The Montecito Planning Commission sided unanimously Wednesday with residents opposed to the way several proposed cell-tower sites are moving through the planning process.
It’s a contentious issue that began when residents noticed yellow “notice of development” signs popping up in residential areas across a wide swath of the South Coast.
Cell company NextG wants to put up 39 “node” — or antenna — sites, including 14 in Montecito. Residents have appealed seven of the locations because of their proximity to homes, schools and view corridors.
NextG’s plans would allow for a 26-inch antenna to be installed on an existing utility pole in each of the locations. A 3-foot utility box also would be placed on the pole.
A central issue in Wednesday’s debate centered on the type of permitting the projects have been given.
Permits for this type of project range among four categories. A tier-one permit exists for the smallest projects. Tier four is used for the largest projects and can exceed 50 feet in height.
Because each of the seven locations was treated as a separate project, and not processed as one larger project, the company chose to pursue a tier one permit for each, which would require less scrutiny than a tier four.
NextG is the company applying for the infrastructure, but it would be used by cell company Metro PCS, which currently doesn’t have coverage in the Montecito area.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved stricter cell tower regulations in December, but shied away from enacting a moratorium.
The Federal Communications Commission issued a declaratory ruling in November stating that state and local governments can’t deny an application solely because the service is available from another provider. So, just because Montecito residents get coverage from AT&T or Verizon, for example, doesn’t mean the county can deny NextG’s application for MetroPCS.
The county can deny the projects for aesthetic reasons. But if NextG proves it has a significant gap in its coverage, the county must provide an alternate location for the project, while still filling in that gap.
In the past, Montecito residents who have spoken out on the project have cited health concerns. They’ve argued that the electromagnetic frequencies the devices emit could have health consequences to those who live or go to school near them.
The Federal Communications Act pre-empts the county from prohibiting the antennas based on health concerns, assuming the locations comply with the threshold deemed safe by the FCC.
That point was hardly touched on Wednesday as the residents rallied behind their attorney, Susan Basham, who is representing the group in their appeal.
Instead, Basham focused on the aesthetic implications of the antennas going in, and called reviewing each as an individual project a “piecemeal” approach.
“A tier-one permitting system is designed for a single antenna,” she said. “If you look at those individually, you never get the entire picture.”
The county contends it’s using existing infrastructure — the telephone poles — which they say blend in and don’t add height.
“This is arguably one of the least intrusive designs available,” county planner Megan Lowery said.
Last year, county planners received an application for a 60-foot tower encased in a faux pine tree. Comparatively, she said, the NextG antennas are far more wieldy.
The cable NextG would install has the capacity for five networks, a point not lost on the residents.
Montecito resident Abe Powell showed photos he had taken of an antenna installed by NextG on Picacho Lane. A coil of wires had been left next to the antenna, dangling in the air, and Powell altered the photos to show what various antenna sites would look like with five antennas, instead of one.
“This is visual blight,” he said. “We think that’s unacceptable. … Every other cell company is going to want to do the same thing.”
NextG representative Patrick Ryan called Powell’s simulation a “misrepresentation” and said the wire coil had been there at the request of the county. “There is no plan to install five different antennas,” he said.
One commissioner asked outright how many carriers a community needs.
“There will be more companies, like Metro PCS, that will come to Montecito,” Ryan said. “We’re very much in the infancy stage of wireless.”
He said NextG is the first carrier to use this smaller equipment, and that his company is often invited into communities as an alternative to larger operations.
Ryan noted that because more people rely on their cell phones, all carriers are submitting applications for residential areas — not just NextG.
The commissioners ultimately took issue with the fact that the company didn’t process it as a tier-four project, which would have allowed the company to talk about alternative sites with nearby residents.
“Common sense says this is a network,” said Commissioner Claire Gottsdanker, recommending that it be permitted as such.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.
