2024-09-15 Debra Greene Testimony #4 -Oppose

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From:Debra Greene To:LPCtestimony Subject:Oppose Item #4 Date:Sunday, September 15, 2024 12:43:08 PM Aloha Leeward Planning Commissioners, I’m writing on behalf of Safe Tech Hawaii, a grassroots coalition of residents concerned about the proliferation of wireless technology. Although we welcome an ordinance that offers some protections for the community, we find it very confusing that there are now two ordinances on cell towers and antennas - this new one introduced by the Director and one introduced by Council Member Evans on August 20 that had previously been forwarded to Planning. We support Council Member Evans Bill 194. We find the Director’s proposed ordinance to be overly sympathetic to the Telecommunications industry. Among other things, it allows cell towers and antennas in all zoning districts, with no order of priority, and insufficient requirements for plan approval. We believe this is not a viable solution to bringing the County into compliance with state law. We support Bill 194 submitted by CM Evans because we find it more protective of the public health, safety and welfare. It clearly delineates a permitting process and protects vulnerable communities such as schools, daycare centers and hospitals from intrusive tower and antenna deployments in sensitive areas that are often targeted by Telecom companies. Shockingly, the Director's ordinance seeks to rush plan approval through in a mere 30 days! Even though state law allows for a 60 day process. Further, it doesn’t include small cell infrastructure that the community feels so strongly against that the County Council adopted a protective Resolution to reflect those concerns. Why was the will of the people disregarded? Along those lines, we have been working with CM Cindy Evans on her proposed ordinance for over a year. She sought feedback from us on important points and involved our grassroots coalition at significant steps along the way. She also had reached out to Planning for feedback, so the Director knew she had an ordinance in the pipeline. In contrast, there was no outreach from the Director to our group, or any other members of the community that we know of. Yet he made the effort to contact every telecommunications corporation that does business here. But no community outreach on an issue that has vast impacts on the health, safety and welfare of the people. The Director’s proposed ordinance gives the Director almost exclusive control over Telecom infrastructure with very little involvement from other agencies or experts. And there’s too much reliance solely on the Telecom corporations for compliance. There needs to be outside involvement. There needs to be checks and balances because, unfortunately, Telecom doesn’t have a good reputation for self-policing. Speaking of policing, we disagree with the proposed installation of surveillance cameras on towers, especially at the County’s expense or those proposed to be outsourced to private companies. This is a major threat to our privacy. With data being the current cash cow, that data could be collected, marketed and sold to the highest bidder - a gross privacy invasion. In addition, we do not agree that police, fire, ambulance and other such services should be