Date Set for Cell Tower Ordinance Vote

The is scheduled to vote on April 25 whether to adopt an updated version of the wireless communications ordinance, which governs the placement of cellphone towers within the community.

The document has been undergoing revisions for nearly the past year, shortly after the council enacted a moratorium on approving cellphone tower applications.

An outside attorney and local residents have provided feedback on the ordinance and on March 20, the Communications and Technology Commission unanimously recommended its version to council members for a final vote.

The copy of the ordinance to go before the council is still being finalized and will not be made public until next Wednesday, said Media Operations Director Deborah Steller.

Though some of the language of the document is being modified, there are few core regulations that commissioners agreed upon in the 23-page document.

The Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 restricts local governments from prohibiting cellphone tower installations based on health concerns related to radio frequency emissions.

However, federal law does allow municipalities to regulate the location of such facilities to be installed at the least intrusive sites.

Commissioners agreed in their version of the ordinance that proposed cellphone tower sites must be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, parks and residences. But the nation's telecommunications act states wireless service providers should still be permitted to build sites if they can demonstrate a significant gap in coverage.

Communications and Technology Commission Chair Michael Brockman said the distance requirements established in the ordinance are not final, but more of a guideline as to how the city would like to see its landscape of cellphone towers.

"There are no absolutes to this," he said.

Attorney Andrew Campanelli, hired as a peer reviewer of the ordinance, said there is no legal definition of significant gap, though wireless providers would most likely have to prove there is poor phone reception, data transmittal and texting.

The document will also establish a monitoring program for cellphone tower sites.

Calabasas Patch will post the final draft of the wireless telecommunications ordinance once it is made public next week.