USA: Parochianen protesteren tegen zilverlingen Big Telecom.

Als voorbeeld van de vele berichten die de redactie van Stopumts wekelijks ontvangt van haar correspondenten bij deze de parochianen in Ridgefield (New Jersey) die strijden tegen de uitrusting van hun kerktoren met zenders voor mobiele telefonie.
Ook in de Verenigde Staten is, net als in Nederland, van hogerhand vastgelegd dat gezondheidsaspecten geen argument tegen plaatsing mogen zijn. (Waarom zou dat zo door Big Telecom met de diverse overheden afgesproken zijn?).
Twee opvallende aspecten; het zijn brave burgers (foto) die protesteren en ook in de USA speelt de waardedaling van onroerend goed wel degelijk mee:

Bron: North Jersey.com 9 aug. 2010

Parishioners protest plan for cellphone antennas in Ridgefield church steeple

Auteur: SHAWN BOBURG

RIDGEFIELD — Voicing concerns about their health and property values, dozens of parishioners and neighbors of St. Matthew’s Church rallied Monday night to protest a plan to install cellphone antennas inside the church steeple.

Charles and Leona Nicolich rallying on Monday against a plan to install cellphone antennas in the steeple of St. Matthews Church in Ridgefield.

Charles and Leona Nicolich rallying on Monday against a plan to install cellphone antennas in the steeple of St. Matthews Church in Ridgefield.

The deal with T-Mobile would make the church the first in the Archdiocese of Newark to lease its steeple to a wireless communications company. It also would bring in much-needed money, church officials say.

But critics worry that radiation from the eight panel antennas could cause little-understood health issues for worshippers and residents, even though T-Mobile and the church have said the antennas meet safety guidelines.

“Cellphone towers don’t belong near a school or near a residential area,” rally organizer Pat DeCandia yelled into a bullhorn, as about 75 people standing on a cordoned-off section of Prospect Avenue chanted “No cell tower.”

Many held signs, including “Newark Archdiocese: Don’t cell out Ridgefield” and “St. Matthew’s signed a pact with the devil.”

The rally comes a week before the start of a trial that could bring the nearly two-year controversy to an end. The borough’s zoning board rejected T-Mobile’s proposal in June because it said the company did not prove the apparatus was necessary. T-Mobile sued the zoning board, arguing it illegally rejected the plan.

The company is seeking a court-ordered approval of the antenna array, which it says will fill a cellphone coverage gap in the borough.

But critics at the rally vowed to put pressure on T-Mobile and the archdiocese to walk away from the signed lease — even if the court overturns the town’s decision.

“Let the church know how you feel,” DeCandia implored. “Let’s stand up against big business.”

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Newark said Friday that the parish will honor the $2,000-a-month lease agreement, even though the pastor, the Rev. Donald Sheehan, has had a change of heart since signing it.

“The pastor has written to T-Mobile to tell them that he prefers that they didn’t go forward right now, but he will honor the contract,” said spokesman Jim Goodness. “It has caused a lot of pain in the community, but there is still solid support because it would be a revenue producer.”

Several residents and parishioners at the rally said they feared the effects of electromagnetic radiation on Prospect Avenue, a mostly residential street. Others predicted property values would drop or worried that heat produced by the antennas would cause a fire in the 95-foot steeple.

“I’m concerned about the health effects, plus it’s not right to deface a church that’s been here so many years,” said Gonz Fernandez, a Prospect Avenue resident for 43 years.

Under federal law, local boards are not allowed to consider health issues when deciding on such applications. Consultant reports commissioned by T-Mobile also concluded that the antennas posed no health risk. A T-Mobile spokesperson and its attorney in the lawsuit declined comment.

A trial on T-Mobile’s lawsuit against the zoning board will begin Aug. 17 in Hackensack Superior Court.

The zoning board denied the plan, in part, because it said T-Mobile could not prove the antennas were needed. Residents pointed out that T-Mobile’s website at the time said cellphone coverage in the area was excellent.

T-Mobile said at the hearing that customers have complained of dropped calls in the area. It also maintains that proving a “significant gap” in coverage is not legally required, according to court records.

“The zoning board feels very strongly in their denial,” said Ridgefield’s zoning board attorney Craig Bossong. “We hope the court decides the zoning board’s decision was grounded in fact and law.”

Voor het originele artikel met de bewuste foto zie:
www.northjersey.com/news/080910_Parishioners_protest_cellphone_antennas_in_Ridgefield_church_steeple.html .



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