Safe Technology for Santa Barbara County, a citizens group monitoring wireless communication, was engaged by California’s Santa Barbara City Council to lend its insights. According to the Santa Barbara News Press, the Council has been hard at work drafting an ordinance that will stay within federal guidelines, but still give it a voice on small cell placement in the community.
The citizens group consulted with attorney Andrew Campanelli, who recommended an application checklist. However, City Attorney, Ariel Calonne, cautioned that such a list may result in the opposite of what the requirement intends. “We think that putting a council-level requirement for review as a mandate will likely lead to unwanted cell towers and that’s what we’re trying to avoid,” he noted. “I want to go back to a year and a half ago: I made a commitment to the city council to bring you the most protective ordinance we could.”
“I would presume that while we’re doing this and while we have been doing this, installations are going on under no ordinance, and I just want to get the ordinance out there,” stated Council member, Mike Jordan, reported the Santa Barbara News Press. “I think this has been a remarkably extraordinary process, none that none like I have in 10 years as a planning commissioner, frankly,” adding that he felt the city “bent over backwards” to be accommodating.
With or without the checklist, Jordan noted that once in place, the ordinance can always be amended.
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