- T-Mobile is placing this cell tower in our R1 residential neighborhood because their attempts to install it in three other nearby locations failed. (other locations include near Pizza Hut on Burbank Blvd and on top of a condo building on Burbank/Sepulveda Blvd.)
- T-Mobile already has adequate cell phone coverage in this area. Once installed, the cell phone tower will NOT improve cell phone reception for other cell phone carriers either. (Verizon, Sprint, etc)
- Why T-Mobile needs your neighborhood is NOT for normal dialed cell calls, it is to offer this G4 coverage, and not specifically to you! There main interest is the "Burbank commuter corridor", those cars travelling to and from the 405. That's right, they want to offer seemless cell coverage to drivers.
- T-Mobile applied for this permit early in 2010 and on February 2, 2010, letters were sent to Albers Street area residents. Those letters did not specifically state a CELL TOWER was going up. Months go by with no activity, because T-Mobile was hoping to win against the residents on Burbank/Sepulveda, where they would have installed far less costly, roof transmission antennas. They lost the appeal and went for this location, much more expensive.
- T-Mobile claims they sent letters to Councilmember Paul Krekorian's office and the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, SONC. However neither Paul Krekorian nor SONC state having ever received this letter. According to SONC, they have dealt with T-Mobile before and would have taken immediate action had they been notified.
- We only know of two letters that were recieved by only two neighbors. The letter was intentionally vague using the term "above ground facility" instead of "Cell Tower Antenna"
- T-Mobile has been covert and misleading in getting this cell tower through. Due to a loophole in the law, installations on public right-of-ways do not have to be noticed to more than a couple of area residents.. 500 foot radius rule does not apply.
- T-Mobile can do this because they pay the State of California millions of $$ annually in franchise fees for the right to use these public right-of-ways.
For these huge franchise fees, the Bureau of Engineering/Department of Public Works practically rubber stamps approval of hundreds of these installations per year. - According to the supervisor on the Albers site, T-Mobile is very sneaky in the way it pushes these cell towers through the system. In a given year, perhaps 200 installations happen between January and August, 800 happen between September and December. This overloads the City Public Works, which just rushes these permits through. Very clever, T-Mobile.
- Residents are in the dark. Unmarked trucks start coming and digging up the area; with piping around neighbors assume it is DWP doing waterline or sewer work. Workmen state they are installing a "phone box", an omission of the truth. Work intensifies Halloween weekend when people are distracted. By the time neighbors notice, 1/2 the work is already done.
- T-Mobile has alot at stake to install this tower a hitch. A new national G4 advertising campaign broke November 3rd
- Numerous studies have shown that long term exposure to EMFs from cell towers are dangerous and associated with increased cancers. Microwaves and baby monitors and other radioactive devices are not on 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEEK; this isn't an argument for MORE radiation. Read the studies on EMFs from cell towers.
- Property Values: Real estate professionals will confirm that homes located near power lines or cell towers are less immediately salable, and are devalued compared to other similar homes in the area.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
T-Mobile is using our neighborhood as a cell antenna dumping ground to sell 4G service to commuters!
We are now shedding light on this project thanks to great information submitted to us. This is what we have learned so far:
