URGENT ACTION ALERT:
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS VOTES NEXT TUESDAY APRIL 14TH 1:30 PM on the Communication Towers and Facilities Ordinance.
Before they vote, they need to hear from you — because their own Planning Department didn't give them the full picture.
What the Staff Memo left out:
At the February 26th hearing, the Planning Commission passed the ordinance forward while simultaneously and unanimously calling out its unresolved gaps and agreeing that Planning Staff needed to begin working on a stronger version immediately after the Board's vote. The Board Memo contains no mention of this. The Commission's own recommendation was left out of the document that governs Tuesday’s vote. Review all documents: SR 26-0073 - Section 12.03.080 - Communication Towers and Facilities and Section 12.05.060
At the Commission's direction, Planning Director Brian Foss agreed to meet with community groups to discuss further ordinance recommendations. That meeting happened March 31st with Nevada County for Safe Tech and included nationally recognized telecommunications attorney W. Scott McCollough, who has argued FCC matters before the U.S. Supreme Court. He identified specific, fixable legal vulnerabilities in the ordinance. Staff confirmed they understood. Not one word of that meeting appears in the Staff Memo. Our meeting summary report was buried in public comments with no context. Document 11 Public Comments
What the ordinance still gets dangerously wrong:
No waiver mechanism. Without it, the County has no structured legal defense when a carrier challenges a provision in federal court. Other jurisdictions have won these cases specifically because a waiver process existed.
Radio Frequency (RF) testing on a tower happens only 60 days after new installations or modifications. A facility can exceed FCC exposure limits from day one and continue for two months. Under this ordinance there is no annual certification, no random unannounced testing, no resident-triggered complaint process. The County's own Staff Report admits staff lack the expertise to evaluate RF compliance.
Small cell wireless facilities (SCWF) get a free pass. Under this ordinance, a carrier can install a small cell antenna on a light or telephone pole— with ground-level equipment cabinets, cabling, and power infrastructure — directly in front of a resident's home with nothing more than building and encroachment permits and the first the resident will know about it is when a construction truck shows up. No public notice. No community input. No Conditional Use Permit (CUP) review by the Planning Commission. As Attorney McCollough told Planning staff directly: "There is simply no basis to the argument that requiring a CUP for a new small cell violates any federal law or even any state law." Planning Staff is giving away local authority wholesale to the telecommunications industry.
No location siting hierarchy. Without published standards, carriers will install powerful RF-emitting small cells wherever is most convenient to them, which is consistently at eye-level in front of homes. The FCC's 2018 small cell order does not prohibit preference hierarchies. It requires siting standards be objective, reasonable, and published in advance. The NCST template meets all three. A preference hierarchy is not prohibitive. It places the burden of justification on the applicant.
Ask the Board for the following: Adopt the ordinance as a near-term protective measure for pending applications and issue a formal, on-the-record directive with a firm deadline requiring Planning Staff to begin substantive revision immediately, incorporating the legal guidance from NCST. The residents of Nevada County engaged in this process in good faith. We demand better from the Planning Department.
What you can do RIGHT NOW:
📅 Attend the hearing: Tuesday, April 14th, 1:30 pm, Eric Rood Administration Center, Nevada City
Watch Live: www.youtube.com/@CountyofNevadaCA
