Item 3 - PH/Ord. on Cell Towers - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

EUGENE CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Work Session: Cell Tower Siting Meeting Date: April 14, 2004 Agenda Item Number: B Department: Planning and Development Staff Contact: Tom Coyle www. ci. eugene, or. us Contact Telephone Number: 682-6077 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY This item is a work sessiOn on the issues associated.with cell tower siting. BACKGROUND Council Action History Following adoption of the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, the City CoUncil established a CoUncil Committee to Work with staff and the City Attorney in developing a draf~ telecommunication ordinance. That ordinance was reviewed by the Planning Commission and ultimately adopted by the City Council on February 24, 1997. On October 14, 2002, the City CoUncil held a work session on cell towers to evaluate the status of the telecommunications ordinance and to determine whether further amendments were warranted. Although the council directed staff to pursue amendments to the ordinance, no additional funding was provided. Policy Issues The key policy issue for the City Council to consider is whether amendments to the Telecommunication Ordinance are necessary and if so, whether this.should be one of the top priority work program items, as discussed at the counciFs recent work session. Staff offers the following information for City Council consideration: Effectiveness of the Current Ordinance ~As noted in the work session on October 14~ 20021 the number of telecommunication applications has continued to decrease. This is particularly true for new tower proposals, especially in more sensitive areas. Of the requests made since the adoption of the ordinance, the vast majority of proposals have been to cO-locate facilities on existing towers or other structures. Of the new towers proposed, most have been placed in areas of higher impact, such as the industrial zones. As of this date, no applications have been processed for a tower within a residential zone. Such information helps validate the effectiveness of the ordinance which emphasizes co-location of facilities and discourages placement of towers in more sensitive areas of the city. Balance of Communi _ty Concerns and Legal Constraints ,~ When the original ordinance was drafted, substantial effort was glven to minimizing community impacts while meeting the legal mandates established in the Federal Comr~unications Act. Since'the.adoption of L:\CMO~2004 Council Agendas~M040414~S0 ~ City Council Agenda page 567 IV-7