Parents Win Fight Against Radio Tower on School Playground

Parents protesting construction of a 70-foot radio tower on their children’s Montrose school playground won their fight Wednesday as a cellular phone company dropped its development proposal.

The retreat by Nextel Communications came as a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that a permit issued earlier this year for the tower was invalid because parents at Holy Redeemer School were not notified in time to argue against it at a county hearing.

The parents charged that the tower, to be surrounded by a block wall topped by barbed wire, would take up valuable playground space and possibly expose children to harmful radiation. Parents filed a lawsuit after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles balked at canceling a contract with Nextel, with Cardinal Roger Mahony suggesting they should be “thrilled and grateful” to have the tower and its $1,200 monthly rental revenue.

Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne ruled that a county hearing notice was placed at the wrong address. Parents said they learned of the project only after the school’s principal glanced out the window and noticed workers driving construction stakes in the campus playground.

Nextel spokesman Don Girskis, vice president of engineering for the firm, said the company is pursuing an alternative site north of the campus for its tower.