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Radioactive emissions from 12 telecommunications antennas set to be affixed to the Oaks Theater on Solano Avenue is worrying Thousand Oaks neighbors. 

Studies into telecommunications radiation are in their infancy and it is not known if even tiny amounts over time could pose a health threat, antenna opponents argue. 

But they may have to grin and bear the radiation that makes cell phones and pagers work because the city has no authority in regulating the safety aspects of the antenna. That comes under the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission which says the amounts of radiation generated by the proposed Nextel Communications antenna are well within their parameters. 

Skittish neighbors gathered at the Northbrae Community Church on The Alameda Wednesday evening at a meeting called by Nextel, designed to ease their edginess.  

“This isn’t required by law, it’s just something that Nextel does,” said company spokesperson Kristen Hulsey of the meeting. “We want everyone to know that we’re in compliance with local, state and FCC standards and we’re trying to work with the neighborhood.” 

Some citizens didn’t come away from the meeting feeling so easy.  

Dr. Leonard Schwartzburd, a psychologist, who says his practice is 60 feet from the top of the theater, argued that there’s not enough evidence to lighten his doubts. 

“I’m very concerned that when a new technology arises that there’s a rush to expand it before we know all about it. I just don’t think that there’s enough checks and balances,” he said.  

“These antenna will be here indefinitely,” he said. “No one knows what the cumulative effects will be.” 

Vivian Kahn, interim deputy director of planning, said according to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 state and local governments may only prevent the installation of such antenna on an aesthetic basis. 

“Federal law precludes us from making a decision from a health standpoint. We make decisions on everything but that,” she said. 

Kahn said a zoning officer approved the antennas, but an appeal to Zoning Adjustments Board was filed Aug. 12 by Constance and Kevin Sutton. 

The Suttons’ appeal states that the installation of the antenna is inappropriate based on the city’s “Wireless Telecommunications Antenna Guide” that says that these antennas shouldn’t be placed in residential areas. 

“It seems to me that they could put these things outside residential areas, they would just have to spend more money,” Kevin Sutton said. “Cities seem to be rubber-stamping these things and they don’t know anything about the cumulative effect.” 

Sutton said that the same thing is happening in Oakland. He said that another telecommunications company wants to put these same antennas on Whole Foods grocery store on MacArthur Boulevard, which is also a residential area. He said that telecommunication companies have saturated industrial areas, where the FCC recommends that they go, and are now forced to look to residential areas. 

“Each company has to have their own,” said UC Berkeley microbiologist John Taylor. “The city really needs to look at this.” 

Hulsey said that the decision to place the antennas on the theater is customer driven and the company is boosting their coverage for the growing cell users in the area. 

“We need additional capacity,” she said. “We’re predicting a growth in users in the area. This site will meet our coverage objective.” 

Jerrold Bushberg, Ph.D., a health and medical physics consultant for Nextel told the audience that residents near the antenna need not worry. He said that the radiofrequency (RF) generated by the antennas is most analogous with that of ultra-high frequency (UHF) television channels that have been in the atmosphere for 40 years. 

In his written report to Nextel, he measured the RF emitted from the antennas to be roughly 2.32 percent of the FCC maximum, and says that the exposure levels are in full compliance with current FCC public safety standards and are, in fact, substantially lower than the prevailing public health and safety standards. 

A chart included in Bushberg’s findings shows that the amount of radiation Schwartzburd would be subjected to, from 60 feet away from the base of an antenna, .01070 milliwatts of non-ionized radiation per cubic centimeter. That is only 1.88 percent of the FCC’s standard for exposure. 

But Schwartzburd is the first to point out that Bushberg himself said he understood the people’s concern that there are no adequate independent review of long-term RF effects. 

“Essentially they’re asking the industry to self-regulate. And industry doesn’t have a very good track record of self-regulation,” he said. 

The Suttons’ appeal also addresses the aesthetics of the antennas. It contends that an installation like this would bring down property values, since many neighbors have views that include the roof and sides of the theater. 

Hulsey said the antennas won’t be visible, they will be screened or integrated into the building itself. 

“They will not affect the area aesthetically,” she said. 

Kahn said that the ZAB can uphold the Zoning Officer’s decision to go ahead, or call a public hearing on the matter.  

Sutton said that he feels very strongly and will go as far as necessary to stop the antennas. He’ll retain an attorney if necessary, he said. 

If the ZAB upholds the Zoning Officer’s findings, Sutton may appeal to City Council. 

Taylor said that a report he was directed to by Bushburg shows that a third generation of cell phones that deal with computer data are not far away. Soon we’ll be even deeper into wireless telecommunication, he said. 

“It would be a good time for some regional planning to find a good place for these things so people can use these things without fear,” the scientist said.