A group of Tsawwassen residents has organized a public meeting for next week to discuss a controversial proposal to build several radio transmission towers in Point Roberts.
The meeting, set for Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the South Delta Secondary theatre, will feature speakers from Concerned Citizens of Tsawwassen, who will explain why they're opposed to the BBC Broadcasting Inc. application to Whatcom County. The company wants to construct five 150-foot steel towers at an undeveloped lot on McKenzie Way, just west of Tyee Drive in Point Roberts, in proximity to the border with Tsawwassen.
The towers would transmit South Asian radio station KRPI, AM 1550, which broadcasts from studios in Richmond. The company currently broadcasts using antennas located in Ferndale, WA. The FCC last year granted a construction permit but a conditional use a permit is still required from the county.
According to a flyer by the citizens' group, the "emitting 50,000 watts of electromagnetic radiation" will result is serious interference with electrical devices right up to 12th Avenue in Tsawwassen.
The group also listed health concerns for any resident living with a 2.8- kilometre radius of the towers, including increased risk of heart attack, stroke and cancer. It also notes homeowners would see a big drop in property values.
Resident Greg Edwards wrote to Whatcom County Planning and Development Services asking why an engineering report that supports the application ignores the fact thousands of Canadians live nearby.
The group states, "KRPI's FCC application fails to recognize the town of Tsawwassen (pop. 21,000) but acknowledges the existence of Ladner. This neglect of Tsawwassen and its residents, businesses, schools and churches continues in the application to Whatcom County Planning Department."
The Point Roberts Conservation Society, in the online community newspaper, the All Point Bulletin, states the radio towers are being proposed for Washington state because of cheaper land and less onerous regulations than in Canada.
"A multitude of potential health risks like insomnia, headaches, and hyper-tension have been reported worldwide. Cancer clusters have been reported around long operating European AM radio stations," the website states.
Opponents note the engineering report stated that BBC Broadcasting was looking for another location to "relieve Ferndale residents of the problems that the current location had caused in an effort to repair ties with the community that no longer wants a transmitter site and is unwilling to support the station."
Concerned Citizens of Tsawwassen is working in conjunction Fight the Towers, a coalition of individuals and organizations from both sides of the border.
Next Wednesday's public meeting at the SDSS theatre goes from 7 to 9 p.m.
For more information, e-mail [email protected].
