CARLSBAD, Calif. — Story update 7/12/24:
A proposed 5G cell tower received a conditional use permit from the Carlsbad city planner. Residents have ten days to appeal.
The planning commission's decision could be appealed by the city council, if no appeal is filed then the permit is final.
Original story 6/12/24:
A proposed 5G cell tower is not getting a strong signal from many families in North County.
Verizon wants to build the wireless tower on the northeast corner of San Elijo and Rancho Santa Fe Roads in Carlsbad.
The proposed site is in Carlsbad on the San Marcos border. There is a preschool, housing, and a future memory care facility next to the proposed site.
“It’s like a time bomb that, literally, they’re putting there on the corner, affecting hundreds, if not 1000s of homeowners, the environment, the preserve, animals,” said Cheri Coats, Carlsbad resident.
She isn’t alone in her concerns about the proposed 5G Verizon tower where currently there is a RV park.
“I don't want the neighborhood and a bunch of people to be affected for this long period of time, especially since we have a lot of kids who live here,” said Annalena Dellin.
On Tuesday, neighbors voiced their concerns to the Carlsbad city planner and other leaders including a Verizon representative in an administrative hearing about Verizon’s application for a conditional use permit to put in the cell tower.
Verizon, Carlsbad response
A Carlsbad spokesperson responded to CBS 8’s request for comment about the concerns with its 19-page policy on cell tower guidelines and FCC regulations.
“It’s a master plan community. It was built for residents and for animals, and we have a lot of wildlife here, and this will put all of that in danger,” said Heather Zirinsky, San Marcos resident.
Verizon sent CBS 8 a statement:
Verizon takes very seriously the health and safety of our employees and customers, and of all residents in the communities we serve. All Verizon facilities, including the small cells that Verizon is deploying to provide 5G service, are required to comply with the FCC safety standards. Our industry association, CTIA, has provided information about this topic:
- Experts agree that wireless devices have not been shown to pose a public health risk
- Cell phone towers operate within safety limits
- FCC regulations protect health and safety
- New 5G networks emit less RF energy
Kent Chamberlin, PhD, is the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Hampshire and has devoted his research to the impacts electromagnetics such as wireless towers have on the environment and health.
“Wireless radiation is harmful,” he added. “Science is clear that there is harm, and the industry who’s profiting from that harm, it keeps repeating the same lie over and over again in hopes that it becomes the truth. And that lie is that wireless radiation is harmless, and in fact, it’s not.”
In April, Carlsbad neighbors defeated a separate 5G tower proposal and these neighbors hope they can block this plan.
“It’s all been very shady. Verizon knows what they’re doing, they’re a huge company, and they’re just banking on the fact that we’ll just sit by and not fight back,” said Zirinsky.
Neighbors have launched a petition against the project and have received nearly 400 signatures.
The city planner told CBS 8 he has two weeks to decide which can be appealed to the city planning commission and possibly the city council.
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