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Berkeley residents are concerned about health risks from the radiation-emitting wireless antennas sprouting up around town but city officials say there’s nothing they can do as long as the antennas look good. 

The City Council will consider a recommendation to amend the municipal code to better regulate the installation of telecommunications systems this Tuesday. But the new ordinances will only regulate maintenance and installation of the systems.  

Federal law limits the city to only regulating the appearance of the antennas, according to Vivian Khan, interim deputy director of the Planning and Development Department. 

Khan said the antenna emission levels and safety concerns are regulated by the federal government under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and there is absolutely nothing the city can do beyond requiring the structures not be unsightly. “Residents concerned about negative health effects from the towers should be directing their concerns to their federal representative,” she said. 

But Dr. Leonard Schwartzburd , who lives 75 feet from the proposed site of a wireless antenna on the roof of the Oaks Theater at 1875 Solano Ave., said the city has more influence over antenna placement than it is willing to admit. 

“There pleading impotence when its really a lack of initiative,” he said. 

In a letter to the Daily Planet, Schwartzburd referred the city to the FCC web site (fcc.gov) where he said there are volumes of information presented by the National League of Cities addressing the broad powers of cities to regulate radiation transmitting antennas. 

Schwartzbud also cited Berkeley’s 1996 “Wireless Telecommunications Antenna Guidelines,” which states that such antennas are not appropriate for residential areas and should be discouraged. 

Medical journals in the United Kingdom have been publishing articles describing a growing body of evidence that wireless antennas and cell phones emit harmful amounts of radiation, according to John Taylor, a professor of mycology at UC Berkeley and neighbor of the Oaks Theater. The articles claim that children are especially at risk. 

In fact, government officials in the United Kingdom just announced a $10 million commitment to research the effects of cellular radiation and to launch a public information campaign discouraging children from any cell phone use, according to an Associated Press article published Friday. 

“Even in this country, every time they enact new regulations for antenna emissions they lower the allowable levels of emissions,” Taylor said. 

The Zoning Adjustments Board approved an application by Nextel Corporation to place a wireless antenna on top of the Oaks Theater on Oct. 12. Neighbors have filed an appeal that will be heard by the City Council at their Dec. 19 meeting. 

Another antenna has been proposed by Sprint telecommunications on the roof of the Berkleley-Richmond Jewish Community Center on Walnut Street.  

The ZAB will be considering the proposal at its Dec. 14 meeting. 

In is uncertain exactly how many wireless antennas there are in Berkeley but Senior Analyst Roger Miller of the City Manager’s Office said most of the existing antennas are in West Berkeley.