Item 2A - Minutes Approval - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

existing pole would require a variance. He predicted the additional process and expense could delay or prevent entirely the implementation of this technology in significant parts of the community. In closing, Mr. Barta stressed that RF radiation issues were related to placement of antennae and not cell towers. He said attempting to take this into account would require a more comprehensive change in the code than presented in the ordinance. He conveyed the general support of the University for the City's assessment of sufficient fees to evaluate the coverage needs of applicants and said it would welcome a review of the city's overarching wireless coverage needs. Douglas P. Evans, 1500 Northeast Irving Street, Portland, director of development for Team Mobile Wireless, submitted a letter to the City Council outlining the reasons he thought the proposed changes to the ordinance were fundamentally flawed. He stated that industry representatives would favor the proposal that was forwarded by the Planning Commission. He called the ordinance before the council a "continuation of the piecemeal approach" and predicted that it would cause further problems in time. He felt the wireless industry had been singled out for onerous, expensive, and time-consuming regulation that was not applied to similarly situated providers, though it had invested over $5 million in the community. He commented that the wireless industry was required to pay to prove no harm every time it needed to make a change. Ron Fowler, 6940 Southwest Dale Avenue, Beaverton, consultant for Cingular Wireless, expressed support for the recommendation from the Planning Commission and support for postponement of further amendments. He thought the ordinance as currently presented was difficult for staff to apply and difficult for the industry to comply with. He conveyed the willingness on the part of industry representatives to participate on a task force with concerned neighbors and Planning staff to review it and come up with a good and workable code. He asserted that wireless phones were rapidly replacing home phones and with this change would come the need for more neighborhood cell facilities. He noted that many cities embraced the location of communication sites on school grounds and home properties. He did not agree with the setbacks as proposed. He opined that everyone would win with a good code, but that the code as proposed was a "bad one." He remarked that wireless representatives were not the "villains" but were merely representing the communication method of the future. Michael Smith, 685 Trail Avenue, of Silke Communications, asked the council to take into consideration the recommendation that came from the Planning Commission. He recommended a "total rewrite" of the ordinance as proposed. He also suggested the ordinance be closely scrutinized in order to avoid possible invocation of any Measure 37 claims. Ed Fournier, 25977 Southwest Canyon Creek Road, Wilsonville, consultant for Verizon Wireless, concurred with previous testimony. He supported a full rewrite of the code, specifically with regard to setbacks, as proposed setbacks would effectively prohibit most providers from expanding. He averred that the underlying concems upon which the proposed setbacks were founded had never been outlined. As such, he surmised the setbacks resulted from concerns for health. He reiterated that the 1996 Federal Telecommunications Act had prohibited this concern from being included in part of the basis for denial. He also concurred that putting a variance procedure into place would lead to the variance procedure becoming the rule and not the exception. He stated that Oregon did not have a State Radio Frequency Engineer. He thought the best action for the community, the industry, and citizens would be the formation of a task force. MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 6, 2004 Page 6 Regular Session