Novato Needs a Strong Protective Wireless Ordinance - Hire The Best!

To:

* City of Novato City Councilmembers
* City of Novato Planning Commissioners
* City of Novato City Manager
* City of Novato Community Development Department
* City of Novato Legal Department

Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (WTFs) — including so-called so-called "small" Wireless Telecommunications Facilities (sWTFs) of any G — can become significant public nuisances when placed closer than 1,640 feet (500 meters) from residences. WTFs lower values of nearby properties, are serious fire risks, are unsustainable energy hogs, and are hazardous — so hazardous that insurance companies will not insure Wireless carriers for injury, illness or death claims resulting from RF microwave radiation pollution that these WTFs transmit 24/7.

Courts caught the FCC in the act of negligent oversight regarding the safety of this greed-driven technology. Contrary to telecom industry propaganda, wireless broadband is an inefficient, outdated technology that will not solve the digital divide.

On May 13, 2022, the National Telecommunications & Information Agency (NTIA) announced its prioritization of fiberoptics as the solution to the digital divide. It is far superior in terms of security, scalability, safety, long-term cost, and consumer preference.

Documented harms from excessive RF microwave radiation from WTFs placed too close to homes have occurred in Sacramento, CA , Sebastopol, CA , Eagle, ID, and Pittsfield, MA. Similar disasters are occurring all over the US. Many cities in our area have already passed permanent, protective wireless ordinances. Those cities include Sebastopol, Fairfax, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Mill Valley, Petaluma, and Sonoma.

Do you want your family to be the next "collateral damage" victim due to an insufficiently protective wireless ordinance in the City of Novato? If not, please sign this petition.

We, the people of Novato, CA direct our City Council to write a new protective wireless ordinance that includes the following:

* A 1,640-foot setback of WTFs from schools and homes
* A 1,640-foot buffer distance between any two WTFs
* WTFs allowed only in industrial, commercial and mixed-use zones — NOT in residential zones
* WTFs to be approved only when a WTF applicant can prove — with 12 months of anonymized made/dropped call records — that a wireless carrier-specific significant gap in telecommunications service exists in the target service area (proving an inability to make outdoor wireless phone calls on that carrier's wireless network in that area)
* Require a discretionary, not ministerial/administrative approval process, which means all WTF applications to be processed only via a conditional use permit process that invites public notice and comment at the Planning Commission and offers an appeal to the City Council
* Require every six months that a neutral third-party RF microwave radiation professional to take carrier-specific, signal strength measurements (in dBm) of each wireless carrier frequency and will place this data in the public record. The cost for these signal strength measurements will be shared — on a pro-rata basis — by every entity operating antennas in — and hence polluting — the City of Novato.
• WTF permits shall expire every 5 years, requiring a new re-certification process and fee • Require a detailed WTF application checklist that ensures full compliance with all Federal and State laws, including but not limited to the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

At the Novato City Council meeting of September 13, 2022, an updated wireless ordinance will be on the agenda. The process of creating the ordinance will be presented, including important background information.

Nationally-renowned telecommunications attorney, Andrew Campanelli, has written many protective wireless ordinances for cities across the US, including cities in California, which do not violate any laws, and prevent potentially expensive litigation. He has litigated over 7,000 telecom cases and won over 80% of them. He is ready to assist the City of Novato for a flat rate of $8,500, and is willing to be interviewed at no cost. More information about Mr. Campanelli can be found at https://campanellipc.com.

Novato's city attorneys do NOT have this same level of telecom law expertise.

We, the people of Novato, direct the City of Novato to hire Mr. Campanelli to write a protective wireless ordinance for the City of Novato that includes the protections listed above, and to include public input in its development. The ordinance will positively impact the City and its residents for decades to come.

Sincerely, Wire Novato - www.wirenovato.org