A family that blames a recent spate of serious health problems
on a cell phone tower 200 feet from its home in unincorporated
Gilroy helped defeat a proposal to make the tower bigger Thursday
and vowed to continue a fight to have the tower removed.
A family that blames a recent spate of serious health problems on a cell phone tower 200 feet from its home in unincorporated Gilroy helped defeat a proposal to make the tower bigger Thursday and vowed to continue a fight to have the tower removed.
After an emotional appeal by Steve Britton, who was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes in December, the Santa Clara County Planning Commission unanimously rejected an effort by a subsidiary of Cingular to increase the size of the tower from 35 to 75 feet.
“I can’t quite say how I feel,” Britton said after the hearing, fighting back tears. “It went much better than I expected. I’m going to continue to fight for a planning ordinance to not allow poles to be this close to homes. I realize it may take a while.”
Were it a mile or two east or south, the tower near the Britton’s home on Furlong Avenue would be illegal. Both Gilroy and San Benito counties have ordinances regulating microwave towers that emit radiation. In Gilroy, towers must be in commercial and industrial areas. San Benito County proscribes towers within 500 feet of homes or 1,500 feet of schools.
Gilroy’s ordinance requires existing towers to be in compliance within five years.
Cote and Britton spoke to the Morgan Hill City Council on Feb. 23 asking council to protect city residents by adopting Gilroy’s cell tower ordinance. Mayor Dennis Kennedy asked that the issue be placed before the Economic Development Committee and then the full council.
The county has no such ordinance, leaving the planning commission to approve tower construction on a case by case basis. The county does not have the authority to reject towers that meet safety standards set by the Federal Communications Commission, but it can veto projects that interfere with a neighborhood’s character, as it did Thursday.
The tower was originally proposed to stand 80 feet high. An amended proposal called for a 75 foot tower capped by a tree, a “stealth design” intended to help the tower blend with its surroundings. The owner of the property where the tower stands is paid for use of the land.
The Brittons have lived on Furlong Avenue for 12 years. The neighborhood is zoned for agriculture.
