Ending a long community campaign against its existence, the cell tower located on the campus of San Marino High School is being dismantled, with its coverage being picked up by a tower currently in use at the Sunrise Senior Living Center, which is located in the Los Angeles County area just east of city limits. The tower at Sunrise was recently upgraded to handle the extra load, according San Marino Director of Planning and Building Aldo Cervantes.
The SMHS tower, which is located directly atop the Raymond Fault just north of Dingus Memorial Fieldhouse, never received proper permits, according to Cervantes, and was “considered to be in violation of City Laws.”
In early 2018, a large sinkhole developed just a few yards away from the cell tower, causing the temporary closure of an access road that runs directly behind the gymnasium.
While some of the antennae have been removed at the SMHS site, Cervantes personally inspected the tower on Thursday and believes at least one carrier still uses the monopole.
“It is scheduled to be completely removed by December,” Cervantes told The Tribune. “They want to wait until winter break for a safer work environment.”
According to the San Marino High School calendar, the final day of classes for the first semester is slated for Friday, December 20 with the second semester starting on Monday, January 6, 2020.
The cell tower currently located in a maintenance yard between Valentine Elementary and Huntington Middle Schools is also scheduled for eradication, according to Cervantes.
“According to a timeline I have received, it will be gone some time in January or February,” Cervantes said.
The antennas will be relocated to the roof of a building on the southwest corner of Huntington Drive and Ridgeway Road to fill the coverage gap. Cervantes told The Tribune that the owner of the building has pulled and signed permits allowing for the installation of the cell site.
“It seems as though the schedule is falling into place and they are holding to their timeline,” Cervantes said.
