Help stop ZTA 25-11 and unlimited cell towers! [Montgomery County Loves to Put Cell Towers on School Playgrounds.]

SEE ACTION ITEM BELOW VIDEO.  

In 2022, the Parents' Coalition stopped Montgomery County from placing a cell tower in the home team bleachers at the new Woodward High School.  

At Wheaton High School, the new school building had to be built to accommodate the existing cell tower that used to be on the football field. 

Cell towers can be found on public school playgrounds all over the County despite the consistent opposition to these commercial compounds by parents and neighbors.  

Public school land is supposed to be land dedicated to the education of our children.  But unfortunately, in Montgomery County public school land is often handed over to commercial interests and children lose their outdoor spaces.  

Montgomery County Public Schools, Daly Elementary School in Germantown:

The Montgomery County Council is considering allowing wireless companies to effectively decide unilaterally when and where to put up cell towers – anywhere, anytime throughout the county, with no due process, and in many cases without even a building permit. We urgently need your help to stop this ill-conceived change. Click here to make your voice heard BEFORE the public hearing this Tuesday 9/16! ***************************************************************** The Montgomery County Council is considering Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 25-11, which would effectively allow wireless companies to unilaterally decide when and where to put up cell towers – anywhere, anytime throughout the county, with no due process and no minimum setbacks. And in many cases, without even a building permit. We urgently need your help to stop this misguided legislation. Click START WRITING on the right to email the Council Click here to read testimony from MC4T, which contains additional talking points. This Council is serving a four-year term, from 2022 until 2026. While the prior two councils (2014-2018 and 2018-2022) enacted bad cell tower zoning changes, fortunately this is the first time that this Council has tried to pass a cell tower zoning change. That also means that this Council has not heard from residents about this topic. The sponsor of ZTA 25-11 has not previously served on the Council and may not be aware of the level of widespread public opposition to cell towers in residential areas. This makes it all the more important for you to make your voice heard. Click START WRITING on the right to email the Council right now! Want to do more? SIGN-UP by Monday 9/15 at 2:00pm for the public hearing, to be held 9/16 at 1:30pm (you can testify by zoom) Submit written testimony in connection with the hearing, by 9/16 at 1:30pm Call your councilmembers and urge them to oppose ZTA 25-11 Forward this to your friends! Sponsored by Montgomery County Coalition to Protect Neighborhoods

WYANDOTTE, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Parents and residents in the city of Wyandotte have raised concerns over a 5G antenna at an elementary school.

 Judges issues preliminary injunction on controversial 5G Wyandotte antenna - CBS Detroit (cbsnews.com)

TODAY: Board of Ed. to Vote on Whether School Land is for Cell Tower Companies or Public School Children. Question for @mocoboe: Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children?

 From: Parents Coalition

Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2023 1:05 AM
To: BOE <BOE@mcpsmd.org>; Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org <Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org>; Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org <Karla_Silvestre@mcpsmd.org>; Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org <Graciela_Rivera-oven@mcpsmd.org>; Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org <Shebra_L_Evans@mcpsmd.org>; Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org <Lynne_Harris@mcpsmd.org>; Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org <Julie_Yang@mcpsmd.org>; Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org <Rebecca_K_Smondrowski@mcpsmd.org>; Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org <Leslie_E_TurnerPercival@mcpsmd.org>; sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org <sami_saeed@mcpsmd.org>

Subject: Did Seth Adams tell the BOE that a Cell Tower Application was REJECTED because Adams and McKnight CANNOT sign for the BOE?

 

To the members of the Montgomery County Board of Education:

At your July 20, 2023, Board of Education meeting you will once again be told that a Telecommunications Lease Agreement is being presented to you as a courtesy.

THAT IS A LIE.

Agenda Item 9.16 for the Woodwards Road Elementary School site MUST be voted on by the Board of Education.  

Policy ECN DOES NOT give Superintendent McKnight or Seth Adams the power to sign away property rights.  A lease signs away rights in a property.  

