City Bans Church's Fundraising Effort

Last week the North Valley Area Planning commission in a surprising turn, unanimously upheld an appeal against the approval of the installation of a T-Mobile cellphone tower in North Hills.

The tower was to be erected on the property of Valley Park Church and was contracted between the church and T-Mobile.

However, the same property is also leased by Our Community School, a small North Hills elementary charter school.

Though the appeal was filed by neighbors concerned about the tower in what is essentially a residential neighborhood, and under the flightpath of the Van Nuys airport, 60 or more parents and children from the charter school showed up to the meeting to speak and support the appeal, citing safety concerns regarding stored chemicals, radiation, and earthquake safety.

Though the official recommendation from staff was for the commission to deny the appeal, all five commissioners voted to block the installation.

The commissioners expressed concern about siting on a school playground, the setback bringing it close to residential homes, lack of prior community input and notification, and incongruity with the "master plan" for neighborhood development.

This decision may be in violation of "The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act," a federal law signed by President Clinton to give religious institutions freedom from discriminatory acts by local or state government.