Agenda - Planning Commission - 06/04/1996

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APRIL 1996 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION II CellUlar Facilities: A Survey of Current Zoning Practices By Michelle Gregory with Douglas Martin Last June, Zoning News reported on guidelines for siting cellular towers ("Local Planning Issues in Siting Cellular Towers,). The article was based on a handful of ordinances and reports we were able to gather from communities that had experience with the issues surrounding cellular towers and antennas. Since then, the number of applications submitted to local governments has mushroomed to meet consumer demand for various forms of cellular communications technology. To find out how they are handling this challenge, APA cooperated with the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Counties, and the National Organization of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors to survey their member governments concerning their cellular facility siting policies, problems, and practices. Evolving Technology Currendy, the most widely used technology is cellular phones and paging devices. But since March 1995, the Federal Commtmicadon~ Commission (FCC) has auctioned off 1,900 megahertz (MHz) of the radio spectrum to new license holders. The country has been divided into 51 major trading areas, with two licenses awarded in each. With more competition and more money for research and development, the industry pioneers promise even greater communication opportunities. Futuristic television commercials depict an "Ameritech test town" where customers in a diner try to eat lunch while fiddling with various personal communication system (PCS) devices. PCS operates on the notion of "follow-me calling," wherein communication is routed to an individual rather than a telephone number via a more sophisticated version of the pager. The receiving end of the system, however, will likely be a voice transmission device, a fax, a video screen, or a database instead ora simple beeper. PCS technology will still be networked via cell sites but will operate at higher frequencies on the electromagnetic spectrum (1,850 to 2,200 MHz versus 800 co 900 MHz) and will have smaller radii than current technology. Industry analysts say the Ameritech advertising fantasy is not far off. They estimate that more than 15,000 cellular cowers have been built in the U.S. in the last 14 years to meet the service requirements of more than 25 million customers. They estimate that by 2003 there will be 167 million PCS users, with at least 100,000 cellular towers needed to accommodate this growth. Evolving Law On January 31, Congress passed the long-debated Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996, opening even more portions of the radio spectrum for PCS licenses. Section 704 (Facilities Siting; Radio Frequency Emission Standards) prevents local zoning authorities from arbitrarily banning cellular towers. The act effectively says local governments cannot allow one carrier and exclude another, but it also acknowledges their right to determine the criteria for siting cellular facilities. However, it also bars state and local governments from regulating such facilities "on the basis of the environmental effects of radio frequency emissions to the extent that such facilities comply" with FCC regulations. The cellular industry lobbied hard for federal preemption of local siting powers. Its argument for federal preemption focused on efficiency: Given the imminent proliferation of cellular phones, pagers, and ocher emerging PCS technology, all driven by an unrelenting consumer demand, the nation would be better served by national standardization of facility siting requirements. Advocates claimed such standardization would drastically reduce the amount of time necessary to establish cells throughout the country. Telecommunicat Reform Act of ~ ... Section 704 effectively says local governmen cannot allow onl carrier and exck another, but it a acknowledges ti .rJaht~to determir~ 4e Cellular industry lobbyists will now shift their deregulation campaign to state legislatures. In Vermont, proposed legislation would require local governments to make reasonable provision for cellular carrier transmis- sion facilities or treat them as a conditional use in any district, in effect forcing communities that have not yet dealt with the issue to develop the appropriate provisions. Although PCS technology and the laws regulating it are obviously moving targets, APA has tried to gather informauon on current practices for siting facilities and on future plans by the industry for making them less visually obtrusive and difficult to accommodate. This issue of Zoning News is intended as a timely update and companion document to the June 1995 article, which remains a good primer on the basics of cellular communications technology and the issues planners face. Evolving Practice Often, it seems, the cellular industry's own consumers have been among those who object to the visual pollution and perceived electromagnetic pollution that accompanies cellular transmission facilities. This irony poses a complex problem for planning and zoning professionals. Successful cellular communication can occur only where there is an adequate network of communication cells webbed together b7 their nuclei, the transmission antennas. Industry representatives say the cells cannot be installed fast enough and that local governments' site plan review and approval procedures are log-jamming the telecommunications revolution. They also suggest that, as the nation continues to shift from