By Khalida Sarwari
In response to residents’ outcry over the installation of Verizon antennas throughout the city, Saratoga’s elected officials are imploring the federal government to give them more local control over wireless telecommunications regulations.
The Saratoga City Council made this request in a letter addressed to Congresswoman Anna Eshoo upon the suggestion of Vice Mayor Manny Cappello. At a Sept. 16 city council meeting, Cappello proposed drafting such a letter to congressional leaders on behalf of the city and residents. The idea was met with support from his colleagues.
In the letter, Mayor Howard Miller made the case that “preemptive policies constrain the ability of local elected officials to tailor policies to local needs and demands.” Moreover, he states, “Cities also often face public opposition to the wireless facilities and threats of litigation from wireless providers. All of these factors can impact the approval process and the proposed deployment.”
All five members of the council agreed on Oct. 21 to sign the letter.
“It became very obvious to our frustrated residents, as well as to ourselves, that the federal government–the FCC specifically–has put a window around the parameters in which we consider, and it’s such a small window that our citizenry finds it very frustrating because these antennas are being requested in locations that they prefer they not be,” Cappello stated at that meeting. He encouraged residents, as well as neighboring cities, to “join us in this fight.”
In addition, Cappello encouraged his fellow council members to revisit the city’s wireless communication ordinance, a proposition that was backed by Councilman Rishi Kumar. Calling the letter a “drop in the bucket,” Kumar indicated that revising the ordinance would be a more fruitful path to addressing the concerns of residents. “That’s really what I’d like to see,” said Kumar.
As of early November, Eshoo’s office had yet to respond to the city’s letter, according to Miller.
Link: Council calls on feds to give city more control over wireless regs
