Three neighbors from Northeast Portland went before the Portland City Council this morning, saying the city can – and should – do more to keep wireless towers out of residential areas.
The three are among many neighbors trying to stop Clearwire from installing a wireless internet antenna on top of power pole at NE 37th and Fremont.
But it’s not just this neighborhood dealing with this issue, they warned commissioners. Hundreds more towers could be built in the next few years, many of them only eight blocks apart. “Every neighborhood in Oregon will be facing this,” said Caitlin Johnson.
The three spoke at the beginning of today’s council meeting, a time when anyone can address commissioners on any topic.
Colin O’Neill of RespectPDX said with hundreds more towers and antennas expected, Portland needs a city-wide plan with better regulations on where the towers are placed. He says current regulations are overly complex, and put wireless companies in control over the process. “They’re in the driver’s seat,” he says. “We need to have them react to our priorities, not the other way around.”
Johnson, who lives a few blocks from the tower site, talked about everything her family has done to live safe, including eating organic food and removing toxic chemicals from the home. But even after doing all that, she says, they could still have radiation “pulsating through our home 24-hours a day.”
“This is about our right to decide about what kind of environment we want to raise our children in.”
Commissioners seemed genuinely interested in what these folks had to say. Commissioner Leonard asked to give them more time to speak. Commissioner Fritz noted that Portland is the first city in the nation to officially ask the federal government for more studies on possible health effects from wireless and cell towers. She also urged everyone in the audience to write their senator and congressman.
But that may be about all they’re going to get from city officials, at least for now.
The other speaker, Eric Winston, talked about how they’re trying to link up with neighborhood organizations in other states to make this a national cause instead of a Portland-only battle. He told commissioners that a full fledged legal fight would cost about $2 million and asked city leaders to help fund it. But the commissioners had nothing to say about that request.
Related Stories:
A Hard Cell In Northeast Portland
A Hard Cell Part Two: What Are The Dangers Of Wireless Towers?
Northeast Neighbors To Clearwire: Keep The Cell Out Of Here
