T-Mobile representatives gave locals wrong specs on proposed tower’s height

At its October 25 meeting, the Pacific Palisades Community Council revoked its decision not to take a position on a disputed T-Mobile cell-phone tower planned for a cul-de-sac on Charmel Place in Marquez Knolls after information previously provided by the telecommunications giant proved false. T-Mobile representatives reassured council members during their October 11 meeting that a ‘mono-palm,’ planned to be built next to a Department of Water and Power water tank on the residential street, would be 35 feet tall–the same level as the community’s height limit. Neighbors of that planned tower–one living as close as 16 feet away–opposed the tower, fearing it would affect their health and reduce the resale value of their houses. Those neighbors, citing T-Mobile’s written plans for a 45-foot-tall tower, said it would violate community height limits. And they urged the council to support them ahead of an October 18 City Planning Department hearing, where a zoning administrator ultimately decided to delay granting a Conditional Use Permit for 30 days. But council members voted to take no position, in large part because of T-Mobile representatives’ assertions that the tower would not violate the community height limit. ‘The height limit in the neighborhood is 35 feet,’ said Amy Pena of Sure-Sight Consulting Group, which represents T-Mobile, at the October 11 meeting. ‘The mono-palm will be 35-feet [tall].’ T-Mobile Engineer Joe Begnel repeated that assertion. Unknown to council members during their October 11 vote, the company had submitted building plans to the city in March for a 45-foot tower, not 35. ‘I think [Amy Pena] tried to cover it up,’ said Amy Carlton, who lives next door to the projected tower. ‘She said she was very sorry for the mistake. But I think she purposefully did that.’ T-Mobile’s Senior Development Manager Clark Harris told the Palisadian-Post this week that the company had always intended to build a 45-foot tower. ‘It was a mistake on Amy Pena’s part,’ Harris said. ‘She brought the wrong drawings. She had the wrong information in front of her.’ To correct the mistake, Harris said, Pena e-mailed council members Mike Streyer and Janet Turner, who represent the Marquez area, on October 16’too late for the council to change its vote before the city hearing. Frustrated by conflicting information provided by T-Mobile, Council Member Jack Allen successfully sponsored a motion on October 25 to reverse the council’s decision to stay neutral. Allen says that while the zoning for the DWP lot would allow a 45-foot structure to be built it would stick out in a community that must observe a 35-foot height limit. ‘At the time we voted when the T-Mobile representative presented the plans, we were told that the tower would be 35 feet tall,’ Allen told members. ‘But the [company plans] say the tower will be 45 feet. I think the council would want to reconsider its vote because of that information.’ Council member Quentin Fleming agreed. ‘If the council’s decision was predicated on a falsehood, that’s reason for rescinding [our last vote] right there!’ Fleming said. Not all members agreed. Highlands representative Paul Glasgall was among a handful of those who voted against changing the council’s position. He said he was unconcerned about the tower’s height and proximity to homes because ‘the towers are built to withstand all kinds of weather.’ At the council’s previous meeting, Glasgall told the concerned homeowners that a cell tower would be no more aesthetically offensive than the water tower next to which they bought homes. He also said that residents who want better cell reception were not represented at the meeting. Pena also pointed out that trees on DWP property exceeded the tower’s height. Charmel residents welcomed the council’s changed yet still undetermined position. After the council’s October 11 vote to stay neutral, they fumed outside the library’s community room about a vote they felt betrayed the interests of Palisades residents. Jack Allen plans to sponsor a motion at the council’s November 15 meeting that would oppose T-Mobile’s plans. ‘The tower would be put up in such a way that if it falls it’s not safe for the neighbor who lives 16 feet away,’ Allen said. ‘In fact, [that neighbor] has already had a tree on DWP property fall on his house before.’ The Planning Department will accept public comments on the tower until November 17. The Community Council plans to vote to take a position on the application at its November 15 meeting. But even if there were unanimous community opposition to the proposal, several federal and state laws severely constrain the city’s ability to reject cell-phone towers, making local residents’ attempts to block those plans difficult if not impossible. The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits states and local governments from regulating wireless facilities on the basis of the environmental effects of ‘radio frequency emissions.’ In other words, local fears of the hazards to health cannot be considered. And 2002 state law allows wireless providers to install wireless facilities in the ‘public right of way.’ T-Mobile’s Begnel told council members and neighbors of the project that local fears of the proposed tower are unfounded. The engineer said if emissions were measured at the nearest property line, the tower would emit only nine percent of the limit set by federal standards–that is less than what a residential wireless router emits. Begnel says the tower is needed to expand coverage to local customers. An alternate location in Marquez was considered, but T-Mobile engineers determined that it was not a practical alternative. T-Mobile’s Clark Harris told the Post that the mono-palm will be ‘well disguised, and its antennae should be completely out of sight.’ — To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call (310) 454-1321 ext. 28.

