Boulder City Council meeting at 6 PM this Tuesday, July 16.
Protesting the industry-biased agenda for the upcoming Council study session on 5G.
Protesting the industry-biased agenda for the upcoming Council study session on 5G.
At the end of this email are two action items for you, marked in bold.
On March 19, the Boulder City Council requested a study session on 5G cellular technology, and this session is now scheduled for 6 PM on Tuesday, July 23. The public is welcome, but there will be no public comment. The agenda has not yet been officially announced, but it will be posted here; https://bouldercolorado.gov/
Months ago our citizen group, Boulder 5G Action, recruited several nationally recognized experts to speak at the study session and gave our proposed list to Council. One of the presenters we proposed was included on the agenda. However, two very important speakers we suggested were deleted.
The agenda decision was made by Julia Richman, Chief Innovation and Technology Officer for the City of Boulder. It was approved by Jane Braughtigam, Boulder City Manager and by the Council Agenda Committee—Mayor Suzanne Jones, Bob Yates and Sam Weaver.
They eliminated national experts we proposed and instead filled the agenda with people biased toward the telecom industry.
One person from our recommendations who was eliminated from the agenda is internationally-renowned expert Devra Davis, PhD, to speak on Radiofrequency Radiation Impacts on Brain Development, Reproduction, and Cancer. Some of Dr. Davis’ qualifications: founder of the Environmental Health Trust, former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, and author of four books and over 200 publications in journals ranging from the Lancet and Journal of the American Medical Association to Scientific American and the New York Times.
The other person is Grant Wilson, directing attorney for Earth Law Center. First, some background. In 2018 Colorado passed HB17-1193 stripping away local control concerning the installation of small cell wireless facilities on public rights-of-way. This bill does not allow for any meaningful public review and input, and it speeds 5G being implemented before safety studies are conducted.
Grant Wilson has authored two policy reports that give a roadmap for cities to regain local control over the telecom industry. One of them is here: https://ehtrust.org/policy-
With the decision to eliminate Dr. Davis and Grant Wilson from the study session, the Council will be missing crucial information regarding our health and safety. In our opinion the current agenda is heavily pro-industry, and neither the Council members nor the public will be getting a more complete view of the risks and negative consequences of 5G technology from this study session.
However, here is the potential good news and the call to action:
We have been told that the City Council could reverse its decision and include Dr. Devra Davis and Grant Wilson in the study session.
What I and my team ask of all of you:
1. For as many of us as possible to attend the City Council meeting this Tuesday (July 16) at the Boulder Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway, southwest corner of Broadway and Canyon. The meeting starts at 6 PM, but you can join us starting at 5:15 PM to protest the agenda. Plan to arrive no later than 5:45 PM.
Please wear something green to show you are a member of our concerned movement.
LET’S FILL THE MEETING ROOM WITH US!
2. For as many as possible to sign up to speak during the public comment segment of the meeting.
The public is allowed two minutes per person to speak. People can sign up at
The on-line sign-up period closes at 2 PM Monday, July 15. After that, the list will be randomized and the first 15 people will be chosen from that list to speak. The list of people chosen to speaker will be posted by 5 p.m. on Monday, July 15 on the council webpage.
Note: You don’t have to actually speak. JusI have a very clear and strong talk prepared which takes 4 minutes to present, and I need help making sure my full script is heard at the meeting.
Council rules state that in open comment at Council meetings, people are not allowed to give their time to another speaker for that person to be able to speak for a longer time. So I’ve printed the script of my talk into two sections. If I get chosen to speak, I will give the other half of my talk to one of you. If I don’t get chosen, I will give both halves of my talk to two of you. Please let me know if you’d be interested in working with me.
To maximize the likelihood we will have at least two of us chosen in the lottery, I ask as many of you as possible to sign up to speak. PLEASE SIGN UP NOW!
If you miss the online deadline you can still sign up in person in the meeting room between 5-6 PM on Tuesday, July 16. And if you can’t attend, please send an email regarding the agenda to the City Council at council@bouldercolorado.gov
This will be a great chance for us to get our elected officials to take action in the service of the people. I look forward to seeing you Tuesday night. Please forward this to everyone you know in Boulder.
We did it! At the suggestion of Council member CIndy Carlisle, Council agreed to add Dr. Devra Davis and attorney Grant Wilson to the 5G study session on 7/23. This was after three of us spoke during open comments and requested this, and many people emailed Council about it. Thanks for all your support. You can still write City Council to thank them for their decision. And everyone is invited to come on the 23rd, wear green and listen respectfully (no public comments or questions allowed at study sessions). We’ll let you know if we’re the first study session that night (come at 6 PM) or the second.
This is great news Amber! Thanks for all your efforts.
Our study session is first on the agenda, so it will start at 6 PM on Tuesday, July 23. Municipal building, SW corner of Broadway and Canyon, 2nd floor.