City continues to struggle with sites for cellphone antennas

The ongoing challenge of wireless communications installations continues as the Thousand Oaks City Council recently considered two applications, one from Cingular and one from Sprint.

The Sprint application, on the northeast corner of Falmouth Street and Erbes Road, was approved by a 3-1 vote, with Councilmember Claudia Bill-de la Pea dissenting. The Cingular application, on the southwest corner of Westlake Boulevard and Cresthaven Drive, was unanimously continued to allow time to review a complete plan for the entire Westlake Boulevard corridor.

Both applications were appeals, having already been heard by the city's planning commission. The commission had approved the Cingular application, which was appealed to the council by a concerned resident. The Sprint application had been denied by the commission, with the company filing the appeal.

Sprint

Several residents appealed to the council to deny the application, citing concerns over real estate values and health-related issues.

This wireless facility includes a new street light pole in the public right-of-way for the antennas as well as an underground equipment vault.

The commission denied Sprint's application in June 2004. The company appealed to the council in September 2004. The council requested that Sprint provide a more comprehensive review of all possible sites. After an evaluation by the company as well as by Jonathan Kramer, the city's wireless consultant, the original location on Falmouth and Erbes was still determined to be the best. The other sites were rejected due to unwilling landlords or insufficient signal coverage. Sprint's attorney sent a letter to the city raising legal issues and rules that prevent cities from unreasonably prohibiting provision of wireless facilities.

In approving the application, Councilmember Jacqui Irwin said she believed that all possible sites had been explored.

"I really feel for the neighbors but I really don't see that we have any choice," Irwin said.

Mayor Dennis Gillette also felt the city had no other options.

"Unfortunately, there is shrinking control that a municipality has in a situation like this, even though we feel strongly about individual homeowner rights," Gillette said.

Bill-de la Pea disagreed. Since the case had been going on for several years, she felt that updated information was needed to give the council "a fresher look." She also pointed out that there were options, including sharing site facilities with other companies such as Cingular at Erbes and Crossbridge. But Kramer said that co-location with another company was not available.

Irwin suggested looking into installing sites on existing traffic signals rather than erecting new poles. The city had never looked into the option, according to Public Works Director Mark Watkins. He expressed concern over possible interference of wireless equipment with traffic signal operations, but he said that other cities may have overcome those problems and that it was an issue staff would investigate.

"I'd like to look at the pros and cons," Irwin said. "It might be something we could look into that would give us a few options."

Cingular

This site is intended to provide coverage for motorists, according to Kramer, as opposed to other types of sites that offer coverage to area residents or businesses.

"The issue becomes not coverage, but capacity to hold as many users on the network as possible," Kramer said.

The site would be located on a streetlight, with some aboveground and underground equipment that would encroach upon a protected zone of nearby landmark sycamore trees.

The Cingular application was approved by the planning commission in January. Resident Michael Carey appealed the decision to the council. Several residents supported Carey, urging the council to require Cingular to look at other site locations. Others expressed dismay at the attitude of Cingular attorneys.

"There is a great deal of arrogance on the part of the applicant," said Dr. Bruce Sand, who lives 150 feet from the proposed cell site. "It's as if the city and residents have no power, no say."

Resident Amy Walker-Davis, a former planning commissioner, said she believed there hadn't been enough site analysis.

But other residents spoke or wrote letters to the council in support of the site.

"We are consistently hearing that our homeowners want more cell coverage in this area, so this installation will be very beneficial to us," wrote Cathy Schutz, president of the board of directors of the Westlake North Property Owners Association.

Councilmember Andy Fox suggested that the issue be continued to allow the company to return with a complete plan for Westlake Boulevard rather than addressing each site individually and to give the city time to review using open space for wireless sites.

"We need to make sure there really are no other alternatives," Fox said. "Sounds to me like we'll be back here looking at other sites to cover Westlake Boulevard, so we need to look at other sites and look at it as a whole."