Commission upholds appeal, denies Crown Castle permit for small cell at 16 Baldwin

The San Mateo Sustainability and Infrastructure Commission voted 4-1 on March 12 to uphold an appeal and deny a conditional approval for a Crown Castle small-cell wireless permit at 16 Baldwin Avenue.

The vote came after appellants and several residents told the commission the applicant—s alternate-site analysis and technical documentation were incomplete and relied on an arbitrary —200-foot— range of service. Staff had recommended denying the appeal and upholding the director—s conditional approval, saying the application complied with the city—s 2021 wireless design standards and municipal checklist.

Appellants— attorney Grace Holbrook told the commission the application lacked the site-specific technical detail required by the design standards and the applicant had not shown —that these alternative sites are infeasible— with the level of clear and convincing evidence the code requires. —The applicant has clearly failed to establish with clear and convincing…