing impaired) •
(240) 777-7888 (fax)
Legislative Information Services: (240) 777-7910
Listen to Council Sessions and Committee Meetings: (240) 773-3377
county.council@montgomerycountymd.gov

Councilmembers

Phil Andrews 240-777-7906

councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov
Roger Berliner 240-777-7828
councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov
Marc Elrich 240-777-7966
councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov
Valerie Ervin 240-777-7960
councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov

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Nancy Floreen 240-777-7959 (President)
councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov
Mike Knapp 240-777-7955
councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov
George Leventhal 240-777-7811
councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov
Nancy Navarro 240-777-7968
councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
Duchy Trachtenberg 240-777-7964 (ZTA 10-05 Sponsor)
councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov

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Full Signal
Full Signal is about the proliferation of cellular technology across the globe. It has
spread unabated like wildfire. More than half the world’s population owns a
phone. And nearly everybody lives within the range of a cell tower. Yet nobody
truly knows to what extent this technology has an impact on the human
population.

Debates on the subject have ranged from scientific circles to the mass media to
courts of law with opinions that are just as diverse. People are concerned about
safety and security, technological advancement, health and the environment.

But an increasing number of studies are starting to correlate certain ailments

with cellular technology, ranging from dizziness to tumors. Full Signal takes the
position that it is highly unlikely that these scientist’s findings are all incorrect.
The “Issue” section will feature an interactive page to help those interested in the
facts hear them directly from the experts.

Where: Rockville Library 1st Fl. Meeting Rm.

21 Maryland Avenue, Rockville, MD

2:00 pm—4:00 pm
Sunday, May 16

After the 1 hour documentary, there will be a question and answer

period with representatives of Moms for Safe Wireless.

$10 donation suggested to cover the screening fee and facilities use.

For More Information Contact: Angela Flynn 301-229-0282 or

angelaflynn80@msn.com

Sponsored by Teach Environmental Awareness for Community Health

and Moms for Safe Wireless

http://www.momsforsafewireless.org
http://www.fullsignalmovie.com

CELL TOWERS AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS – LIVING WITH

RADIOFREQUENCY RADIATION http://www.scribd.com/doc/24352550/Cell-
Tower-Rpt

Directions to the Library

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/libraries/branchinfo/ro.asp#dirs