Letters to the Editor 2-11-16

Antenna Tower Redux
EDITOR: The City of Sebastopol is once again in the antenna tower business. In a private meeting, the City Council gave the “green light” for KOWS-FM to apply for a use permit to erect a 72 foot antenna tower on the island of city property used for water storage at 1281 Pleasant Hill Rd, in the West County. 


They gave the okay knowing how strongly and vocally our neighborhood opposed, and ultimately defeated, a very similar attempt in 1994, when they proposed putting a 75 foot cell tower on the site.

 Simulation photos showed that such a tower would be an ugly eyesore, visible from roadways and porches all over our area.
We like our rolling hills, trees and mountain vistas the way they are, without industrial monolithic intrusion. We chose to live here for the beauty of the area and the healthy nature of the outdoor life style most of us enjoy cycling, walking and jogging.
 A tower of this size would be a blight on our landscape and a quality of life demotion for those of us in this part of the county. 

We are assured that the RF radiation emitted continuously, day and night, by these towers is safe, yet there are no definitive safety standards. Some countries, like Switzerland, are opting for a “precautionary” approach; meaning “assume that there are unknown adverse health effects.”
Their guidelines are 100 times more restrictive than ours, particularly in residential areas. We live here. The cumulative, long-term bio-effects of radiation exposure are not known. Why would the city take unnecessary risks with our health? 

We hope our city neighbors and fellow county residents will respect our concerns and will encourage the Council and Planning Commission to reject this use in our neighborhood.

The Planning Commission public hearing on this issue is at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the Youth Annex next to the Community  Center. If you share our concerns, please attend, call 823-1153 or write the Planning Commission and/or Council members (PO Box 1776, Sebastopol, 95473) voicing your views.
Nancy and Bob Jenkins
Sebastopol
Sebastopol street lights
EDITOR: I went to dinner with friends at the Slice of Life, something I’ve done from time to time over the years.  I’ve always known this small, cozy venue to be one the more relaxed eateries in town.  As we received our food I noticed the outside lights going on.  Sitting right next to the window we were all subject to the
intense glare of these lights.  With the flood of brightness coming through the window I experienced eye strain, headache and overall discomfort.  It felt more like an atmosphere for interrogation than for having dinner.  We packed up our food and left.  I realized this new lighting was high intensity LEDs.
Along with new LEDs lining the walkway outside whole Foods and surrounding businesses I made note of LEDs having been installed in other areas, Safeway parking lot and the Barlow.  This was right in place with PG&E’s plan to replace existing lighting in Sebastopol with the new, supposedly more energy efficient alternative.  It feels discouraging to me to imagine Vegas-like lights installed throughout a city like Citta-slow Sebastopol which has adopted a philosophy of higher quality of life and more specifically of integrating technologies for improved well being for our community.
Aside from the prospect of the Sebastopol night atmosphere being over-lit, scientific studies have shown there are health risks associated with exposures to high intensity LEDs including but limited to: eyestrain, headaches, visual impairments, melatonin reduction, sleep disturbance, seizures and permanent retinal damage.  
I encourage the City of Sebastopol to say no to PG&E’s plan to retrofit the city of Sebastopol with very blue, white high intensity LED street lighting.
Margy Stewart­
Sebastopol
Streetlight glare
EDITOR: PG&E wants to replace streetlights throughout Sebastopol with LED lights to save energy and money and reduce our carbon footprint. Sounds like a great idea! Or does it? Maybe not.
According to the New York Times, when this was done in Brooklyn, New York, people resorted to taping up black garbage bags over their windows to block out the offending light.
In Davis, after the city replaced its streetlights with  standard blue-white LEDs, the public rebelled. The city had to spend an additional $350,000 to take them out and substitute warmer-colored LEDs which residents could tolerate.
PG&E has installed blue-white LEDs in much of Santa Rosa. One resident’s distress at the invasive “Vegas-like brightness” of the new LEDs which prevent her from even seeing the stars.
The harsh glare caused by LED streetlights is really a quality of life issue. How would you feel if these bright piercing lights were invading your bedrooms at night?  What about the effect on outdoor ambiance in our communal spaces? And on the peace and beauty of our night skies?
Most people, when faced with the glare of LEDs, avert their eyes. Even from a distance, the glare from extremely intense LEDs (like in the Whole Foods parking lot and the oncoming headlights of newer cars) is unpleasant. There is a connection between our natural aversion to overly-bright penetrating light and eye health. The avoidance of glare is really the eye’s natural response to protect itself from harm.
In addition to the visual discomfort LEDs can cause, there are serious health concerns. People often refer to this light as “blinding.” This may unfortunately be an accurate description, as scientific evidence points to LED exposure as a cause of irreversible retinal damage and even a factor in the development of macular degeneration!
Our ability to sleep at night is regulated by melatonin and the production of this hormone is stopped by light, especially blue light. Most LED streetlights emit a lot of blue light, reducing sleep quantity and quality. Our current Sebastopol streetlights are HPS, High Pressure Sodium. Research has shown that LEDs suppress melatonin at five times the HPS rate. Low melatonin levels are also known to impair the immune system and a correlation has been demonstrated between low levels of the hormone and cancer.
For millions of years, humans, animals and most living things have evolved with alternating daily periods of darkness and light. We need nighttime darkness to maintain health and well-being physically, mentally and spiritually. Too much light at night disrupts our biological clocks. So slow down, Cittaslow Sebastopol, and take a closer look before you leap. Let’s not make the same mistake Santa Rosa, Davis and Brooklyn have made. Maybe there is a biologically compatible LED streetlight that will meet the needs of our very special small town. But I don’t think that is what PG&E is offering.
Nancy Hubert
Sebastopol