Lewis Runs Ceremonial First Lap Before Homecoming Game

Bob Jeffers could not stop smiling last Friday evening–and why not? Several years of painstaking effort had finally come to fruition. When Palisades High opened the gates to its newly-renovated Stadium by the Sea and Jeffers saw fans start to file in, the moment finally got to him. ‘It’s great to see,’ he beamed. ‘This is the kind of facility this school and this community deserve and I’m grateful to all the people who have helped make it possible.’ Jeffers and Jim Bailey of Brentwood have served as co-chairmen of the $1.6-million renovation project that saw Field Turf synthetic replace the natural grass football field and a rubberized, all-weather surface placed over the dirt running track, which will be named the ‘Carl Lewis Lewis Track’ in honor of the 10-time Olympic track and field medalist and local resident. During a ceremony prior to the kick-off of the football team’s homecoming game against Venice, Jeffers thanked the numerous individuals and organizations involved in the project, including the Optimists Club, American Legion 283, The Lions Club, Masonic Lodge 780, the Kanoff Family Foundation, AYSO Region 69 and Bill and Cindy Simon. Then Lewis stepped to the podium–not to have a medal placed around his neck, but rather to address his Palisades neighbors. ‘I’m excited to be here tonight and all of us should be very proud to have one of the best tracks and stadiums in the world,’ Lewis said. ‘I hope to see you all out here.’ With that, Kym Begel (Director of the Carl Lewis Foundation) fired the starting gun and Lewis ran a ceremonial first lap around the track, which will not be officially completed until early January when the blue ‘top’ surface ordered from Germany arrives. Also on hand was Skylar Little Meinhardt, who grew up in the Palisades and went on to play collegiate and pro soccer. She was there to promote the Pali Blues, a women’s professional team coming to the Palisades in Spring 2008. Perhaps no one, however, was more relieved to see the field done was Palisades’ Head Football Coach Kelly Loftus, whose team got to play a home game for the first time all season (see story in Sports). ‘This is a beautiful field, it really came out nice,’ Loftus said. ‘It’s nice to not be nomads anymore and actually have a place to call home.’ Construction began after graduation in June and fundraising for the project is ongoing. To make a donation, call Jeffers at (310) 230-8914 or e-mail him at forcopy@aol.com.

Palisades Democratic Club Opposes Proposed Pipelines in SM Bay

An Australian company’s proposal to import as much as 15 percent of the state’s future liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply using sea-to-land pipelines beginning 28 miles off L.A.’s coastline in Santa Monica Bay has incited opposition from Westside politicians and residents. They fear an increased risk of terrorist threats to Los Angeles International Airport and a dramatic potential for environmental degradation. Last month, Congresswoman Jane Harman and L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl blasted Woodside Natural Gas’ OceanWay Secure Energy plan; and last week, the Santa Monica City Council voted to oppose it as well, citing fears of damage to Santa Monica Bay marine life. ‘Unlike the other proposed [LNG] projects, this is the only one that would place a new natural-gas supply adjacent to a major terrorist target,’ wrote Harman, who represents the South Bay area, where the pipelines would come ashore from regasification ships 28 miles off Dockweiler State Beach. Pacific Palisades residents have begun taking notice–and sides. Motivated by fears that LNG importation will be a security liability and a contributor to global warming, the Palisades Democratic Club voted to oppose OceanWay last month. ‘I think we need to look at other alternatives,’ said Marcy Winograd, one of many local Democratic Club members planning to campaign actively against the project. ‘LNG is problematic for global warming. It’s only going to exacerbate it. [This project] is not the answer for L.A., and it’s not the answer for the world.’ The Palisades Community Council unsuccessfully requested that the U.S. Coast Guard, which shares veto power over the project with the City of Los Angeles, extend the public comment period from October 31 until November 20. That deadline passed without comments from the council, but Chairman Steve Boyers anticipates that his board will take an ‘informed’ position on OceanWay. During an OceanWay presentation on October 25, which was cut short by a packed Community Council agenda, representatives of Woodside’s Santa Monica-based subsidiary presented major features of the project, emphasizing its safety, its ‘light environmental footprint’ and its potential benefits to California consumers. ‘It’s 28 miles offshore,’ said Laura Doll, vice president of Public and Government Affairs at Woodside. ‘You shouldn’t even see it. It’s a project that meets the requirements of the South Coast Air Quality Management District and California’s strict renewable-fuel guidelines. We’re Californians, and we’ve tried to design a project that is clean and reliable.’ Woodside’s representatives say the increased supply of natural gas could help reduce energy costs and guard against another state energy crisis. And they reject accusations that it will raise the threat of terrorism. ‘There’s something like 90,000 miles of gas pipelines in L.A.,’ Doll told the Palisadian-Post on Tuesday. ‘[Our] pipes will be just like every other natural-gas pipeline. There’s not going to be a sign saying ‘LNG pipes here!” The high cost of oil and the political unpopularity of coal have made natural gas a popular U.S. energy substitute. Imports of natural gas, mostly through pipelines from Canada, have risen more than 40 percent in the past decade. In California, the largest consumers of LNG are power plants, but LNG use in residences–mainly for heating homes and water–accounts for more than 20 percent of its consumption, according to the state Energy Department. Efforts to import it from overseas in a highly condensed, liquefied state have risen dramatically. Last spring, BHP Billiton lost a battle to install an LNG terminal 14 miles off Oxnard. Since then, other companies have sought to feed California’s lucrative energy market using sea-to-land pipelines. Beyond Woodside, NorthernStar Natural Gas hopes to convert an oil rig 10 miles off the Ventura County coast into an LNG terminal; the Mitsubishi Corporation is still fighting to build an LNG terminal off Long Beach after that city voted against it; and Sempra Energy will avoid more stringent U.S. pollution standards with its planned terminal near Ensenada in Baja California. Although public comments are no longer being considered for the Scoping Period of Woodside’s application for OceanWay, the project has a long way to go before getting the green light. A Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has yet to be written, and the final EIR would have to address all public concerns raised by the draft report. After that, the Coast Guard and three city commissions would have veto power over the project. Councilman Rosendahl, whose district encompasses the Palisades, West L.A. and parts of South Bay, has strong objections to the project. The councilman is expected to exercise important sway over the proposal because he chairs the Southern California Regional Airport Authority. If Woodside’s plans were approved today, the company would alternate between two identical regasification ships in Santa Monica Bay. At a buoy 28 miles off Dockweiler Beach, one ship would regasify that load from a near-frozen, liquefied state and deliver the gas through two 24-inch-wide pipelines that would travel along the ocean bottom. Running underground its entire length, the pipe would first hit dry land at Dockweiler. From there, it would travel four miles, traversing the beach’s dunes and a small piece of the west end of LAX and then paralleling Westchester Parkway before connecting to Southern California’s existing gas network at Aviation Boulevard at Arbor Vitae. The other regasification ship would travel to a still-undetermined point beyond the Channel Islands. There, it would accept a transfer of LNG from ships carrying the gas from Woodside’s reserves off northwest Australia as well as other suppliers worldwide. Woodside emphasizes how OceanWay differs from BHP Billiton’s unpopular plan. Among other differences, company officials point to a more ‘ecologically friendly’ regasification process that uses the heat of ambient air, rather than sea water, to convert LNG from a liquid to a gas. ‘Other systems use ocean water, which can have a detrimental impact on plankton and other marine life,’ Doll told the Post. ‘This has a much lower environmental impact. It’s more expensive [for Woodside], but it’s better for the environment.’ Another key difference, say company officials, is that no permanent structure or terminal will be built. ‘When the ships not there, you won’t see anything,’ Doll told the council. But critics point to the company’s plans, which describe 125 deliveries per year, each taking between 2.5 and 10 days’virtually assuring the constant presence of a regasification ship moored in Santa Monica Bay. But Doll said the demand for gas would determine the amount of deliveries and even the use of a second ship. She said the company’s application reflects the maximum use of its facilities, but not necessarily the average use. ‘There’s still a long way to go,’ Doll said. ‘This process is not nearly complete.’ — To contact Staff Writer Max Taves, e-mail reporter@palipost.com or call ext. 28.

