Letter to SaddleBrooke Residents on Proposed Cell Tower

SUBMITTED TO SBINSIDER| July, 29th, 2023

EDITOR’S NOTE: Our story was posted last week and the following email\letter was received from David Forney​, Public Relations Chair Loma Serena Homeowners Association. Df*********@gm***.com

I am writing to inform you of some inaccuracies and omissions regarding your July 23rd article in The SB Insider titled “New Cell Tower site being considered.”

While it is unfortunate SaddleBroke residents may experience interrupted cell service, the residents of Loma Serena are vehemently opposed to the installation of yet another cell tower in our neighborhood.

On April 12, 2023, a letter was mailed from Vertical Bridge, a cell tower  engineering firm hired by Dish Network announcing their intent to install a new tower in Loma Serena. Additionally informing nearby residents of a meeting May 23, 2023, at the Desert View Theatre in Saddlebroke to gather public input.

By County statute this letter was supposed to have been mailed to all residents within 1200 feet of the proposed tower. In fact, only a handful of letters were mailed to Loma Serena residents and no letters mailed to  Saddlebroke residents, despite the fact 30 or more homes in Saddlebroke are within the 1200-foot requirement. Although by County statute the purpose of the meeting was to gather public input the representative of Vertical Bridge refused to hear any objections to the tower installation. This created a heated exchange which ultimately resulted in a Saddlebrooke HOA official terminating the meeting. Interestingly Vertical Bridge approached Saddlebrook to place the tower on top of the Desert View Theatre in Saddlebrooke for which the administration summary declined. Subsequently a substantial group of Loma Serena residents rallied to take their message directly to the County. ​

There are several reasons the Loma Serena residents do not want another tower in our neighborhood.

1) All roads in the Loma Serena neighborhood are private roads owned and maintained by individual homeowners. Fires are common in and around cell towers and their infrastructure. There are no fire hydrants within Loma Serena and could quickly allow a fire to be out of control.

2) The proposed site already has two cell towers. The property owner who receives substantial financial compensation for each tower installed has indicated he would like to install more towers.

3) There is no need for additional cell coverage in this neighborhood, as almost every neighbor states, that they have very adequate cell coverage

4) New studies clearly indicate a cell tower near a home negatively impacts home values. In fact, new statutes now require disclosure of nearby towers.

5) The most significant of all the concerns is that of health concerns. Unfortunately, Counties and the FCC discount these concerns a justification to disallow their instillation. There is an abundance of studies on the harmful radiation emitted by cell towers internationally, however almost nothing is coming out of the US. The most significant study being a study out of Germany.  The ten-year study conducted from 1994-2004, revealed that living within 400 meters (1312.34 feet) of a Cell Tower increased the risk of developing cancer by three hundred percent (300%).

Authors: Horst Eger, Klaus Uwe Hagen, Birgitt Lucas, Peter Vogel, Helmut Voit.

On July 7, 2023, we received communication from the County notifying us this project has been placed on hold pending through research of the site is completed.

In closing there is ample justification to oppose this tower instillation and we will continue our opposition with the support of the ad hoc committee formedand the Loma Serena HOA.

Sincerely

David Forney​

Public Relations Chair

Loma Serena Homeowners Association

Df*********@gm***.com