Better reception is on the horizon
In an effort to get better reception for all cell phone users in Santa Monica, wireless companies are getting dialed into a new law that will govern where antennas can be built here.
Wireless representatives and public utility workers met with city officials on Monday to discuss revisions to a proposed law that dictates where, when and how antennas will be erected throughout the city. If the law is passed by the City Council this summer, better reception for most cell phones users could be happening by the end of the year.
The proposed law is expected to be reviewed by the City Council in June with final approval in July. A February moratorium banning the construction of wireless telephone facilities on public land will expire in August. Wireless companies will then be able to submit applications to erect antennas in Santa Monica.
396, Prompted by two lawsuits levied by Verizon and AT&T, City Hall was forced to draft a law that would allow telecommunication companies to install wireless infrastructure on public land. The companies filed the suits in state and federal court last fall after they applied to put up antennas in Santa Monica but City Hall denied them because no law is in currently in place to regulate them. AT&T and Verizon argued that City Hall couldn’t have an informal moratorium on wireless technology installation without some sort of ordinance. That’s why the City Council officially passed a moratorium two months ago.
Industry officials in early February hashed out details of the proposed ordinance and city staff have been tweaking the law ever since. The revisions were presented on Monday and industry representatives now have until May 7 to make further comment on the proposal before it hit the City Council on June 22.
Since then, several changes have been made to the document that include compromises and added detail to the existing standards. Under the law, applicants would be required submit detailed plans of their network systems, but they won’t be public record. Many public utility and wireless representatives were concerned about security leaks if their systems were part of the public record.
Dave Britton, an engineer in City Hall, said antennas are preferred on private property over the public right of way, as well in commercial areas over neighborhoods.
3C3,“We ask that you exhaust private properties within 300 feet of the site,” he told the group gathered at the Ken Edwards Center, adding many landowners might allow part of their property to be leased.
Britton also said if antennas are going to be placed on street lights, the entire pole should be replaced because altering existing ones won’t be as aesthetically pleasing. He suggested that power poles in alleys are preferred.
“It’s a good place to place your antennas if it meets your needs,” Britton said, adding it’s the hope of city officials that the industry will work together in grouping their technology in the same areas. “If you have a corridor you are looking at, try to ‘co-locate’ with the industry.”
Design standards in the law also address what impacts the installation of the network will bring to traffic and pedestrians. Wireless companies should plan on constructing at busy intersections during off-peak times, like at night, Britton said.
In some cases, companies can be granted a “hardship exemption,” which would give them the green light to install antennas.
“We are not going to be routinely denying these applications because we want to work with the industry and give the public better service,” Britton said.
Cell phone representatives from Verizon said in February that they hoped to install three cell phone antennas — at Montana Avenue and 25th Street, San Vicente and 11th Street, and under the Santa Monica Pier. They added that the antennas would be camouflaged and pose no threat to the health and safety of the community.
The main concern from City Hall is minimizing the impacts to residents and business as a result of the companies’ utilities. The ordinance is a way of protecting that, as well as the city’s liability and public safety.
By forcing the companies to apply for permits to install the antennas, City Hall will be able to guarantee that the antennas are safe, aesthetically pleasing, have a minimal impact on neighbors and don’t interfere with other utilities. City officials also prefer “stealth” installations, when companies use existing power lines, camouflage equipment, or install their antennas in a way that blends into the street surroundings, like in street lamps.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 27, 2004. Read the original PDF.