Travis DeZarn, a June 2007 graduate of Palisades Charter High School, died in a car crash on Palisades Drive late Saturday night after visiting his girlfriend, who lives in the Highlands. As DeZarn, 18, drove down Palisades Drive towards Sunset Boulevard his 1990 Acura Integra crossed over the center line, spun out and was hit broadside by a 2005 Honda CRV traveling north in the number-one lane, according to police investigators. DeZarn’s Acura was ripped in half by the impact. ‘I came onto the scene around 11:40 p.m. and it was apparent that it had just happened,’ Bruce Ishimatsu wrote in an e-mail to the Palisadian-Post. ‘No emergency vehicles had arrived yet. There were a couple of uninvolved drivers who had just stopped at the scene who called out to me to call paramedics when I got down the hill because there is no cell reception at that place in the canyon. ‘When I reached the bottom of Palisades Drive, I dialed 911 and drove to the nearby Fire Station 23 on Sunset,’ Ishimatsu continued. ‘It was dark and I pounded on the windows and doors to get their attention. Within a minute, the lights came on inside and they started to dispatch. The 911 operator also told me help was being dispatched.’ Firemen found DeZarn dead at the scene. The 40-year-old female driver of the Honda and her 12-year-old female passenger were taken to the UCLA trauma center. ‘They appeared to have minor injuries, but anytime there’s a fatality accident, others in the crash are routinely transported to the trauma center,’ said Fire Station 23 Captain Dan Thompson. Dr. Gina Gonzalez was driving home to the Highlands at about 12:30 a.m. when she passed the accident scene. ‘There were multiple fire trucks and police cars and all lanes were blocked except for one,’ she said. ‘The cars were indescribably mangled. It was horrific.’ According to LAPD Traffic Detective Fisher, the most likely cause of the crash was excess speed. There was no indication of alcohol or drugs, Fisher said. Highlands resident Beth Cranston told the Post on Tuesday that DeZarn and her daughter, Hannah, had been watching a movie before DeZarn, a Culver City resident, left the Cranston residence to return home. Highlands resident Bruce Schwartz said he was not surprised that another accident had occurred at that location in the canyon, about 3/4ths of a mile above Sunset. He started lobbying for changes on the road when Councilman Cindy Miscikowski was still in office. ‘If you look at where most of the wrecks take place on Palisades Drive, it is at the S-curve,’ Schwartz said. ‘I’ve seen a BMW rolled there and a Ford Victoria sedan.’ Beth Cranston knows first-hand where her daughter’s boyfriend’s accident happened. ‘Last year, a car crossed the center line [at the same location as the accident] and ran me off the road,’ she said. Although the posted speed limit is 45 mph, the downhill slope and remote location can easily cause a driver to pick up speed. ‘We have to do something, it’s a chronic problem there,’ Schwartz said. ‘There are no reflectors, no street lights’it’s pitch black. We need signs or something that might influence a driver to slow down.’ ‘It’s a four-lane modern road through a winding canyon,’ said Paul Glasgall, chairman of the Palisades Highlands Presidents’ Council, who has been advocating for a speed trailer, yellow rubber dividers with reflectors (like those along Pacific Coast Highway) and increased police presence. Palisades Drive has always been a treacherous two-mile stretch, but residents wonder if anything will change. ‘The fact that most people don’t know the people involved in an accident or didn’t see the horror of the accident allows them to chalk it up to back luck,’ Ishimatsu told the Post. ‘Unfortunately these accidents don’t discriminate and we are all closer to tragedy than we like to think. The Acura was torn in half and I can’t get that out of my mind.’ DeZarn, an outstanding lacrosse player while in high school, was a freshman at Cal State Long Beach. (See obituary)