After months of public outcry against a plan by cell phone carrier NextG to install antenna sites at several sites in Montecito, the issue was back before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors again Tuesday.
The Federal Communications Commission has a rule that electromagnetic frequency emissions shouldn’t be considered a health risk, but that issue and the aesthetic impacts of the antenna — even on existing utility poles — were concerns raised again and again by the Montecito Association and other members of the community.
One of the more controversial of the antenna assemblies had the potential to be installed near the Montecito Union School. The Montecito Planning Commission denied the cell phone antenna, and NextG, which doesn’t have coverage in the Montecito area, appealed the decision to the Board of Supervisors.
County staff, which had studied the project in detail, recommended that the board support the appeal.
In the end, the board directed the staff to look further into the actual antenna sites — specifically, aesthetic issues and cell phone coverage — and report back to the board at an unspecified date.
Megan Lowry, a staff member presenting the project, said NextG had fully examined alternative sites where residents objected to antenna placement.
From the outset of Tuesday’s hearing, board members — who had received a large volume of correspondence from community members voicing opposition to NextG’s antennae — approached the project skeptically.
“They’re no longer little whip antennas,” said First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, whose district includes Montecito. NextG has 11 antennae in Montecito, all mounted on utility poles.
The Montecito Association — represented by an attorney from Price, Postel & Parma — and more than 30 Montecito residents offered an overwhelmingly negative response regarding the project during Tuesday’s public comment period.
“We’re really asking all of you to preserve the beauty and character of our little village,” said Montecito resident and 1977 world surfing champion Shaun Tomson, adding that antenna already placed near his house have cluttered the view from his window and could lower property values by as much as 35 percent — in his case, $700,000.
Aside from concerns about the impact on the area’s aesthetics and property values, some said allowing NextG’s proposal would open the floodgate for other companies wishing to do the same.
“You can be sure that other utilities are watching this very closely,” Montecito resident Sandy Lejeune said.
NextG’s representative said the company has newer, more compact technology that allows multiple communication utilities to use the same antenna. Each location would include a 26-inch antenna and a 3-foot-tall utility box, mounted at least 9 feet off the ground to discourage tampering.
— Noozhawk staff writer Ben Preston can be reached at bpreston@noozhawk.com.