Verizon seeks new cell towers in northern Novato

Better cellphone service might be coming to commuters along Highway 101 near the Marin-Sonoma border.

Marin County planners are reviewing a proposal by Verizon to replace two cell towers with taller, 21-foot towers on a hillside east of the highway. The site is on a 465-acre property belonging to the Corda ranching family in unincorporated Novato, according to county documents.

“We really don’t call it a tower,” said Chris Durand, a contractor for Verizon. “We call it a popsicle stick or a mast. There are two steel towers that will be replaced with two taller steel towers in the same location.”

The application also seeks to replace six antennas, replace two concrete foundations and install other equipment.

Kristin Drumm, a county planner reviewing the project’s application, said the wireless facility was first approved in 1997. She said it is visible from the highway north of the Redwood Landfill and Recycling Center and just south of the county line at San Antonio Creek.

“The project is to improve service,” Drumm said.

The site has two light gray poles topped by the rectangular cell arrays. The poles are surrounded by chain-link fences.

Durand said the site is “a little postage stamp” amid “many hundreds of acres of land” that is not near any residential areas.

“I believe it’s a working cattle ranch with some outbuildings and barns and maybe even a few small homes, but they’re well away from all of that,” he said. “The purpose of the site is definitely to cover Highway 101.”

Durand said the newer and slightly higher towers will enhance service. Cell towers work like a network of honeycombs, he said. Their coverage ranges from 2 to 5 miles, depending on the signal frequency and topography.

According to a “radio frequency electromagnetic fields exposure report” prepared for Durand’s firm and filed with the county, “a typical 6-foot person standing in accessible areas on the ground” could be exposed to unsafe levels if the person were within 76 feet of the front of antennas.

Beyond that, the report predicts the exposure levels will be below the Federal Communications Commission’s “most stringent” general population maximum permissible exposure limits.

“The antennas are mounted on tall poles and therefore not accessible by the general public,” the report said. “It is presumed that Verizon employees and contractors are aware of the transmitting antennas and will take appropriate precautions when working near them.”

Drumm said the county must issue its decision on permit application with 150 days unless more information is requested.

“The project is still under review and I have requested additional information from the applicant,” Drumm said.

The Marin County Community Development Agency has not scheduled a hearing on the application. Drumm said she expects the project to be approved early next year, possibly by March.