The federal government does not want cities to talk about possible health or environmental consequences from the growing number of wireless antennas.
For some Santa Fe residents, that is exactly the reason those issues should be raised and why the city should slow down on making rules that would allow more telecommunications infrastructure here.
About 30 people gathered Thursday at the Mary Esther Gonzales Senior Center to talk about ways to govern telecommunications networks and cable systems in public rights of way.
"I've read a lot of studies on the Internet about (radio frequency waves)," said audience member Michael Collins. "They range from 'Oh, everything is fine' to 'Children should stay away from them.' I don't know what to think. ... I don't know about you, but I felt a lot better before cell phones and cell towers and Wi-Fi."
The meeting, arranged by the Santa Fe Alliance for Public Health and Safety in conjunction with city Councilor Miguel Chavez, included a pitch for supporters to gather signatures on a petition that will be presented to the City Council seeking a moratorium on applications for wireless networks.
Chavez has already introduced a measure that would impose a six-month moratorium on approval of applications to give the city time to refine its ordinance and evaluate how other cities are handling applications. At least four companies have already spoken with Santa Fe officials or filed formal requests to install such systems here.
Members of the alliance said they have been working on their own version of an ordinance that would establish two separate processes — one for cable and wired proposals, and another for wireless infrastructure such as towers and antennas.
City Legislative Liaison Jeanne Price said the city attorney would be the one to decide about whether separating those portions of the rules is possible or advisable.
"I love the city of Santa Fe. I don't want us to get sued," said Therese Zucal, who asked Chavez to work toward that goal.
"People keep intermixing the two, and we want to separate them," agreed John McPhee, a worker with the state Department of Health who volunteered to moderate the meetings and who lamented that his agency doesn't have jurisdiction over wireless antennas either.
Separating those concepts would also allow for projects such as broadband and fiber-optic cable installation to move ahead faster than the more controversial wireless projects, agreed other audience members.
Richard Lowenberg, part of 1st-Mile Institute's New Mexico Broadband Initiative, said "the national telecommunications landscape is changing rapidly and radically."
He agreed with the idea to separate cable rules from wireless rules and also urged the city to take its time. "Santa Fe would do well to really think about this deeply and in a very foresightedly way," Lowenberg said.
Chavez reminded the audience that although the city has asked the federal government to give it more authority when regulating telecommunications, the current effort needs to focus on "what we are allowed to discuss ... which is property value and aesthetics." The FCC limits local government from considering health or environment when granting approval for antennas.
Activist Azlan White said she sees tremendous promise in groups of residents calling on Santa Fe leaders to respond to their concerns.
"It seems like the federal government and the FCC have become mouthpieces for the industry. They are not thinking about health, and they are not thinking about our safety," White said, adding later, "Literally, it is against the law for us to interfere with the telecommunications business. ... We have to become much more outspoken for things that we care about."
The proposed Santa Fe telecommunications ordinance has been a contentious issue in the city for months. Even before the ordinance emerged from city staff, area residents had appeared in force at public hearings to protest the installation of wireless Internet in city buildings — which happened anyway — and the use of a wireless monitoring system for the city water system, which was successfully thwarted.
In early February, the City Council tabled its scheduled vote on the telecommunications ordinance after nearly 30 people testified against it.
The other side of the equation, communications providers who want to do business in Santa Fe, says the city has already violated rules from the federal government that require cities to act on applications for franchise agreements within 90 days, and their applications have passed that deadline.
The city's current telecommunications ordinance — which would be formally repealed by the proposed changes — was mostly struck down by a federal appellate court in 2004. City staff started redrafting the rules last year. Maureen Reed, a city assistant attorney, is no longer working on the project and has resigned from her job, according to City Manager Robert Romero.
A second public meeting is planned for 7 p.m. April 22 at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road. The City Council has the proposed ordinance on its agenda May 12.
Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.
link to article:
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/LocalNews/Residents--Rethink-wireless-rules
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