Keep Cell Antennas Away From Our Elk Grove Homes
(a grassroots campaign that derives its strength from you!)
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August 31, 2020
Contents
News
Residents oppose new cell antennas at schools: School District cooperates. City cooperates (!) AT&T grants 1 request, denies the other
City, AT&T and Verizon are using Cosumnes Oaks High School and Pinkerton Middle School
School District improperly denies my request to place an item on the agenda of a school board meeting
Who knows the latitude and longitude of their house?!
What you can do
Personalize and send this draft letter to the school board
How to keep cell antennas away from your home
Top 12 Mistakes to Avoid When Tackling 5G “Smart” City Grid Roll Outs in Your City: A podcast from the unstoppable leader of Moms Across America.
Getting the word out
How to use this newsletter
City Council meetings and public comments
Contact
Questions? Suggestions? Feel free to send your ideas and offers to help!
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Summary of this newsletter
Here is the summary of this newsletter.
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Residents oppose new cell antennas at schools:
You can read all of the smoking emails between the EGUSD and City of Elk Grove. There is a gap between June 4 and July 14 and I wonder what happened in between. Maybe correspondence by phone. In any case this is conclusive proof that the communication happened.
Although moving one new cell antenna across the street is relatively minor the point is that:
- Residents asked
- The school district passed along the request to the City
- The City passed along the request to AT&T; and
- AT&T granted the request at one high school and denied it at the other
All of this happened before our public comments at the July 21 school board meeting. This was all the direct result of an email from Mrs. Diane Saetern, who lives across the street from Monterey Trail HS on behalf of herself and about 35 neighbors on Modena Way, to the school board on May 28 and my messages to the Elk Grove teachers union starting on June 28.
This will not be the last new cell antenna permit application by AT&T or Verizon. The City’s Master License Agreements with each company allows the company to request to add more new cell antenna sites to the City’s list. The City Manager has the discretion to do that. (Section 4.2(a)). From the August 10 community meeting via conference call it sounds like the City Manager has very little discretion NOT to do that, to “amend or supplement” the list.
We asked the school board on July 21 to ask the City NOT to approve any more cell antennas at or near schools. Because the school board and District have not taken action on that we are asking them again.
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City, AT&T and Verizon are using Cosumnes Oaks High School and Pinkerton Middle School
On August 25, nearly one year after the City of Elk Grove approved a Master License Agreement (MLA) with AT&T and 8 ½ months after approving an MLA with Verizon, the City of Elk Grove has finally published on its cell antenna webpage a list of the street addresses of the 37 approved new cell antenna sites and an interactive map.
The list and interactive map reveal that the City, AT&T and Verizon are targeting schools. They are using our children, seeking to get them addicted to constant use of cell phones while distracting students from classes, extracurricular activities and everything else schools offer.
AT&T is approved for a new 4G/5G cell antenna just north of Cosumnes Oaks High School on Lotz Parkway West of Wolfpack Lane. Pole SL8001847. The City says the nearest address is 9789 Allen Ranch Way. Verizon is approved for a new 4G/5G cell antenna on Hopewell Drive just west of Big Horn Blvd. Pole SL8000085. The City says the nearest address is 9921 Winkle Circle.
This newsletter contains a draft letter for you to personalize and send to the school board for public comments for the September 1, 2020 school board meeting. And via email.
The draft letter repeats the request for the District to ask the City to NOT approve any more cell antenna sites near schools.
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School District improperly denies my request to place an item on the agenda of a school board meeting
The California Education Code, section 35145.5, and EGUSD Board Bylaw 9323 give any person the right to place an item within the school board’s jurisdiction on the agenda at a regular school board meeting.
On July 28 I wrote to the District (Robert Pierce, Deputy Superintendent) and school board President Beth Albiania asking for time on the agenda to present information to the Board about the proposed cell antenna at Monterey Trail High School and the nearby Edward Harris Middle School. I asked for 10 minutes each for me and Mrs. Diane Saetern to address the Board.
On August 24 Mr. Pierce denied my request, claiming that, “the proposed agenda topic is a topic that is not within the School District’s jurisdiction.” This was despite all the correspondence between the District and the City. Obviously it is within the school District’s and Board’s jurisdiction. They had already proven that, or implicitly acknowledged that, when the District wrote to the City to get AT&T to move those 2 cell antennas. The District just doesn’t want parents, teachers, and even the Board to know more about this issue.
