Planning commissioners approve DISH wireless facility at Regal Road after RF safety discussion

The Encinitas Planning Commission on Feb. 20 voted 5-0 to approve a new DISH Wireless telecommunications installation at 860 Regal Road, granting a major use permit, design review permit and a coastal development permit after staff and a third‑party consultant said the project complies with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) radio‑frequency standards.

Commissioners opened a technical review of the proposal after Christina Bustamante, the city planner presenting the item, described a design that conceals antennas inside small tower elements at the west corners of an existing self‑storage building and hides ground‑mounted equipment behind a block wall. "The proposed telecommunications facility will operate in full compliance with the standards for radio frequency emissions as adopted by the FCC," Bustamante told the commission during her presentation.

Why it matters: The project sits inside the coastal zone and the city’s scenic visual corridor; commissioners weighed visual concealment and public‑safety implications of radio‑frequency emissions. The commission relied on an independent review of the…