The City Council voted unanimously Monday to bar most new wireless facilities in Malibu's residential neighborhoods, approving a pair of resolutions that supporters hailed as a long-sought first step toward keeping cell equipment away from homes.
The vote enacts what officials have called Phase 1 of a "residential fix," prohibiting new wireless installations in residential areas except where federal law requires the city to allow them. Because the changes were adopted as resolutions rather than ordinances, they took effect immediately and apply to any application submitted after the vote.
"It's a marked departure from the way things used to be," Mayor Bruce Silverstein said before the vote. "The residents have been clamoring for this for many years now, and every time it's been raised, it's been deferred."
Under the new standards, the siting restriction applies on private property in residential zoning districts and, in the public right-of-way, to any location within 300 feet of a residential parcel fronting the roadway. The required spacing between wireless facilities in the right-of-way near homes increases from 600 feet to 1,000 feet. The rules steer carriers toward Pacific Coast Highway and arterial roads, which remain the preferred locations.
The restrictions apply only to brand-new facilities and to modifications that fall outside federal limits. Senior Planner Patrick Achis told the council the city must still approve qualifying "eligible facility requests" — changes to existing sites that meet Federal Communications Commission criteria. Achis said Malibu has approved 39 wireless applications in the past 12 months, all of them eligible facility requests, and that the last brand-new facility was approved about three and a half years ago.
Staff also pushed back on a comparison, raised repeatedly in public comment, to the city of Calabasas, which some residents believe regulates wireless equipment more strictly. Achis said Malibu's rules are the tougher of the two. Calabasas permits new facilities in residential and open-space zones if they are screened, and approves them administratively without a public hearing, he said. Malibu, by contrast, requires discretionary review, a public hearing and, where applicable, a coastal development permit.
Assistant Community Development Director Tyler Eaton said Malibu's process has at times proved so demanding that applicants abandoned their projects. "We've had a few of those that have not made it through the process," he said.
Much of the council's discussion turned on the tension between limiting equipment and maintaining reliable service in a fire-prone community with frequent power shutoffs. Councilmember Marianne Riggins said she shared residents' health concerns about 5G technology but stressed that Malibu cannot afford coverage gaps during emergencies.
"We have gone through two major fires on each end of town and not had proper coverage so that people can get accurate information for evacuations," Riggins said. She recounted a recent outage at her own home: "The power was out for 10 days, and I didn't have service in my house. I happen to live on Cliffside on Point Dume."
Councilmember Steve Uhring urged staff to monitor how carriers respond to the new rules and report back quickly. "Telecom companies — they've demonstrated they're very powerful," he said. "They got great lobbyists. If it isn't working, we've got to tweak it. Let's tweak it earlier versus later."
Several members said the more consequential work lies ahead. "The real meat on the bones is going to come in Phase 2," Councilmember Doug Stewart said, pointing to installation and maintenance standards. "The engineers can do a great job to put it together, but if it isn't installed properly, it's a mess."
Phase 2, targeted for August or September, is expected to focus on fire safety, equipment upkeep and enforcement. Silverstein floated requiring periodic inspections of wireless sites every few years — paid for by the carriers — to check for degradation and fire hazards. Interim City Attorney Trevor Rusin said the city could likely justify such a rule if it established a clear rationale and kept the requirements proportional, and agreed to research the question for the next round of amendments.
Riggins said she would support mandatory checks tied to maintenance and power shutoffs, noting that backup batteries at some sites fail to work after prolonged outages. "Is there something that we can add in for periodic maintenance and/or checks after a PSPS season?" she asked. "I would absolutely support having that."