Mr. Pierce also quoted a court opinion, Mooney v. Garcia, 207 Cal. App. 4Th 229 (2012). I looked up that case and it does not support the District’s denial of our request. It says that if the school district abuses its discretion in denying a request to place an item on the school board agenda the court can issue an order for the district to grant the request. “While, of course, it is the general rule that mandamus will not lie to control the discretion of a court or officer, meaning by that that it will not lie to force the exercise of discretion in a particular manner … [it] will lie to correct abuses of discretion … .”
The District and Board abused their discretion in denying our request.
In his latest email, August 25, Mr. Pierce wrote, “I appreciate your perspective with the District’s response regarding the Board item request and I am happy to review this further and discuss it with the Superintendent’s Office. Again, it has been and will continue to be the District’s intention to work with you and to accommodate you, if and when we can.” I’m glad he will review this further and discuss it with Superintendent Hoffman. Maybe he will reverse his decision. The draft letter in this newsletter asks him and the school board to do that. .
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Who knows the latitude and longitude of their house?!
In mid May Mrs. Diane Saetern asked the City, on behalf of herself and about 35 other Modena Way residents, for several things. One of them was to hold a community meeting via conference call to discuss the entire cell antenna permitting process, the City’s options, and how residents can have input into the permitting process. Diane also asked the City to place several documents on the City’s web page on cell antennas and to explain why the City has not exercised certain options. Unfortunately to date the City has failed to do most of those things.
But it did hold a 2 hour community meeting on August 10, hosted by Bob Murdoch and Jeff Werner from the Department of Public Works. You can view the City’s slide presentation and listen to the audio recording of the meeting on the City’s page.
To make a long story short Bob and Jeff made a short presentation with slides and then opened up to questions. The last hour and 40 minutes or so were listeners’ questions, sent in via chat, and the City’s answers. Some questions they could not answer and promised to answer later.
One request was for the City to actually identify the approved new cell antenna sites in the AT&T and Verizon MLAs by address. Each MLA had an Exhibit A, which identified the City’s light poles approved for new cell antennas by latitude, longitude, and pole number only. Not by address. This is why the City’s claims that they “properly noticed” the City Council meetings where the Council approved these MLAs is false. Who knows the latitude and longitude of their house?! Or the nearest City owned light pole?
Unless you do you would not be able to tell from the City’s meeting notice or the draft or final (approved by the City Council) Master License Agreements with AT&T and Verizon where these approved new cell antenna sites are. Or whether one was say, right across the street from your house. Or your child’s school.
The Keep Cell Antennas Away From Our Elk Grove Homes grassroots campaign had asked for the City to identify the light poles by address before. They City never listened – until August 25.
In response to this the City FINALLY, on August 25, published on its website a list of the addresses of the approved new cell antenna sites and an interactive map. It is about time. The City approved the AT&T MLA and zoning code amendment on August 28, 2019, so this was almost exactly one year later.
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Getting the word out
How to use this newsletter
Dear Reader,The hyperlinks in this newsletter may work better if you view it in your browser.
Please share this news with your friends and neighbors, especially parents of EGUSD students. Please share this message and follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Next Door too.
Also, please send me your cell phone number. It will be easier for us to stay in touch. I will only use it for purposes of this campaign and you can unsubscribe from that at any time.
Together we are stronger. Thank you.
Mark Graham
http://www.keepcellantennasawayfromourelkgrovehomes.org/
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What you can do
The Elk Grove school board meeting is Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. If you can send in your public comments using the school board’s web form by 4:30 they will read it aloud or, as in July, read the names of the people who sent in supporting comments (on the same subject).
http://www.egusd.net/about/leadership/board-of-education/virtual-egusd-board-meeting-september-1/
Scroll down to where it says this and click on it.
“Submit a public comment for the September 1, 2020 Board Meeting.”
They say the limit is 2,000 characters and they told me in July that their web form cuts off anything after that. Still, feel free to personalize your public comment using the draft letter that follows. Copy and paste it right into their web form.
Also, you can email the Trustees (school board members) and of course there is no word limit.
Please send this sample letter to the Board of Trustees and Superintendent Hoffman. Their email addresses are:
ealbiani@egusd.net, cdmartin@egusd.net, nchaires@egusd.net, cforcina@egusd.net, cmadisonsr@aol.com, anperez@egusd.net, bsinghal@egusd.net, SuptOffice@egusd.net,
Please send a bcc to me at Mark at [the address of this website]
Personalizing your message, like saying how long you have lived in Elk Grove or what schools your children attend, will make it stand out.
