BY SARAH MOLINA
STAFF WRITER
04/26/2007

JESSUP — Rain or shine, a three-hour protest today will call for the removal of cell phone antennas from atop a Catholic school.

It will be the second event to oppose the antennas, and protests will continue until they’re gone, said Mary Durdach, a Jessup Area Neighborhood Alliance member.

Nextel, which installed the 12 antennas atop the St. Michael’s School building, has appealed the revocation of a zoning permit that allowed the installation. The antennas are not transmitting at this time.

“There’s going to be protests until the equipment is removed,” Ms. Durdach said. “An industrial operation like that cannot be in highly occupied residential area.”

The protest will begin at 4 p.m. on Second Avenue in front of the Nextel building.

Neighbors and parents are concerned about the effect of antenna radiation, said Ms. Durdach, whose three children attend La Salle Academy.

“We’re worried about everybody, but because this so much involves small children ... They’re sitting in a booby-trapped building,” she said. “If you want to use your cell phone, you have the option of when you turn it on and off, but if you’re in a school, you might be exposed for up to seven hours a day.”

Nextel obtained a permit a year ago to mount the 12 antennas on St. Michael’s, where classes are held for younger students of La Salle Academy.

Borough zoning officer Robert Grunza said he mistakenly granted the permit, not realizing it required a special exception approval that can only be granted by the Zoning Board. After a borough resident complained in February, Mr. Grunza said the permit was revoked March 23.

Nextel appealed the permit revocation and a stop-work order, borough solicitor Richard Fanucci said. It’s now up to the Zoning Board whether the permit will be reinstated.

“(Their) arguments are issues that should be raised before the Zoning Board,” Mr. Fanucci said.

“What we’ve done is we’ve filed and appeal, and we’re just going to continue to let this go through the channels,” Nextel regional spokesman Jack Pflanz said.

Contact the writer: smolina@timesshamrock.com