Garda Mayor Blocks Mobile Tower Over Health and Legal Concerns
We are in the era of telecommunications. Mobile phones are a common tool, and mobile telephony has its own requirements, which are not always universally agreed upon.
Local Resistance and Actions by the Municipality of Garda
This is well known to the grassroots groups that in many locations (most recently in Costabella di Bardolino) organize to try to stop the installation of repeaters. Often, local administrators claim to be powerless to comply with the requests of their fellow citizens.
However, something unusual happened in Garda: Mayor Giorgio Comencini sent a cease and desist, citing a legal technicality, to Tim which had requested to install a radio station.
The communication and the Municipality of Garda’s refusal
On May 23, Tim notified the Municipality of Garda about the provisional placement of a mobile base station on Via San Bernardo, at the foot of the Rocca, with the installation of «a cabinet containing electronic equipment, transmitting antennas, and connecting cables». The administration was simply supposed to acknowledge this. Instead, it was noted that the communication included a declaration of notoriety made by a company representative, but «without indicating any specific scientific or professional expertise», leading the mayor to say no.
Reasons for the denial and legal justifications
Comencini’s denial stems from the law that requires companies installing and operating mobile communication infrastructure to ensure compliance with regulations concerning health risks. “In this case,” states the notice signed by Garda’s mayor, “the interested company has not demonstrated compliance with provisions regarding health risks to the population, as the mere self-declaration of notoriety made by the person responsible for the system, based on the documents held by the administration, does not appear to possess any technical specialization in electromagnetic fields.”
Essentially, The mayor of Garda seems to be saying: the name provided by the company might be that of the top Italian expert in the field, but if their technical qualifications are not detailed in the application, no authorization can be granted.
Impact on health and landscape protection
Therefore, considering the documentation «inadequate and insufficient» and «the harmfulness to health from continuous electromagnetic exposure evidenced by national and international scientific studies», the Municipality denied approval for the installation of the mobile repeater.
The installation, the mayor emphasizes, would have taken place in an area subject to landscape and environmental restrictions, in a zone where there are several residences and within the boundaries of the populated center, as defined by the new traffic code.
Final considerations and remarks on public safety
The entire process was deemed sufficient to consider «a potentially serious situation of danger to public hygiene, health, and the environment, in the absence of elements to exclude it». In short, what many citizens’ signatures often fail to achieve, this time was accomplished by relying on a legal technicality.
Angelo Peretti