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Santa Ana City Council <br />August 20, 2018 <br />Page 4 of 5 <br />Draft Ordinance §§ 33-236(a)(18), 33-244(a). The referenced provision of the <br />Telecommunications Act protects wireless carriers from unlawful denials but does not <br />require carriers to prove a prohibition of service to obtain local approval. 47 U.S.C. § <br />332(c)(7)(B)(i)(Il). That determination is left to federal courts, not local jurisdictions. 47 <br />U.S.C. § 332(c)(7)(B)(v). Section 7901 grants telephone corporations the right to erect <br />new poles in the right-of-way where aesthetically preferable (which slender new poles <br />may be). Under this state law, there is no requirement to demonstrate a prohibition of <br />service to secure approval of a right-of-way facility. This requirement exceeds the City's <br />authority. The Draft Ordinance should be revised allow new poles where applicants <br />demonstrate there are no available options that are aesthetically preferred. <br />Permit terms must be renewed for 10 years, not five years. Draft Ordinance § 33- <br />241. Government Code Section 65964(b) presumes that wireless permits terms of less <br />than 10 years are unreasonable absent safety or substantial land use reasons. Compliant <br />facilities pose no safety or land use issues. <br />We note that the Draft Ordinance includes a notice radius of 150 feet for Tier 2 <br />facilities and 300 feet for Tier 3, but these tiers will be defined in the Director's <br />guidelines not yet drafted. Draft Ordinance § 33-239(b). The Council staff report <br />suggests that small cells will be subject to the smaller notice area. This is appropriate <br />because small cells pose less impact. We encourage the Director to define small cells <br />(Tier 2) to accommodate typical wireless carrier designs for small facilities. As stated by <br />each of the carriers in prior comments, 300 foot notice is excessive for a right-of-way <br />facility, and we reiterate our recommendation that notice be limited to 150 linear feet <br />along the subject right-of-way. Radius noticing is inappropriate because it captures <br />properties fronting other streets that are not impacted by a proposed right-of-way facility. <br />Standards Should Be Revised to be PracticaL <br />While the Draft Ordinance allows a waiver of height requirements if necessary to <br />comply with Public Utilities Commission General Order 95, we suggest incorporating <br />this state regulation into the provision allowing a.height increase of seven feet above a <br />pole. Draft Ordinance § 33-245(b). This can be accomplished by adding to the first <br />sentence the phrase `plus any additional height required to elevate antennas and <br />associated elements above electrical supply conductors in compliance with General Order <br />95." Of course, this will apply only to utility poles carrying electricity. Verizon Wireless <br />appreciates the additional seven feet which will accommodate the single four -foot <br />antenna typically deployed above utility poles, plus a required antenna mount or "shroud" <br />underneath the antenna that conceals cables and improves appearance. A benefit of <br />additional height is that well -elevated antennas cover larger areas, and fewer facilities are <br />required to meet service objectives. Conversely, the limit of facilities to 35 feet near <br />residential property may lead to the unintended consequence of more facilities, and this <br />limitation should be stricken. <br />