The Board of Education is the LAND OWNER and only the LAND OWNER can sign away property rights.  

You have the power to vote to give away property rights or to retain property rights.  It is YOUR CHOICE.  

Do you want to keep giving away school land to private companies? Approve the lease.  

Do you want public school land preserved for public school students? Don't approve the lease. Your choice.

How do we know this?  

What happened to the cell tower on the Woodward High School site?  It's gone! Do you know why?  

The Woodward High School cell tower was removed because YOU did not authorize a new cell tower to be constructed on that property.  

On September 15, 2022, the Hearing Examiner in case CU 22-09 in the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY determined that the Application for a new cell tower at the Woodward High School site was INCOMPLETE because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  The land owner is you, the Board of Education.

[MCPS Office of Facilities Management] Seth Adams was present at that hearing and heard the determination of the Hearing Examiner.  He could not sign in your place.  Because you did not authorize that Application, the Application was withdrawn and the matter closed.

Again, the Hearing Examiner determined that SETH ADAMS COULD NOT SIGN FOR THE BOARD OF EDUCATION.  The Hearing Examiner ruled that there was NO DELEGATION to Seth Adams to sign on behalf of the Board of Education. The Application was deemed incomplete because it was not signed by the LAND OWNER.  

This is not the first time a cell tower application has been withdrawn because the Board of Education (the land owner) did not authorize the project, but it is the most recent time this has happened.

The September 15, 2022, ORDER in CU 22-09 from the OFFICE OF ZONING AND ADMINSTRATIVE HEARINGS for MONTGOMERY COUNTY is attached to this email.  Read it for yourself. 

Today, it's up to you.  

Do you want to keep building cell towers or are you going to focus on using school land for public school children? 

Janis Zink Sartucci

Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, MD

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

CU 22-09 Order Requiring Am... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Tonight 5/22/23: Is Montgomery County Cutting Corners When Trying to Close the Digital Divide?

 Monday, May 22, 2023, 7PM EDT, Webinar

PRESENTERS:
THEODORA SCARATO — Executive Director, Environmental Health Trust

MITSUKO HERRERA — Program Director, Montgomery Connects, Montgomery County Office of Broadband Programs

SABINE NESCHKE — Policy Analyst (business and technology issues), Bipartisan Policy Center

 

Public infrastructure is more than roads and bridges. Bridging the "digital divide" is important for improving educational, economic, health, and political equity. Montgomery County is increasing broadband service locally by expanding infrastructure for 5G mobile technology. But what questions are county officials asking in the process, and how can residents understand the impacts of this effort?

 

FREE. PUBLIC ALWAYS WELCOME.
Register here for the Zoom with opportunity for Q&A.
Watch Live on Facebook here!

Once Again, Superintendent McKnight will Try to Get @mocoboe to Hand Over Land Use Decisions to @mcps Staff. [An attempt in August 2022 failed.]

The Montgomery County Board of Education and Superintendent Monifa McKnight want to get the public out of decisions about Public School Land.  

On Thursday April 20, 2023, the Board of Education's Consent Agenda will include a vote to remove public input from some Public School Land decisions.

  

They tried to do this in August of 2022, but the resolution was pulled from the Agenda after a public outcry. 

Placement of an item on the Consent Agenda means that the item being voted on won't even be discussed.  It is assumed that the item is so trivial that Board of Education members will unanimously approve it without discussion. 

This Agenda item will hand over all these Public School Land Use decisions to the Superintendent and she can then hand those decisions over to Seth Adams, Director of Facilities Management, so that he can make the decisions without public notice, without public input and without oversight.  Seth Adams will be able to make these land use decisions even if they are of a controversial nature.  

What decisions might be included in this broad delegation of authority to the superintendent?  Moving bus depots, moving bus parking, cell tower compounds, removing trees/forests etc...? 

How might local Public School Land be changed by these decisions that will now be made by one MCPS employee alone behind closed doors? If the Board of Education approves this Resolution, those questions will be for the Superintendent and Seth Adams to know and the public to never find out.  

