News of Verizon Wireless’ plan to install 92 small-cell antennas throughout Palo Alto is being welcomed by some residents and vehemently decried by others.
Those who experience dropped calls and delays accessing the Web say it’s about time Verizon improves its service in the hub of Silicon Valley.
But others contend the antennas pose a risk to their health and do not want the small-cell infrastructure near their homes.
One of the proposed small cells would go on a wooden utility pole about 20 feet from Eric Kang’s home.
“You can see it right outside the window,” Kang said. “I’m concerned about its effects on my health, my child’s health.”
On the other hand, a cellphone is less of a threat because it can be turned off or placed at a safe distance, Kang said.
“These things are very powerful,” Kang said about the antenna. “These things are constantly on.”
Rommel Angeles, a senior manager of Verizon’s small-cells project, said the system is the “best solution” the company has to improve and increase coverage for customers.
Verizon currently has small cells on street lights in downtown Palo Alto, such as those on Hamilton and Lytton avenues.
Angeles said the system is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and must comply with its radio frequency emission standards. He said he hopes to share information about these standards with residents who have safety concerns at future community meetings.
Verizon is organizing a series of community meetings with residents who live near the proposed small-cell sites. The city requires Verizon to notify people living within 600 feet of project sites.
Verizon has not submitted applications for preliminary or formal city review of all sites, some of which it hasn’t yet identified.
On June 8, the company had an open house for residents who live near the first cluster of 18 facilities. According to a staff report, the facilities are generally located in the Midtown, South of Midtown, St. Claire Gardens and Palo Verde neighborhoods.
Another cluster of 10 small-cell sites will be within the Barron Park, Palo Alto Orchards, Charleston Meadows and Fairmeadow neighborhoods, as well as areas adjacent to Stanford Shopping Center.
Each of the small cells will be installed on existing wooden utility poles in public right-of-ways and will have three main components: a cylindrical antenna, three radios and an emergency battery back-up unit.
Verizon is asking for feedback from the city and residents on three different configurations. In each option, the antenna is on top but the radios are arranged differently and the battery is either on the ground or mounted.
Residents can view mock, nonoperational set-ups of the proposed installations near the bus stop at 1313 Newell Road across from the Palo Alto Art Center.
Dominick Hu, who attended the meeting with his family, said he could care less about the configuration of the equipment because he doesn’t want an antenna 10 feet from his living room. He’s concerned about health effects as well as how the “unsightly boxes and towers” could affect property values.
Another resident, Herc Kwan, who has a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, said he is particularly concerned about the radiation emitted by the small cells, which could cause cancer and affect children’s development.
Some residents also wrote to city staff sharing concerns about the sites being near schools.
Rebecca Atkinson, the city’s project planner assigned to the Verizon plan, said in emails to residents that she will not have information about radiation emission at each specific location until Verizon files a formal application.
“The Planning Department will be pulling in an independent peer reviewer to review the formal Major Architectural Review/Conditional Use Permit applications to address emissions/health and safety questions,” Atkinson said in an email sent May 1.
Consultant engineers with Hammett & Edison Inc., hired by Verizon to study each proposed small-cell site, say those reviewed comply with FCC guidelines limiting human exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields.
Raj Mathur, an electrical engineer with Hammett & Edison, said at the June 8 meeting that the small cells, just like cordless phones, cellphones and Wi-Fi, fall into the same, non-ionizing radio frequency range.
City officials also have heard from dozens of residents who support Verizon’s project.
Resident John Carey wrote city staff that he has Verizon cell service yet cannot use his cellphone when he’s inside his house.
“I have to go outside when my phone rings,” Carey wrote. “C’mon, this is Silicon Valley! Please support better wireless service in Palo Alto. This is important for my family and friends. We want to be able to use our cell phones during emergencies and for 911 calls.”
Another resident, Cornelia Davis, wrote that she was surprised to find cell service is worse in Palo Alto than in “rural New Mexico and the mountains west of Boulder, Colorado.”
Davis said the equipment looks unobtrusive and she supports Verizon’s proposal to improve signal strength.
The Architectural Review Board conducted an informal, nonbinding preliminary review of these 18 small-cell sites on May 18. The application for their review was submitted by Vinculums on behalf of GTE Mobilnet, which is doing business as Verizon Wireless.
Verizon likely will ask for preliminary reviews for each cluster of proposed small cells before filing a formal application for permits.
