Vista Towers (“Vista”) recently announced it is willing to consider alternative sites for the proposed 80-foot cell phone tower that was nearly installed directly behind the entrance to Sunset Beach Elementary School. Many parents were pleased to hear this announcement from Vista Chief Executive Officer, Robert MacLachlan, at the community meeting Vista hosted on Tuesday, October 24th at the Elementary School cafeteria. Mr. MacLachlan announced that – even though Vista is in a position to continue the construction and already has the tower components stored on site – Vista is voluntarily halting construction in order to help facilitate a community conversation about mutually agreeable alternative sites. The desire is to determine if a location can be agreed upon that can provide much needed cell phone service for AT&T and Verizon customers and that can also address residents’ concerns about impacts to cultural, recreational, and visual resources. Mr. MacLachlan projected that this community process could add up to four to eighteen months to the time needed to erect the tower. When the tower is erected it will provide cellular service as well as internet access. Vista hosted the community meeting to share information about the cell tower they had begun earthwork on in early October behind the school on the private property of Mr. Lawrence McCully Judd. The entire project area is approximately 2500 square feet and is at an elevation of approximately 115 feet above sea level. These numbers would be roughly the same for any site eventually selected within a half-mile or so of the previous location. At the meeting and in emails in preparation for the gathering, parents and community members shared several questions and concerns with Vista including, but not limited to: the exact location, height and proximity to the school; proximity to documented Hawaiian cultural landscapes; the technology used and its proposed signal strength; and where the proposed tower will be visible from. In addition, although several parents asked questions regarding potential health effects of cell phone towers, the Federal government prevents communities from utilizing health concerns to affect the placement of cell phone towers. Moreover, cell phone carriers point to reports from the American Cancer Society and the World Health Organization in order to calm fears the public may have.

In preparation for the community meeting Vista provided much appreciated information. Vista pointed out that there are now over 300,000 cell tower sites in the United States and there are at least 2,000,000 sites throughout the world. The United States cell phone network began in the 1980s and it now has four major carriers: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. Vista’s planned tower will be utilized by AT&T and Verizon. Vista is a small tower company that specializes in rural facilities. Their mission is to bring coverage to areas that need improved coverage. Vista recently installed a facility at the Polynesian Culture Center (“PCC”). The PCC tower location was selected by BYUH and is about 95-feet tall. The PCC site illustrates the type of facility that will eventually be constructed near Pupukea Paumalu. MacLachlan explained there will be a number of factors to talk about in discussing alternate sites. The site has to work for coverage for the cell phone carriers and there must be a willing property owner. In addition, regulatory agencies such as the City Department of Planning and Permitting and the State Historic Preservation Division must approve. The goal is to complete the North Shore’s coverage area without leaving a gap requiring additional future sites. That way the selected site will be able to benefit general communications for residents, visitors, and motorists. In the next several weeks, the North Shore Neighborhood Board (“NSNB”), the Sunset Beach Community Association, and parents/families from Sunset Beach Elementary School will be dialoging about the tower. The community can help Vista move forward and also to get on track with the type of community process the North Shore is accustomed to for significant projects in this region. MacLachlan pointed out that the best thing will be if the community reaches some consensus on an alternate location. Vista will then be able to determine if it will work for the carriers. Understandably, Vista would also appreciate any NSNB and community support that can be given for any new permits that may be needed for a new location. Doug Cole of North Shore Community Land Trust is helping facilitate the community process moving forward with Vista and the relevant stakeholders. Vista is committed to working with a small group of stakeholders to attempt to analyze potential alternative locations that meet the criteria discussed above. Vista will present to the NSNB once an alternative site is identified. If you have questions and concerns or would like to learn more about this cell phone tower you can do the following:

1. Attend NSNB meetings to stay informed.

2. Share your questions and ideas as soon as possible by emailing them to SunsetBeachParents@gmail.com and to robert@vistatowers.net

3. Volunteer for the stakeholder group by emailing Doug Cole at dougcole@hawaii.rr.com

4. Please spread the word about alternative locations and share your thoughts to the email addresses above.