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NIMBY: The new urban terrorismINSIDEPOLITICSFRED RICEIMBY — “Not In My Back Yard— used to just describe the sentiment against building large airports and landfills near urban residential areas. Unfortunately, it seems to have evolved into a new and potent form of urban terrorism. Lately, people are willing to say or do just about anything, including distorting the facts and falsely predicting dire consequences in their attempt to scare people into killing any project which might inconvenience them slightly, or just spoil their view, even though it would actually benefit the entire community.In a recent example of this new urban terrorism, three new residents of Playhouse Circle (let’s call them PC— it fits) appeared before the Board of Selectmen with several outrageously false claims designed to thwart lease of town-owned land I near the sewage treatment plant for construction of a cellular phone tower by Aurora Communications.You may recall that back in March,Hampton voters approved the lease to Aurora by a nearly 3-to-l vote.j Clearly, the people wanted better cellular phone coverage, and they voted, in essence, for a tower that would provide it, but the town has been slow to respond to that vote.Members of the PC group claimed that they were not there for their own benefit, but simply to protect the public from the dangers posed by the tower.They said that the RF radiation wras so intense that it could fry an egg at several miles distance, and that it would cause sickness in nearby residents. They warned that the area around the base of the tower was as dangerous as the antenna at the top, that its height was determined solely by the developer’s desire to put more equipment on it, and on and on.My own engineering background told me that these claims just didn’t ring true, and it quickly became obvious that the group’s bogus statements were nothing more than an irresponsible attempt to scare the selectmen into rejecting the project in order to protect the view from their homes (which, if you will remember, were built at the expense of tearing down a beloved local icon, the Hampton Playhouse, and there was a NIMBY protest about that, also).Members of the PC group also claimed they couldn't find much information on the actual dangers of cell towers, even on the Internet. That’s odd, since my own Internet search, using just four words, “RF radiation medical hazard, returned hundreds of private and government studies on the subject in seconds.Number three on the list was a 57-page study on “Electromagnetic Fields and Human Health by Dr. John Moulder, professor of radiation oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin, which summarized some 200 other studies on the subject and pronounced cell towers and their antennas 100 percent safe. I have given a copy of Dr. Moulder's study to the selectmen for their reference.I also called two friends who were professors of electrical engineering at leading engineering universities to verify this information. They both told me that the danger from cellular phone towers was zero, unless you were able to fly and position yourself just a few feet in front of the antenna, which isn't likely.The federal government has prohibited towns from rejecting cell towers on the basis of claims of health or technical dangers, since overwhelming evidence already proves that they are safe. This also protects towns from overreacting to phony claims and false alarms, such as those given to our selectmen by the PC residents.Recent zoning changes in Hampton limited the locationof transmission towers to the corridor along 1-95. This was intended to prevent the proliferation of cellular towers all over town in case everyone wanted to make a buck by leasing out their back yard for a tower.Since cellular phone transmissions are “line-of sight and short range, however, this does not allow for good reception everywhere in town from towers in the 1-95 corridor. Heavy summer foliage may cut down their range even further.Aurora’s plan to locate a single tall tower on the eastern side of town for several carriers was a win-win situation for everyone. It would have improved cellular phone reception along the shore from Seabrook to North Hampton, and would be close and tall enough to reach into the back side of the slightly elevated terrain in the center of town, filling in the gaps that can’t be reached from 1-95. Carriers would get better coverage front a single tower, and the town would get the lease revenues from otherwise useless land. Aurora had even agreed to build a building to hold the antenna, and give the Public Works Department free space in it.Unfortunately, the town got greedy and scared. It demanded a free building and higher lease payments, while voting to terminate discussions with Aurora because it didn’t have enough information to overcome the PC scare tactics.This was not a good move. While the Board of Selectmen does nothing with Aurora, beachgoers still want better cellular phone coverage, and the carriers want their business. The ZBA has just granted a variance for a single carrier’s concealed antenna in a box oni top of a building at the beach, and soon there will be more hidden individual antennas at the beach that will cover only the local shore line area.If the town sits on its hands while this happens, there will be no carriers left to use an Aurora tower, no land lease revenues, no free space for DPW, and continued poor cell phone reception in much of Hampton. While there certainly are other issues surrounding the lease of town land for a cell phone tow'er that need to be addressed, they are definitely not technical or safety issues.No one can know at this time whose antennas will be on the tower, since Aurora can’t negotiate with the carriers until they have a specific location and lease cost upon which to base their negotiations. The Planning Board will require, at the appropriate time, that all necessary engineering codes and bonding requirements are met. It is important that the selectmen revive this deal and move forward quickly on it, by negotiating a reasonable land lease before it's too late to do so.If you really want to see the impact of a tall telecommunications tower, take a trip up to Kennebunkport and have dinner at On The Marsh, a beautiful, upscale restaurant with a gourmet menu and fantastic atmosphere. The pic-ture-windovv view' from the best tables overlooks a beautifully manicured lawm and well-tended gardens. Beyond that lie several acres of open, pristine marshland stretching on to the treeline. It is as beautiful a pastoral scene as you’ll ever see. The one thing you never really notice in the middle of all this serenity is the 200-foot cellular tower, which rises right over the middle of the treeline. It’s just not that overwhelming.The residents of Playhouse Circle are not justified in their protests. If they w'anted an absolute guarantee that nothing would ever disturb their view, they should have done their homework better before buying a home adjacent to land legally zoned for things they might not like, such as towers, sewage treatment plants, or industrial development. The needs of the entire town cannot be held hostage just to protect the view from the front yards of a few individuals who cry “NIMBY.”Fred Rice is a former Hampton selectman and is now chairman of the Municipal Budget Committee. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the newspaper.
Newspaper Details
Hampton Union
Hampton, New Hampshire, US
Tue, Jul 30, 2002
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Fred R.
USA 13 Nov 2023
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