Cellular rules may be moot

CITY HALL — As city attorneys work to finalize draft regulations on the placement of cellular antennas, officials are concerned about the federal government’s ability to trump local regulations.

The draft ordinance, presented to stakeholders in October at a series of meetings, takes a tiered approach where cellular antennas proposed in residential locations or in an unattractive form would face a more intense review process than those proposed for “preferred zones.”

The ordinance requires carriers to apply for permits, prove why they need the antennas and possibly face Planning Commission review.

But city officials are evaluating whether a recent Federal Communications Commission ruling placing time limits on local processing of cell tower applications could hinder the effectiveness of the proposed regulations.

“I think the city has done a very admirable job in crafting a very strict ordinance,” Councilwoman Laura Friedman said. “The problems we are having are the wireless industry is a step ahead of us. They are working at a federal level, making it so the federal government doesn’t allow cities to put in stricter ordinances.”

The ruling requires state and local governments to act within 90 days of an application for a tower site that will be shared among multiple operators, and within 150 days for all other applications.

The November decision was a major victory for wireless carriers that had sought to prevent cities from taking excessive amounts of time to review applications. Industry representatives have argued that needless delays and application processes are keeping them from meeting growing consumer demand.

But elected officials from municipalities across the nation have spoken out against the ruling, countering that it limits local review and consideration of constituent concerns.

“The question is legally whether we have to follow it because what many of us are now believing is the FCC may have acted in excess of their jurisdiction,” said City Atty. Scott Howard.

Still, any major revisions stemming from the FCC ruling are unlikely, Howard said.

“We think, with this new ordinance, we are asking for a lot of information on the front end so it may not have as much of an impact,” he said.