6.10 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature 

Watch now as #MCPS #Teacher Katherine Katzin talk about the #health effects of #5G cell antennas and wireless radiation. Then, use our 1-minute tool (Link in bio) to tell #MoCo Council you do not want cell towers 30 ft from your home!

Dear Neighbors, Watch now as #MCPS #Teacher Katherine Katzin talk about the #health effects of #5G cell antennas and wireless radiation. Then, use our 1-minute tool (Link in bio) to tell #MoCo Council you do not want cell towers 30 ft from your home!https://t.co/Sf9bshH67Z

— MoCo Coalition To Protect Neighborhoods (@MoCoCoalition) October 21, 2022

MoCo council holds public hearing on 5G towers

Board of Education Expected to Vote Tuesday 8/23 on Who Makes Land Use Decisions @mocoboe @mcps

Members of the Montgomery County Board of Education are expected to vote Tuesday afternoon on a resolution that would cede their authority on land use decisions “of a routine nature” to the superintendent, who then would be able to delegate that power to the director of facilities management.

Under the request from Superintendent Monifa McKnight, “the superintendent of schools or his/her designee” will approve and execute permanent easements, utility easements, rights-of-way, rights-of-entry, memoranda of understanding for land-related issues, and land-related agreements of a routine nature with governmental entities and adjoining land owners, to provide greater administrative efficiency.”

If this consent agenda item is approved, the facilities management staff will decide issues surrounding school land and placement of cell towers and bus depots, according to the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, which was formed in 2002 for “greater transparency and accountability,” according to its self-described principles...

Board of Education Expected to Vote Tuesday on Who Makes Land Use Decisions - Montgomery Community Media (mymcmedia.org)

UPDATED: .@mocoboe Board of Education to Hand Over Power to MCPS' staffer Seth Adams, Remove Transparency, Remove Public Input from Land Use Decisions

 

The Montgomery County Board of Education wants to get the public out of decisions about Public School Land.  

On Tuesday, August 23, 2022, the Board of Education will vote to remove public input from some Public School Land decisions on their Consent Agenda.  

Placement of an item on the Consent Agenda means that the item being voted on won't even be discussed.  It is assumed that the item is so trivial that Board of Education members will unanimously approve it without discussion. 

The Agenda item will hand over all these Public School Land Use decisions to the Superintendent and she can then hand those decisions over to Seth Adams, Director of Facilities Management, so he can make the decisions without public notice, without public input and without oversight.  Seth Adams will be able to make these land use decisions even if they are of a controversial nature.  

What decisions might be included in this broad delegation of authority to the superintendent?  Moving bus depots, moving bus parking, cell tower compounds, removing trees/forests etc...? 

How might local Public School Land be changed by these decisions that will now be made by one MCPS employee alone behind closed doors? If the Board of Education approves this Resolution, those questions will be for the Superintendent and Seth Adams to know and the public to never find out.  

6.10 Delegation of Authority to Execute Permanent Easements, Utility Easements, Rights-of-Way, Rights-of-Entry, Memoranda of Understanding for Land-Related Issues, and Land-Related Agreements of a Routine Nature 

Cell Tower Collapses on Football Stadium Bleachers. Could this happen at @mcps Woodward High School site? Absolutely.

The Montgomery County Board of Education has secretly decided to put a cell tower in the bleachers at the football/soccer/lacrosse stadium they are building at the site of the former Woodward High School in North Bethesda.

The image shown is from the flyover video shown to the Board of Education in April 2022.  

Not a single Board of Education member said a word about the placement of the cell tower in the home team bleachers.  

This image shows what happens when a cell tower catches fire and falls on the football stadium bleachers at a high school in California.  The full story is in the video: 

The Montgomery County Board of Education knows not to say a word about putting a cell tower in stadium bleachers because they already know that parents and guardians are vehemently opposed to a cell tower in stadium bleachers. 

