Action needed to change 5G ordinance in Jacksonville

Posted on March 4, 2021 By Editor Letters To The Editor, Neighborhood News

Letter to the Editor

Thanks are due to The Resident for the article 5G Poles Crop Up in Riverside in the February Edition.

Operating less than 100’ from homes, this facility appeared without notice in Riverside-Avondale. No sign, no certificate of appropriateness (COA), no National Historic Preservation Act review, no hearing at which neighbors could express their position or inquire of the wattage, the directionality of the radiation, or the calculated power density inside nearby homes and in the ambient environment.

Tens of thousands of studies show that 4G-5G microwave radiation is harmful. 4G-5G is hackable, insecure, energy consumptive and wasteful, while in violation of the Florida Constitution’s right to privacy and many federal laws.

On President’s Day, our extended group alerted Gov. DeSantis to ways in which the Florida statute, as passed under S.1000 in 2017, is contrary to federal laws:

The U.S. Congress tried to avert residential deployments of electromagnetic hazards such as that from 4G-5G by means of:

a. its Communications Act of 1934 (“CA”) provision in 47 U.S.C. §324 that minimum energy only must be used, and that Titles I and II thereunder must remain distinguished;

b. its Amendment to the Public Health Service Act of October 1968, stating in §354, “The Congress hereby declares that the public health and safety must be protected from the dangers of electronic product radiation”;

c. its removal of the telecom industry’s 1995 wished-for and drafted-in preemption of state and local control over the “operations” of telecom electronic equipment in what became in 1996 the Telecommunications Act (“TCA”);

d. its very purpose for CA and TCA in 47 U.S.C. §332: “to promote the safety of life and property”; and by

e. its Conference Report on the TCA, preserving local authority over telecom equipment placement, construction, and modification; with

f. “safety” as one of local governments’ due considerations; with

safety” as one of local governments’ due considerations;
clear distinction between commercial and residential zoning; and
assurance of local control to avert inappropriate residential placement and operations of telecom equipment.

Since the Florida wireless statute is contrary to these federal laws, their purposes and provisions, Jacksonville is within its authorities to override this statute – written by the industry group ALEC* – in favor of federal law. (ALEC: American Legislative Exchange Council.) That industry statute put operations under Telecom control, with equipment now consuming up to 25 million times higher wattage than necessary. Through 5G beam-forming, this radiation can target individuals and homes, contrary to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act Amendment. That statute also blurred the distinctions between Titles I and II to extend – fraudulently – TCA preemptions; and even removed the review of applications in local permitting, rendering cities that fail to inquire of their federal obligations with zero control. All this must immediately change with a moratorium and a new ordinance in Jacksonville.

All the Best,

K. Searcy Dannheim MPH – Stop 5G Max – [email protected]