Draft letter to personalize and send:
Dear Trustees, Superintendent Hoffman and staff,
Thank you District staff for contacting the City of Elk Grove in early June to request that the City NOT issue a permit for new 4G and 5G cell antennas at Laguna Creek High School, Monterey Trail High School, and Edward Harris Middle School. The City discussed that request and the company’s options with AT&T. On July 21 AT&T agreed to move the approved cell antenna at Laguna Creek HS, very close to the science classroom building, to a new pole across the street.
On August 25, one year after the City of Elk Grove approved a Master License Agreement with AT&T and 8 ½ months after approving an MLA with Verizon, the City has finally published on its cell antenna webpage a list of the street addresses of the 37 approved new cell antenna sites and an interactive map.
The list and interactive map reveal that the City, AT&T and Verizon are targeting schools. They are using our children, seeking to get them addicted to constant use of cell phones while distracting students from classes, extracurricular activities and everything else schools offer.
AT&T is approved for a new 4G/5G cell antenna just north of Cosumnes Oaks High School on Lotz Parkway West of Wolfpack Lane. Pole SL8001847. The City says the nearest address is 9789 Allen Ranch Way. Verizon is approved for a new 4G/5G cell antenna on Hopewell Drive just west of Big Horn Blvd. Pole SL8000085. The nearest address is 9921 Winkle Circle.
Please ask the City to NOT approve any more new cell antennas at or near schools. And to persuade AT&T and Verizon to withdraw these 2 antennas or at least move them farther away.
On July 28 Mark Graham asked the Board to place the broad issue of cell antennas near schools and the District’s options vis-a-vis the City on the agenda of a regular Board meeting. Staff improperly denied the request. Please grant this request. It is within the District’s and Board’s jurisdiction and authorized by Education Code section 35145.5 and Board Bylaw 9323.
Thank you,
[Your name and address, or that you live in Elk Grove]
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How to keep cell antennas away from your home
Top 12 Mistakes to Avoid When Tackling 5G “Smart” City Grid Roll Outs in Your City
Our grassroots campaign in Elk Grove achieved most of this when the City Council approved a zoning code amendment on August 28, 2019. The City will not permit a cell antenna immediately adjacent to or across the street from a residential front yard. I call this the “front yard rule.”However we learned many lessons along the way and the battle is still not over, as this newsletter has shown.
A podcast from Moms Across America by the unstoppable Zen Honeycutt.
One of the things I wish I had when I began this Crusade, as I call it, is a mentor. An experienced, successful advocate and hell raiser that I could ask all my questions about changing local cell antenna policy. The way I see it we can all learn from other advocates whom we respect and like. Zen Honeycutt always teaches me something. She is a great teacher for advocates. I share her podcasts with you so that you can have the benefit of some of her experience and wisdom.Zen has a podcast called “Unstoppable with Zen Honeycutt”. In Episode 65 – Top 12 Mistakes to Avoid When Tackling 5G “Smart” City Grid Roll Outs in Your City Zen spells out some very valuable things to know.
On April 6, I told you about Mom’s Across America, led by Founder & Executive Director Zen Honeycutt. Moms Across America is a National Coalition of Unstoppable Moms. From the beginning they have worked to educate people about healthy food choices, going organic and avoiding glyphosate. That work continues but now they are also working on cell antennas.
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Contact
Questions or recommendations? Please get in touch! Write to Mark at [the name of this website].
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City Council meetings and public comments
The next City Council meeting will be on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 at 6:00 p.m.
You can always email the Council and staff care of the City Clerk, Jason Lindgren, who will distribute your message to them. His email address is jlindgren@lkegrovecity.org
Elk Grove City Council meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month. They are scheduled to begin at 6:00 and actually begin between 6:00 and 6:45. They are held in the Council Chambers located at 8400 Laguna Palms Way across the street from City Hall.
Members of the audience can speak on any item on the agenda or on items not on the agenda.
During the quarantine the Council Chambers are closed to the public during Council meetings. The agenda describes the ways available for making public comments. You can send in your comments in print or an mp3 audio file or you can email the City Clerk to call you during the meeting so that you can speak. The best way it to make an audio file of your public comments, up to 3 minutes long, and send it to the City Clerk, whose email address follows.
Ordinarily, when there is no virus, you can fill out a blue speaker card on the table at the back of the room and give it to the Assistant City Clerk, who sits at the front left of the room facing the audience.
City Council meeting agendas are available on the City’s website. You can also subscribe to be notified of new agendas, hearings, etc.
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