Reception in SM will remain sketchy
COUNCIL CHAMBERS — Cell phone antennas won’t be erected on public land in Santa Monica anytime soon.
That could mean continued areas of poor reception for the foreseeable future, at least until City Hall figures how to regulate an anticipated proliferation of the towers, which can be unsightly.
Members of the City Council on Tuesday issued an emergency moratorium that bans the construction of wireless telephone facilities on public land for as long as six months. They told staffers to explore issues raised by carriers and consider aesthetic concerns.
The moratorium came despite two ongoing lawsuits levied against City Hall last year by AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Those carriers claim the city has overstepped its bounds by regulating the use of antennas. Officials disagreed and said they plan to examine the issue thoroughly.
“We want it done right and we want it done legally,” City Councilman Herb Katz said after the meeting. “Just because they want it done, doesn’t mean we’re going to do it... Someday, we’re going to get rid of power poles. Slowly, but surely — but we’re already doing it, so they better look at this and really get it right.”
“We want it done right and we want it done legally.” — — HERB KATZ Santa Monica City Councilman
A handful of people spoke at the meeting, many of them expressing reservations about the proposal. Mark Olsen, a spokesman for Southern California Edison, which supplies electricity to Santa Monica, said the proposed ordinance may have negative impacts on other utilities that use public land to deliver their services to residents.
Olsen, along with several representatives from several wireless companies, asked the council to wait before acting, saying all parties involved need to digest the many intricacies of the proposed ordinance, which would require utilities to apply for a permit to install their equipment. A draft of the 68-page proposal was first released two weeks ago.
In redrafting the proposed ordinance, staff will be specifically looking to simplify the process for applying to erect an antenna, going through public hearings and the guidelines that govern construction.
Gary Clouse, a Verizon representative, said his company is hopeful to install three cell phone antennas — at Montana Avenue and 25th Street, San Vicente and 11th Street, and under the Santa Monica Pier. In his statements to the council, Clouse said the antennas would be camouflaged, and pose no threat to the health and safety of the community.
On the legal merits of the moratorium, Clouse contended it would be illegal to have a moratorium extending past 45 days. What’s more, he argued that because Verizon first applied for the antennas over a year ago, the approval should move forward despite any moratorium.
Cara Silver, the Deputy District Attorney handling the cellular litigation for City Hall, said Clouse’s reading of the law wasn’t accurate. She said the 45-day limit applies to zoning ordinances, adding the public right-of-way is not zoned. Silver added that the moratorium on antennas speaks for itself.
“We think that it moots the lawsuits,” she said, “because they are asking for permits and the city has now issued a moratorium on the issuance of permits, and so they have no legal right to the permits.”
Robert Delsman, a vice president for NextG Networks, a wireless company, said in a letter to the council the proposal was likely to spur legal challenges. Among other things, Delsman took issue with what he called “subjective” aesthetic definitions, and a requirement that companies exhaust other locations before building. He also said the ordinance unfairly requires the wireless carrier to demonstrate that the sites do not provide adequate coverage, but then doesn’t define what’s considered “adequate.” “... we believe that the proposed ordinance falls well short of the desired standard of objectivity and predictability that are essential to the fair and even-handed application of (telecommunications laws),” the letter reads.
Representatives for Verizon that addressed the council also said they were against the local ordinance, adding the matter is already governed by state and federal law. They pointed to areas like Malibu, the Santa Monica Mountains and Ventura County, where no such local laws exist.
While the fine-tuning of the ordinance moves forward, some staffers feel there is a way of melding the needs of the carriers with the community.
In a presentation to the council, Dave Britton, a civil engineer for City Hall, said by forcing the companies to apply for permits to install the antennas, the city could guarantee the antennas are safe, aesthetic, have a minimal impact on neighbors and don’t interfere with other utilities. He pointed to some “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. More parking comes at price
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 26, 2004. Read the original PDF.