CHATSWORTH : OK Sought for Radio Tower on Mountain

As part of an ongoing project to consolidate all non-emergency municipal agencies on the same radio frequency, the city of Los Angeles is seeking approval to build a 180-foot-tall transmission tower on Oat Mountain above Chatsworth.

Consisting of the tower and a 480-square-foot unmanned structure to house equipment, the site in the Santa Susana Mountains would be one of seven making up a citywide radio network. Four of the sites will contain transmission towers and three will house only receivers, said Mehrdad Larijaniha, a city communications engineer.

The network, which should be up and running by the end of 1995, will dedicate an 800MHz radio frequency to all city agencies except police and fire. Those agencies could also tap into the system in case of an emergency.

“The (800MHz) band is relatively clear. It’s not as congested” as other bands, Larijaniha said, and restricting the use of one frequency to only city agencies should help reduce on-air “traffic” problems.

The Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning has scheduled a hearing on the city’s application for a conditional use permit for the tower for 9 a.m. Nov. 1 in Room 150 of the Hall of Records, 320 W. Temple St., Los Angeles.

While radio towers often raise the eyebrows of neighbors concerned about the possible effects of magnetic fields, this project should give neighbors little cause for concern, said both the builder, Tower Structures Inc. of Chula Vista, and Larijaniha.

Located more than three miles north of the Simi Valley Freeway on Limekiln Road, the proposed site is in a sparsely inhabited, unincorporated area. The equipment will operate at under 100 watts, far less than a radio station, Larijaniha said.

“There is nothing to be concerned about 10 feet away, let alone down in the Valley,” he said. People “would get more radiation out of their cellular phone.”

Russell Fricano, a county regional planning assistant, said, if approved, the facility will join other transmission towers, both public and private, on the mountain.