Guidelines For Cellular Phone Transmission Antennas Subject Of City Hall Hearings

Hearings are scheduled at City Hall to discuss plans to build two cellular phone transmission antennas at North Side locations.

A hearing is scheduled at 9 a.m. Tuesday on a proposal for a 100-foot AT&T antenna near the Tidyman’s Food Warehouse, 6405 N. Addison.

Another hearing is scheduled May 21 on plans by US West to build an antenna near Albi Stadium.

Spokane City Planner Steve Haynes said it’s not clear how many cellular phone antennas are transmitting signals across Spokane, but guidelines should be developed to manage the rapid growth expected in the next five years.

Tuesday’s session, in Room 250 at City Hall, will be the first special use hearing for construction of a city cellular phone tower, Haynes said.

He said city planning staff reviewed the application and is satisfied general safety concerns will be met. But beyond that, “we really don’t have any other guidelines to work from. There’s nothing in the city codes about cell phones,” Haynes said.

If there are no changes resulting from the hearing, tower construction could start within 60 to 90 days.

The tower uses ultra-high frequency signals in the 800-megahertz range, said AT&T officials.

Some critics say low-frequency radio, used for cellular phones, and higher-frequency TV towers create radiation harmful to people. The scientific community generally has found little proof to support that claim.

Regardless, the expected surge in such communications devices requires the city to start setting guidelines covering their location, said Haynes.

He noted that the city now has three “for sure” cellular antennas - one on east Trent, one on the South Hill and another on the north side.

The new tower, protected by a security fence, would fill “a gap” in AT&T’s coverage area, said spokesman Ken Woo.

The May 21 hearing will consider US West’s application for a cellular antenna a half mile from Albi Stadium. It would be 150 feet high and erected west of Assembly and north of the U.S. Naval Reserve training building.