LAKEPORT — Next week, the Lake County Board of Supervisors will consider making changes to the county’s zoning ordinance related to the regulation of wireless communications towers and antennae.
The proposed changes come after a Verizon-supported cell tower application which asked for significant variances from tower setback and access requirements to reclaim an unused tower in downtown Middletown was denied by the Lake County Planning Commission. Verizon has since filed an appeal to the commission’s decision. A date has not been set for that appeal hearing.
On Tuesday, the board will consider changes to Article 71 of the Lake County Zoning Ordinance, adopted in 2008, which establishes rules for communications towers to follow. At a meeting earlier this year, District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown called for a review of the article.
The goal of the recommended changes being offered by county staff is to “encourage the location of towers in non-residential areas,” to encourage collocation by multiple service providers on a single facility, to encourage less visible placement of large towers and antennae, to improve the visual appeal of towers, and to “enhance” communications services in the county, according to a staff report presented by County Counsel Anita Grant.
Grant’s report refers to an order issued in 2018 by the Federal Communications Commission that restricts local governments’ ability to regulate a new kind of wireless communications facility known as “small cell,” which will carry the next generation of wireless data service, called 5G, across the United States.
These new facilities are characterized by their smaller size and ability to be mounted to existing buildings. Grant notes that federal law requires these facilities be “mounted on structures 50 feet or less in height,” be mounted no more than 10 percent taller than adjacent structures, or that they not extend existing structures on which they are located by a height of more than 50 feet or a relative size difference of 10 percent, “whichever is greater.”
The 2018 FCC order, Grant’s report states, “invokes an expansive interpretation of the 1996 Telecommunications Act provisions which preempt any local regulations that prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting wireless facilities.”
Other business
Also next week, the board of supervisors will consider during a special meeting on Monday whether or not to purchase a generator to power the Lake County Courthouse in the event of a PG&E power shutoff. Public Services Director Lars Ewing could be approved to purchase a “standby emergency generator” from Leete Generators for $124,813.13.
A staff report from Ewing notes that the generator in question is available and ready for delivery upon receipt of a signed contract. This timeline for purchasing a generator is notably shorter than the 3-5 month one predicted by Ewing during comments to the board last week regarding PG&E shutoff preparations.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors meets on the first, second, third and fourth Tuesdays of each month beginning at 9 a.m. in the board chambers at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport. Agendas can be found online at countyoflake.legistar.com.
