By LEAH WEATHERSBY

View Ridge residents opposing a cell phone companyıs plans to erect a cluster of antenna towers in their neighborhood have won a reprieve.

According to Laura Altschul, director of government relations for VoiceStream, the Bellevue company that wanted to erect six microwave transmitter antennas on the roof of the View Pointe Apartments at Sand Point Way and NE 75th Street, the landlord of that building has informed her company that he has withdrawn his permission for them to proceed with their plans.

The property owner could not be reached for comment.

The dramatic reversal for VoiceStream came only one day after an animated public meeting of the View Ridge Community Club on Jan. 16. About 50 irate neighbors attended the meeting to tell VoiceStream officials that they did not want the antennas placed in their neighborhood.

The reasons that the speakers gave for opposing the antennas included possible obstruction of views and the potential health impacts.

³I have two children,² said View Ridge resident Janet Proulx, ³I have no interest in going through leukemia just to prove that this shouldnıt be in our neighborhood.²

At the meeting, company representatives maintained that the technology was not dangerous and showed photo simulations of how they would mask the antennas. They also explained and that the new antennas were a necessary component of VoiceStream service.

Altschul said that VoiceStream has had a number of complaints about the coverage gap in that area and must still solve that problem somehow. She says they will most likely approach former naval station at Sand Point next.

While View Ridge residents donıt have to worry about new cell phone antennas for the time being, the controversy served to illuminate a growing concern for many people ‹ the proliferation of cell phone antennas which shoot a constant stream of radio frequency energy into their neighborhoods.

Altschul says the radiation that these cell phone antennas emit isnıt dangerous unless a person stands within a few feet of one for an extended period of time. In fact, according to brochures VoiceStream distributes, the ³typical exposure² from a wireless facility is about the same as from a baby monitor, and well below exposure standards set by the Federal Communications Commission.

But according to some activists, that information is misleading.

³(VoiceStream) has a huge influence on the FCC,² says Proulx, ³The telecommunications industry has rammed these standards down our throat.²

A University of Washington researcher, Dr. Henry Lai, an expert in cell phone technology, told a Seattle newspaper that his studies have found that radiation similar to that emitted from cell phones has caused memory loss and genetic damage in rats. However, Lai said that the link to cancer has not been proven.

Even if it were proven tomorrow that exposure to radiation from cell phone antennas causes cancer and other health problems, communities like View Ridge would not be able to ward off antennas based on that issue. Thatıs because the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prohibits state and local authority from denying such a project based on health concerns, provided that the project complies with FCC standards.

While the View Ridge residents who spoke at the Jan. 16 meeting strongly opposed the idea of having cell phone antennas erected in their neighborhood, one resident pointed out that many in their community are cell phone users.

³Where do we expect these things to be put?² she asked the crowd. ³I donıt know the answer.² Proulx acknowledged that she, too, uses wireless technology, but said she wonıt use it when her kids are in the car.

Antennas no longer seem to be a possibility for the View Pointe Apartments, but with roughly seven cell phone companies operating in the Seattle area, each needing their own network of antennas, thereıs no doubt the issue will come up again and again.