Board upholds Planning Commission approval for wireless installation at 601 14th Avenue after heated community hearing

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to uphold a Planning Commission conditional-use authorization for a wireless-telecommunications installation at 601 Fourteenth Avenue, rejecting an appeal from neighborhood residents, the First Slavic Baptist Church and the Lisa Kempner Hebrew Academy.

The proposed installation would place up to four panel antennas concealed in a faux chimney on the building's roof and related support equipment in the basement. Planning staff and the Department of Public Health reviewed the project and concluded the proposed installation complied with applicable planning code standards and FCC radio-frequency (RF) safety thresholds based on the radio-frequency analysis submitted by Hammett & Edison.

Appellants argued the siting was not "desirable" for the neighborhood under Planning Code Section 303(c)(1), contested the technical RF calculations and urged a broader review of the citywireless-siting guidelines, which date to 1996. The appellants submitted a petition and written materials and called expert testimony in support of their claim that the technical report understated RF exposures. Several dozen residents and community leaders testified at the board hearing about concerns for children and congregants at nearby institutions.

Planning staff said the proposed site is a "Preference 1" location under the city's siting guidelines because it is a publicly used structure and that the Department of Public Health had reviewed and determined that the RF exposure calculations submitted by the applicant met FCC standards. AT&T's representative said the company had voluntarily reduced the proposed antenna cluster from six sectors to five and then to four and had evaluated more than 57 alternative sites in the search area; the company also said it would remove older antennas at an alternate nearby location if the new installation is activated.

Board discussion and decision

Board members stressed the emotional intensity of the public testimony. Some supervisors said they were sympathetic to community health concerns but noted federal law constrains local authorities from making decisions based on the "environmental effects" of RF emissions when an applicant provides FCC-compliant studies.

Supervisor John Mar moved to disapprove the Planning Commission decision; that motion failed. A separate motion to approve the commission decision carried on roll call with nine supervisors voting to uphold the Planning Commission's approval and one opposed.

The board record also includes a planning-commission direction (passed prior to board action) to require independent verification of coverage and capacity data submitted by project sponsors in future cases; appellants asked the board to broaden that independent-review requirement to include RF-health calculations as well.

What this means: The Planning Commission's conditional-use authorization stands. Planning staff recommended the Department of Public Health conduct pre-installation and post-installation RF measurements at the nearby institutions if there are lingering concerns; supervisors observed that members of the public may request monitoring from DPH.

Sources and attribution: Appellant counsel Stephen Sherman; Planning Department staff (Anne Marie Rogers); Department of Public Health staff presence noted; AT&T representative Mark Blakeman and engineer Bill Hammett provided technical presentations; board discussion included Supervisor John Mar and others.