City Allows Cell Phone Towers in Public Rights-of-Way

Wireless service providers will now have more places to put cell towers throughout Monrovia after the City Council approved a plan Tuesday to allow the antennae to be placed in public rights-of-way.

The city had a moratorium in place since 2009 barring cell towers in public rights-of-way as officials worked to craft an ordinance that balanced the need of increased wireless access with practical and aesthetic concerns, according to City Manager Scott Ochoa.

The new law splits the city into "preferred" and "discouraged" zones designed to keep cell antennae inside commercial and manufacturing areas and out of residential areas, said Craig Jimenez, the city's principal planner. Wireless providers would be able to appeal to the city if they felt it necessary to erect a tower in a "discouraged" area, Jimenez said.

"This ordinance gives us a lot of flexibility in coming up with the right designation and right location that works for both the city and the providers," Jimenez said.

There are currently about 20 wireless antennae throughout the city, according to Jimenez. They average about 50 to 60 feet tall, and the ordinance approved Tuesday will cap their height at 65 feet, he said.

One concern residents and the council had was the potential for noise caused by the towers, but Jimenez said that has not traditionally been a problem.

"Sometimes if you’re standing right next to the equipment you may hear a very quiet hum," Jimenez said. "Generally wireless (towers) are not noisy."

Richard Roche, the director of external affairs for AT&T, was on hand at the council meeting Tuesday and briefly addressed council members to share his company's cincerns with the law. AT&T sent a letter to the city on Monday that pointed out numerous issues it had with the proposed ordinance, but Roche said the city worked quickly to rectifiy most of those issues.

One sticking point was a cap the company wanted placed on the cost of hiring an independent company to look at permit applications for towers in "discouraged" zones. If the city rejects a permit application in a discouraged zone, a provider can hire an independent agency to review the merits of the application. But the cost of that review should be kept in check, Roche said.

"You never want to be put in a situation where you have a third party running wild with our money," Roche said.

City Manager Scott Ochoa said such a cap could encourage companies to bid more than they usually would if they knew what the maximum contract could reach. The council ultimately adopted the law without a cap.

Councilman Joe Garcia noted that cell reception remains poor in some areas of the city, and he said the ordinance would hopefully help address that.

"There are certain parts of our community htat have absolutely horrible cell reception," Garcia said, noting that rapidly evolving technology may allow the city to expand cell reception in the future without needing the cumbersome towers.

Mayor Mary Ann Lutz said the city would remain cautious when determining whether or not to allow more antennae to spring up.

"We’re not just going to be allowing poles willy-nilly all over the place," she said.