Clarendon Hills May Settle With 5G Firm

CLARENDON HILLS, IL – Clarendon Hills appears close to settling with a 5G company that wants to place antennas around town.

The Village Board may reach an agreement with Crown Castle as soon as Tuesday. The company handles the placement of 5G equipment for corporations such as Verizon.

Crown Castle has submitted one application to Clarendon Hills for a 5G antenna. But the village said it understood that the company would eventually seek to have 42 of them in town.

When Verizon approached the village in 2018, the company expected that most of its antennas would be on new stand-alone poles, according to a memo from Village Manager Kevin Barr.

But changes in state law promoted the use of existing ComEd poles for such antennas. Now, Crown Castle is proposing that most of its equipment go on existing poles, according to the memo.

The proposed settlement lists the design standards for antennas in Clarendon Hills, the memo said. Under its terms, the village may be able to have Crown Castle move an antenna from in front of a house to an area with less impact.

Residents have expressed concerns about the health effects of radio frequency emissions from the antennas, the memo said. But regulation of such emissions falls under the exclusive authority of the federal government.

In any case, the village said it has been assured that the emissions will be within allowable limits.

The board had planned to take action Tuesday. But Barr said in the memo that trustees may delay because of the late delivery of the agreement's language.

Western Springs also has been in a dispute with Crown Castle about the placement of antennas.

The antennas are considered the next generation of cellphone technology.