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 | Hearings on antenna regulations were held Oct. 17 and Oct. 21;
written public comments will be accepted until Nov. 8 at 3:00. Click
here for details. |
| Hearing on Feb. 11 of the DC Council's Committee on Government
Operations, which oversees the Office of Documents. Ann Loikow
reports that the draft antenna regulations have not been corrected to reflect the
Zoning Commission's orders. Click here for more information. |
| US District Court Dismisses
American Tower's $250 Million Lawsuit Against District of
Columbia (Stop the Tower press release, 6/15/01) |
| Message from Ann Loikow about
the upcoming meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission and
draft documents; also information about a meeting of an advisory
committee of the Planning Commission |
Testimony
| National Capital Planning Commission meeting, March 12, 2001:
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| D.C. Zoning Commission Roundtable, March 5, 2001:
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Official documents
| ATC permit application
(3/18/99) [Acrobat format]
 | Note the handwritten corrections on page 2 (and
the warning on page 1 that "erasing, crossing out, or
otherwise altering any entered information will void this
application"). |
|
| D.C. Office of
Planning memo (4/16/99) [Acrobat format]
| This brief memo by transition coordinator John
Fondersmith recommends approval of the tower permit application.
It contains numerous factual and interpretational errors and is
silent on significant points. For
instance:
 | "The new antenna will be used for digital telecasts
by WJLA and WUSA television stations." Not true. WJLA
and WUSA have categorically stated they had no intention of
using the proposed new tower. |
| "Upon completing the tower, the older towers [i.e.,
the "three smaller antenna towers" on the site
before construction began] will be razed and a total of 169
antennas will be moved from the existing towers to the new
tower." Not true. According to the permit application,
31 antennas would be moved and 138 new antennas would be
installed. |
| "The area surrounding the tower contains a number of
existing antennas and an approximately 300-foot high antenna
tower." The nearby tower used jointly by WJLA and WUSA
is significantly taller than 300 feet; the memo is silent on
other tall towers nearby: Fox TV (four blocks away) and WRC
(Nebraska Avenue). |
| "[A]n antenna tower for radio and television
broadcasting ... is permitted as a matter of right in a C-1
or less restrictive zone district." According to Zoning
Commission rulemaking that is binding but not yet reflected
in the printed regulations, construction of antenna towers
require a special
exemption from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). |
| Except for the brief (and erroneous) mention of 169 antennas
to be transferred, the memo treats the tower as exclusively
a television and radio broadcasting tower, having nothing to
say about the many other transmitters (for cell phones and
other wireless services) that would be mounted on the
structure. There is much debate in
the US and abroad on the safety of cell phones and the
siting of the "base stations" (antennas) linking them;
none of it is reflected in this memo. |
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| D.C. General
Counsel Memo (9/20/00) [Acrobat format]
| The intent of the legislation being enrolled is
"to prohibit, on an emergency basis, the issuance of
permits allowing the construction or expansion of any
telecommunications tower which will reach a height above 200
feet until the Mayor formulates a policy on the location and
other parameters for construction of telecommunication
structures and the Council has approved the policy; and to
declare the sense of the Council on the need to halt the
construction of a tower at 4623 41st Street, N.W." |
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| ANC 3-C Resolution
(9/25/00) [Acrobat format]
| A similar resolution was passed by ANC 3-E (the advisory
neighborhood commission encompassing Tenleytown and Friendship
Heights). |
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| DCRA Press Release
(10/6/00)
| Explains why the Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs had "no choice" but to cancel the
permit. |
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| Permit revocation
(10/10/00)
| Rescinds and cancels the permit for the tower at 4623 41st
St. NW. |
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| Recission modification
(10/17/00)
| Grants American Tower more time to secure the site, which
American Tower used to add a strut at the top (to balance the
structure), install a red strobe (to ward off aircraft), and
plant a big American flag (to make a point). |
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| The US District Court's opinion and order dismissing American
Tower's federal lawsuit (June 14, 2001): web
page | Acrobat
document (PDF) |
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To read documents in Adobe Acrobat®
format, you need the free Acrobat
Reader. |
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