Cell tower roils Harbour View school parents

Harbour View Elementary School parents and staff are indignant today over plans by wireless phone provider T-Mobile USA Inc. to build a cell phone tower on city parkland, just yards from the school’s playground.

The city will hold a 7 p.m. public meeting tonight at the school, 4343 Pickwick Circle, with a T-Mobile representative, the mayor and district representatives in attendance.

Construction began earlier this week at the site; the school only learned of the tower when its principal inquired what was being installed there.

“I’m angry and frustrated at the lack of the city’s ability to inform the district and our community about what’s happening, so people could at least have their say,” Harbour View Principal Cindy Osterhout said.

“The kids have also now heard about it and are concerned, and this could all been handled in a much better way,” Osterhout added. “To have to be reactive is just not right, and I think we deserve better than this.”

“Clearly, maybe we should have had a public hearing, or thought about that,” Mayor Keith Bohr told parents Thursday morning at the school. “I came over as soon as I heard there was an issue here, and by the meeting tonight, hopefully we’ll be able to clarify things with more information.”

Neither the school principal nor district officials were informed about the tower following the city council approval of it at its Jan. 20 meeting, Ocean View Supt. Alan Rasmussen said.

The motion to grant two 10-year site license agreements to Omnipoint Communications, a T-Mobile subsidiary, to install wireless facilities at Harbour View Park and Bolsa View Park, which has no adjacent school, was unanimously approved. The city would earn about $2,000 to $2,500 a month to house the towers.

Although the health implications of spending hours each day in the path of cellular radio frequency emissions are still unknown, the Los Angeles Unified School District and other districts have created policies banning the installation of the towers on school grounds.

Rasmussen said the school board denied a measure to construct a cell phone tower at one of the district’s sites last year, but doesn’t have an official policy on the towers yet.

“I have two boys here at Harbour View,” parent Gracie Vandermark said at the school.

“I’m out here because this is not safe for the kids. … Having a cell phone tower here is not safe because of the radiation. There are no studies that can show it’s safe, and my kids have no choice — they have to be here. Before they can put it up, they should have to prove to us that it’s safe.”

Rasmussen said he found out about the project Wednesday after Osterhout walked over to the construction crews and asked what was being constructed; parents told the Independent they thought it was just for a light or utility pole.

“A decision will be successful based on the process it follows,” Rasmussen told the parents. “It’s hard to sell something after the fact, and clearly a ball was dropped here.”

Reporter CANDICE BAKER can be reached at (714) 966-4631 or at candice.baker@latimes.com.