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Council refers part of telecom-related item back to ITGS for further review
Summary
Councilmember Rudy Thomas moved to send subpart 1c of the committee report on item 12 back to ITGS for further work with industry stakeholders; members approved the referral so staff can clarify how above-ground poles and antennas are treated.
Councilmember Rudy Thomas moved on Nov. 5 to refer subpart 1c of the committee report for agenda item 12 back to ITGS (Information Technology and Government Services) for further review. The motion carried on a roll-call vote recorded as 12 ayes.
The referral followed questions from Councilmember Misakowski and others seeking clarity on how the proposed changes would affect above-ground facilities and whether infrastructure that has been called a utility pole could be reclassified as an antenna or a telecommunications structure. "I have no problem with an amendment, but I would like to have some discussion, perhaps with staff and just some clarity on what the changes are as it affects the above ground facilities," Misakowski said during debate.
Rudy Thomas said referring 1c back to ITGS would allow the council to "continue to work with the industry to take care of their concerns with respect to that particular matter." The substitute directed the referral specifically to ITGS and left the balance of the report to proceed.
The council earlier had approved items 12 through 26 en bloc, but Thomas's later motion to reconsider items 12 and 21 — which carried 12-0 — opened the way for the subsequent substitute and referral. The council recorded the referral vote as 12 ayes.
Councilmembers indicated the referral was intended to provide more opportunity for drafting and stakeholder consultation; no final ordinance or regulatory language was adopted at the Nov. 5 meeting.
