Wireless Plan Needs Improvement
Letter to the editor

An item on the Sept. 17 council agenda is a wakeup call for residents who live near city parks. This is the Wireless Master Plan, and it needs major reworking. A wireless consultant has already been contracted by the city, and he gets a bonus for every cell tower he places in parks or on other city property. The same consultant determines the need for a tower, which eliminates any system of checks and balances.

I’ve attended the hearings when wireless service providers have tried to put towers in neighborhood parks. The wireless consultant has clearly been an advocate for the business wanting a cell tower. Our residents living near the parks who have spoken at meetings are better informed about technology and certainly more credible than the consultant’s hired guns.

I see no clause in the current plan that seeks the best outcome for everyone – homeowners, park users, cell phone users, wireless service providers and the city.

If the Wireless Master Plan is approved, residents will have to continue mobilizing each time a service provider teams up with the consultant to place a new tower. I hope no council member votes for this plan, and the council should end the contract whereby a consultant gets a bonus for placing towers in parks.

Connie Lee
Mission Viejo