The Montgomery County Council will be holding a Public Hearing on Bill ZTA 19-07 on Tuesday, November 19th at 7:30pm at the Montgomery County Council Building. If this Bill passes, it will allow the deployment of Small Cell Millimeter Microwave radiating antennas in “some” residential areas every 2-3 or so homes only 30 feet away from our houses.
Rick Meyer, President of the Montgomery County Coalition for the Control of Cell Towers provides this commentary:
- Residents defeated three previous attempts since 2016 to pass zoning legislation on behalf of Big Wireless to make it faster, simpler and cheaper to install wireless transmitters in close proximity to residences. (ZTA 19-07 is the fourth attempt since 2016 and the third sponsored by Councilmember Reimer.)
- Unfortunately, residents were not able to defeat ZTA 18-02 last year which removed protections for apartment and condo dwellers in Commercial zones)
- Reimer’s 19-07 is no better than what had been defeated previously.
- And, 19-07 does nothing to fix procedural inequities and lack of opportunities for input by residents. Which is why the residents of Montgomery County have been pleading with the Council for 3 years for comprehensive Legislation that truly protects their neighborhoods from intrusive and ugly wireless contraptions.
- ZTA 19-07 does NOT protect residents. It is another retread in a series of bad bills written by and for the exclusive benefit of Big wireless.
Here is what you can do now.
- Talk to your neighbors about the rapid rollout of the dense network of “small” cell antennas for current 3G and 4G, and now the 5G wireless technologies emitting radio frequency (RF) radiation, without proper investigation into their effects on the environment and the health of humans and wildlife. This issue has health, environmental justice, racial justice, property value, data security, and privacy consequences – everyone will be affected in ways that matter to them! Here are some resources to learn more:
- “Mobile phones and health: is 5G being rolled out too fast?” Computer Weekly
- “An Engineer’s Perspective Does 5G Pose Health Risks?” Electronics Blog EDN.com
- “5G and the FCC: 10 Reasons Why You Should Care” by NRDC
- “5G: The Unreported Global Threat” by Devra Davis PhD, MPH
- TechWiseTakomaPark.org – Democracy Under Attack: Learn about the secret ties to industry and conflicting interests in cancer research
- Sign up to speak at the Montgomery County ZTA 19-07 hearing. You must sign up ahead of time. Scroll to the hearing “ZTA 19-07, Telecommunications Towers – Limited Use Tuesday, November 19, 2019, 7:30 – 9:30pm” and click the “sign up” link
- Call and email the Council. Connect with them on Twitter and Facebook.
Gabe Albornoz 240-777-7959
Councilmember.Albornoz@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Gabe Albornoz
Andrew Friedson 240-777-7828
Councilmember.Friedson@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Andrew Friedson
Evan Glass 240-777-7966
Councilmember.Glass@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Evan Glass
Tom Hucker 240-777-7960
Councilmember.Hucker@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Tom Hucker
Will Jawando 240-777-7811
Councilmember.Jawando@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Will Jawando
Sidney Katz 240-777-7906
Councilmember.Katz@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Sidney Katz
Nancy Navarro 240-777-7968
Councilmember.Navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Nancy Navarro
Craig Rice 240-777-7955
Councilmember.Rice@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Craig Rice
Hans Riemer 240-777-7964
Councilmember.Riemer@montgomerycountymd.gov
View Staff List for Hans Riemer
Related Links:
- ZTA 19-07, Telecommunications Towers – Limited Use (PDF)
- Montgomery County Council Main ZTA page
- Letter to Montgomery County Council: 5G and its small cell towers threaten public health
- TechWiseTakomaPark.org Focused on Takoma Park, but has useful information and resources relevant to all of Montgomery County and beyond.
- Democracy Under Attack – from TechWiseTakomaPark.org
- Property Values Letter by Anton Vanas (PDF)