Just watch the first 10 minutes of the Wootton High School meeting shown in the video below where the Board of Education wanted to put a cell tower under the football stadium bleachers.  

To say parents, guardians and community members were opposed to this proposal would be a massive understatement.  In order to avoid hearing from parents and guardians again on this idea, the current Board of Education just isn't going to tell them. 

Brenda Wolff and Karla Silvestre want your Vote now so they can Ignore you for another 4 Years. Watch them Vote for New Cell Tower without Public Input.

September 9, 2021, was a historic day in Montgomery County.  

It was the first time the Montgomery County Board of Education ever voted to build a new cell tower on public school land. The vote was unanimous. 

Cell towers had been constructed in the past on public school land, but never with a vote of the Board of Education. Those cell towers were put up without public notification or Board of Education votes. But once MCPS parents and neighbors discovered cell towers were taking over Montgomery County public school land they made their opposition known to the Board of Education. As a result of the public outcry, subsequent cell tower projects were rejected by the Board of Education. 

No new cell tower has been constructed on public school land in Montgomery County since 2006.  

Until now.

On September 9, 2021, the Montgomery County Board of Education unanimously voted to approve a NEW CELL TOWER for the Woodwards High School site.  The Action Item was on the Consent Agenda and the item was voted on without so much as a peep from any of the Board of Education members.  In fact, if you just watch the video of that vote you wouldn't even know what happened. 

Parents and guardians all across Montgomery County have voiced their opposition to the construction of cell towers on public school playgrounds for over 16 years.  

Brenda Wolff and Karla Silvestre voted to construct a new cell tower without following the MCPS process for new cell tower approvals and without so much as a word of discussion in a public meeting. 

Now they want your vote in the 2022 election so they can stay in their Board of Education seats for another 4 years.  You can use your vote to let them know how you feel about their failure to follow the stated MCPS process. 

Wednesday Feb. 9th: Addressing 5G and Thrive Montgomery 2050 Concerns

 West Montgomery County Citizens Association

 

JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL MEETING!

Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. via ZOOM

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85461180253?pwd=aTZmM0pnRE9iWjhrNkFmQVBrSkRodz09

or call in with 301-715-8592 (Meeting ID: 854 6118 0253, Passcode: 553611) 

A recording of this meeting, and hotlinks within the Newsletter, will be available on our website: www.WMCCA.org

__________________________________

SPEAKERS:  

Theodora Scarato, WMCCA Board Member to Discuss 5G

Scott Plumer, Darnestown Civic Association to Discuss Thrive Montgomery 2050

__________________________________

Addressing 5G and Thrive Montgomery 2050 Concerns

President’s Letter by Carol Van Dam Falk

We hope all of you survived the nor’easter which evolved into a “bomb cyclone” last weekend and are staying warm and dry. The weeks of frigid weather we’re experiencing may well be due to climate change.  According to the Washington Post, several studies link higher snowfall amounts in the eastern United States to changes in the Arctic. “When the Arctic is warm, one study found, cold blasts and heavy snowfalls in the eastern U.S. are two to four times more likely to occur than when the Arctic is cold.”  As we warm our toes by the fire and contemplate the future of our neck of the woods, we thought now would be a great time to hear from the folks who have been urging the Montgomery County Council to revise the Thrive Montgomery 2050 document, to make it more environmentally friendly and less focused on development.  In late October, the County released the “Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committee Draft of Thrive Montgomery 2050,” an update to the County’s general plan. Unfortunately, it ignored all of the concerns and ideas we and others had raised in 2021.  

In December, the Council asked the County’s five Citizen Advisory Boards to hold talks with members and communities about the Plan at their January meeting.  The Thrive site mentioned a Western Montgomery County Advisory Board Committee meeting at 7:00pm on Jan. 27th, but offered no other information, including no link to the meeting.  Along with WMCCA, Scott Plumer, of the Darnestown Civic Association, has been actively involved in trying to revise the document to better protect our area and the green wedges north of us from over-development.  We look forward to hearing Scott’s recommendations and how we can make our voices heard on Thrive Montgomery.

