Saratoga Planners OK Sprint Cellular Antenna Project

Saratoga planners last week gave the OK for Sprint to replace existing cellular antennas at 20013 Cox Ave.

Sprint was requesting so-called design review approval to install three new panel antennas and six remote radio units  77 feet above grade on an approximately 144-foot tall existing Pacific Gas & Electric lattice tower.

Two new equipment cabinets would be installed within an existing 493-square-foot fenced enclosure located to the northwest of the lattice tower, according to a staff report.

The project is upgrading the site from the current 3G technology to 4G to provide increased capacity and data speeds, the report said.

The three existing panel antennas and the two existing equipment cabinets would be removed.

There is no proposed increase in height to the existing tower or increase in size of the fenced enclosure to accommodate this project.

The utility tower is located next to Cox Avenue, Joe’s Trail, and a railroad right-of-way.

Single-family homes surround the site and the tower also carries antennas from other wireless companies. These antennas are located above and below the proposed Sprint antennas, the report said.

So does the project increase Sprint's coverage area in Saratoga? No, however, the capacity and data speeds of the service would increase significantly, the report stated.

Sprint also has antenna and radio sites at 12382 Saratoga-Sunnyvale Rd., 14429 Big Basin Way, 12970 Glen Brae Drive and 14000 Fruitvale Avenue.

The voice, data and Internet services provider has provided a radio frequency analysis, which concludes that the proposed telecommunications facility will comply with the FCC’s current prevailing standard for limiting human exposure to RF energy, and no significant impact on the general public is expected, the report stated.

Sprint sent letters notifying property owners who live 500 feet from the project's location and has not received any comments, the report said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and cell phone companies maintain that
cell phone towers don’t pose public health risks. However, other findings assert the opposite, which sometimes causes public concern over human exposure to radio frequency.