Cell phone antennas will be hidden from public
By SHRADDHA R. JAISWAL Special to the Daily Press
CITY HALL — Officials here have now made it possible for Santa Monicans to have better cell phone reception.
The City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday that regulates antenna installation applications from companies such as Verizon and AT&T.
The ordinance allows wireless companies to apply for a permit to build antennas in public areas, including above or below streets, in alleys or on sidewalks.
But wireless companies are restricted — City Hall will give preference to companies that construct in commercial areas as opposed to neighborhoods. City officials also prefer companies to build on private instead of public property and camouflage their wireless antennas on existing street poles instead of creating new ones.
“We ask that they not be directly outside of someone’s bay window, (that they are) painted to match surroundings, landscaped,” said Dave Britton, a civil engineer in City Hall. “It’s a matter of con-trolling the aesthetic impact of these installations.”
The new law was passed in response to months of disputes between City Hall, Verizon and AT&T. The two phone companies filed federal and state lawsuits against City Hall when their applications to put up antennas were denied because Santa Monica did not have a law regulating the installation, said Deputy City Attorney Cara Silver.
Although the new law will not go into effect for another 30 days, Britton said there already are applications in the works. He expects more once the ordinance goes into effect.
Because City Hall complied with AT&T’s general demands, it could be the first company to put up an antenna in Santa Monica. Pending the application approval, AT&T’s first camouflaged antenna will be placed on a street light on the corner of 19th Street and San Vicente Boulevard, officials said. “(The new law) allows many benefits for residents as far as providing more efficient, competitive utility services,” Britton said. “It’s not just telecommunication. It effects the gas company and Edison... It provides a more effective way to provide utility services to the public.”
Under the new ordinance, companies will file an application with the city’s environmental and public works management department that includes the time, location and extent of the construction. The general review process by the public works department and the city’s planning commission would take up to three weeks.
Phone companies are eligible for two types of permits in regard to placing antennas. A minor permit would be granted when the wireless infrastructure to be built does not affect the aesthetic character of the area and relates “harmoniously” with the neighborhood. That would include underground facilities and micro-cell antennas that are incorporated into existing utility poles and street lights.
But if the equipment appears to change the aesthetics of the neighborhood — such as extending above the height of existing poles or if new poles are needed all together — a major permit would be necessary, and it would undergo extensive public review.
If the company is asking for a major permit, the ordinance requires that the applicants send out a notice of the impending construction to all property owners, residents and tenants within 500 feet of the proposed site 14 business days before a final decision is made. Santa Monicans may appeal the construction to the City Council within those 14 days.
Santa Monica hasn’t updated public utilities regulations for more than three decades. Up until now, no law regulating underground utilities and wireless telecommunications existed because applications from outside companies were few and far between.
The placement of the antennas, under or above ground, will take place most likely during the daytime, Britton said. However, if the company is asking to install in a high-traffic area, Britton said they would be asked as an exception to work during the off-peak hours between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Although the companies had security concerns with the ordinance’s requirement that they provide a network diagram of the project in their application, Silver said that the diagrams would remain confidential and would only be used to avoid extra costs for the city.
“What we want to do is require all of the private utilities to give information regarding their underground lines and other equipment to the city,” said Silver. “This way when the city does its projects, we know exactly where all of these underground lines are so that we will not run into them when we go in for construction.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 16, 2004. Read the original PDF.