The second half of our meeting will be devoted to a discussion of 5G plans for Montgomery County.  The Council passed two resolutions on January 25, 2022 related to rules and fees for ZTA 19-07 fast tracking the deployment of 5G, 4G and new wireless networks in County residential areas.  Last summer, the Council passed zoning amendment ZTA 19-07, which removes routine notice and hearings for short "small" cell towers in residential areas. That means poles can be erected in your front yard or directly adjacent to your yard, so long as the pole is 30 feet or more from your home.  The ZTA streamlines the ability for telecommunications companies to access public rights of way in residential areas.  Several thousand residents went on record opposing the ZTA. Theodora Scarato, our newest WMCCA Board member and an expert on the subject, will discuss the latest developments concerning 5G in the County.

As always, the general meeting is open to the public.  Bring your questions and invite your neighbors!

__________________________________

Council Passes New Rules on Short 5G Cell Tower Deployment into Residential Areas

Submitted by Theodora Scarato

The new rules govern fees and rules for ZTA 19-07.  Fees are set at levels intentionally well below processing costs, leaving residents/taxpayers to subsidize the wireless industry’s OZAH waiver and hearing processes for small cell towers.  The second resolution sets rules that govern expedited conditional use processes for small cell towers - such as cases where the companies want to erect their cell tower poles closer than 30 feet.  The new rules limit participation in critical pre-hearing matters.  On January 31, 2022, the Planning, Housing, and Economic Development (PHED) Committee will have a briefing on the status of the master licensing agreements for 5G deployment.  If you want to stay updated on new permits for wireless antennas, sign up for the County e-subscription newsletter:  https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cable/Towers/calendar.html 

Join the residents' campaign to bring public notice and hearings back at: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-zta-19-07.  More information can be found at https://mc4t.org/ and https://mococoalition.blogspot.com/ 

Prepare For The Cell Tower Invasion Into Our Neighborhoods

Can you imagine waking up to a cell tower outside of your bedroom window? While we might think neighborhood zoning laws protect us from such an intrusion, the opposite is true.

The Montgomery County Council has voted to embark on a reckless path, by allowing "short' cell towers in our front yards. And we, the taxpayers, are subsidizing the entire fiasco...

https://www.thesentinel.com/communities/prepare-for-the-cell-tower-invasion-into-our-neighborhoods/article_7abbb87e-8088-11ec-8818-43467163184b.html

TODAY - @ Jan 25, 2022 Work Session - Council's voting on 2 BAD Resolutions, which FUEL conflicts between neighbors

TODAY - @ Jan 25, 2022 Work Session - Council's voting on 2 BAD Resolutions, which FUEL conflicts between neighbors; EXCLUDE those already socioeconomically disadvantaged and marginalized, and often persons of color; and SADDLE residents-taxpayers, rather than industry-applicants with the bulk of the County’s costs for small cell tower reviews. 

See details at Public Hearing Testimony on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83rAefR5GkM: min. mark 6:55 –– Sue Present; and min. mark 14:52 –– Rick Meyer.

McKnight Scraps Cell Tower Process, Cuts out Board of Ed., Parents, PTSA, Principal and Neighbors at Woodward HS Site. Puts New Cell Tower on 3rd Base Line of New Baseball Field.

MCPS Interim Superintendent Monifa McKnight has instituted a new Process for the placement of a New Cell Tower on Board of Education land. McKnight has cut out the Board of Education, parents, PTSA, neighbors, and principals from the approval process.

On Wednesday, November 3, 2021, McKnight will have MCPS staff tell the Montgomery County Tower Committee that all of the MCPS New Cell Tower placement processes have been followed.  Never mind that steps 2-16 of the New Cell Tower Process have been skipped.  

Here's what McKnight's New Cell Tower Process Map looks like:

MCPS Interim Superintendent Monifa McKnight has eliminated steps 2-16, instead having a cell tower vendor go right to her for approval of a New Cell Tower on a Board of Education school site.  

