Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, a coastal town in Los Angeles County and adjacent to one of America’s most-populated cities, has a new ordinance regulating how wireless cell towers are approved and installed, after residents worked together to pressure town officials following a misunderstanding last July. The City Council passed the stricter law last week. Rancho Palos Verdes currently has 140 wireless towers operating throughout the city.
Local residents started the push for more regulations after a construction company began building a new tower near a residential neighborhood last summer. Residents had been expecting a temporary mockup of a proposed tower to be installed, but were shocked when the actual tower began to rise. The City Council halted the construction of that tower after hearing appeals from the neighbors.
Daily Breeze News reports the new ordinance is strict, and will make it much more difficult for wireless towers to be installed in the city. It sets limits on what wireless carriers can install in the city’s rights of way, aesthetic features, and forces companies to clean up tower sites if the city determines they fail aesthetic standards.
Paul O’Boyle, attorney for Crown Castle International Corp., has indicated the company would like to work with the city on how towers are approved, and what equipment will be installed. However, Crown Castle has had issues with tower applications getting stalled in the process. A new California law will alleviate that situation. California state law now requires any towers not approved by municipalities within a 150-day period to be automatically approved.
Verizon is currently questioning the legality of the urgent passing of the ordinance. Federal law does control what municipalities can restrict. The city has already changed some features of the ordinance to ensure it meets federal regulations. For example, it will no longer require radio frequency emissions be tested every five years. For now, the Public Works Department will enforce the regulations, and will notify residents within a 500-foot radius of any new tower site.
Reader Interactions