Arroyo Grande staff to redraft cell tower ordinance 

After Verizon Wireless proposed to install a new 5G cellphone tower 100 feet away from the Sunrise Terrace retirement community, towers became a hot topic at Arroyo Grande City Council meetings, prompting the city to do some policy updating

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• Screenshot From An Arroyo Grande Planning Commission Meeting
• TRY AGAIN During the Sept. 16 Arroyo Grande Planning Commission meeting, commissioners advised staff to redraft a new telecommunications facility policy.

Arroyo Grande Planning Manager Andrew Perez informed the Planning Commission during a Sept. 16 meeting that since the city's last update to telecommunication facility policies and procedures in 2017, new federal and state laws have taken effect which restrict local control over the permitting and placement of cell towers.

In 2018, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) created shorter timelines for local governments to act on wireless facility applications, with a 60- to 90-day deadline.

To stay in accordance with this new timeline, Perez said there will no longer be public hearings for those who might be affected by future structures.

"The public hearing process was eliminated with those more minor applications ... because getting on a certain agenda can be difficult and we don't want to be pushing to the end and then it's 'oh man we needed a public hearing, didn't get one, and now an application is deemed approved without any conditions, and it could just have any kind of visual impacts," Perez said.

Commissioners spent a little less than an hour asking Perez questions about the new policy change, and community members addressed their own concerns during public comment.

Commissioners voted unanimously to have staff do more research to answer the questions that both they and the community had.

"Look at more protections for residents based on visual impacts, ensure consistency, and try to limit ambiguities and terms such as 'reasonable period,' and reconsider and look at feasible opportunities for public hearings," Planning Commission Chair Jamie Maraviglia said.

Staff will present the new policy change to the Planning Commission before it goes before the City Council. Δ