McKnight's "new process" is being put in to action with the placement of a new cell tower on the site of the new high school at the Woodward site on Old Georgetown Road in Rockville. The school doesn't exist, has no parents, no principal, no teachers, no PTSA, and so McKnight has eliminated all of those parties from the decision whether or not to locate a New Cell Tower on the 3rd base line of the baseball field.  

The red circle shows the location that Monifa McKnight

has chosen for the construction of a new, 120 foot tall cell tower.

Here is what the MCPS New Cell Tower Process Map looked like before Interim Superintendent Monifa McKnight took over control of MCPS:

"FAULTY and UNSAFE" Cell Tower Application for Wheaton High School, But Board of Education will Ignore. Board of Ed will Let Application Proceed Because Children's Safety is Never on Their List.

Date: Mon, Oct 4, 2021 at 4:38 PM

Subject: FAULTY & UNSAFE Dish application at Wheaton HS

To: Lawrence, Boyd <Boyd_Lawrence@mcpsmd.org>
Cc:  Debbie <Debbie.Spielberg@montgomerycountymd.gov>, Wolff, Brenda <Brenda_Wolff@mcpsmd.org>

 

Dear Mr. Lawrence,

 

As you had predicted, the Dish wireless application for co-location on the cell tower that immediately abuts Wheaton High School is on the October agenda, returning for review for the Tower Committee. The Environmental Assessment (EA) was updated to include 12 T-Mobile antennas, rather than 9 T-Mobile antennas. In doing so the EA report more than doubled the ERP attributed to the T-Mobile antennas from 17266.65 watts to 35647.95 watts. However, as in the case with the old EA report, with prompting from the CTC Tower Coordinator, the Dish applicant continued to plug in dummy/generic numbers for the T-Mobile antennas rather than relying upon the readily-available County records for antenna data, and those dummy/generic numbers, unlike the actual numbers for the proposed Dish antennas, did not parse out individual antenna frequencies/channels. The T-Mobile antennas that were installed just months before the Dish application was filed had an estimated in T-Mobile’s application for minor modifications at the site maximum ERP of 91140.4 watts. Yet, the Dish EA estimates ERP levels for T-Mobile’s antennas that are less than half of T-Mobile’s max ERP. As a result, the Dish application in essence suggests that the addition of the second array of antennas to the Wheaton High School cell tower by Dish would produce a total ERP for the cell tower of 72045.07 watts; in other words, there would be a reduction in the ERP over the current 91140.4 watts that are being produced by the antennas on the cell tower right now. And the Dish EA report asserts that this would be accomplished by the addition of Dish antennas that would have max ERP of 36698.07 watts. Of course, these asserted results are ludicrous (though less ludicrous than the results in the previous Dish EA that only included 9 of T-Mobile’s antennas)!  Even if the Tower Coordinator and the Tower Committee will be turning a blind eye, MCPS and the Board of Education should not!

 

In updating the application, Dish only updated its Environmental Assessment and not the structural analysis, which was performed by an agent of the tower owner on February 23, 2021, and does not appear to be an arms-length engineers’ evaluation. The Dish structural analysis was performed before the installation of the T-Mobile antenna upgrade, which installed more and heavier antennas to the cell tower. Note that T-Mobile’s structural analysis rated the foundation’s critical demand capacity ratio at 105%, and cautioned that “any further changes to the appurtenance configuration should be reviewed with respect to their effect on structural loads prior to implementation (see below).

I know from past experience that bringing issues concerning structural sufficiency to the Tower Committee would be futile. These days, the Tower Committee’s response is that structural sufficiency issues are not its job, even when the documentation is supplied in the TFCG records. The Tower Committee simply hopes that DPS will catch the problem and act. Again, even if the Tower Coordinator and the Tower Committee is turning a blind eye to these matters, MCPS and the Board of Education should not!

 

As the representative for the Land Owner, you can stop this application from advancing now, and I ask that you do so.

 

Thank you.

 

Sue Present