Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Palo Alto restores architectural‑review step for larger small‑cell proposals and directs gap studies on setbacks
Summary
After months of debate and dozens of public comments, the City Council approved a temporary ordinance to remove objective standards for certain right‑of‑way wireless facilities, restore Architectural Review Board (ARB) review for tier 2 and tier 3 applications, and directed ARB and staff to revise standards and study feasible setback distances.
The Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously on May 19 to adopt a temporary ordinance restoring discretionary architectural review for mid‑sized wireless communications facilities in the public right‑of‑way and removing the city’s objective design standards for some tier 2 installations, a step council members said is intended to bring more public transparency and design scrutiny to how small‑cell equipment is sited.
Jonathan Lake, the city’s director of planning and development services, told the council the ordinance would “remove the objective standards for tier 2, remove the objective standards for wireless communication facilities in the public right of way, and restore the architectural review board process for tier 2 and tier 3 applications in the right of way.” He cautioned staff about meeting federal…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
