Fountain Hills directs staff to oppose FCC proposal that could limit local authority over wireless deployments
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Summary
Council voted 6-1 to direct the town manager to prepare and submit comments opposing an FCC notice of proposed rulemaking that residents and staff said could erode local control over wireless facilities. The council asked staff to incorporate key points from tonight's discussion into draft comments.
The Fountain Hills Town Council directed the town manager on Nov. 18 to prepare statement(s) opposing an FCC notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that council and staff said could reduce state and local authority to regulate placement and aesthetics of wireless communications facilities.
Staff framed the item as a request for direction on comments the town might file. Resident Eric Landau, a 27-year resident with experience in wireless telecommunications, urged the council not to oppose the federal initiative and to implement local regulations permitting 5G in appropriate ways. "I urge the council to... not oppose the FCC initiative," Landau said.
Other residents urged the council to craft stronger local protections. Larry Myers, who has worked on the issue locally, pressed for an ordinance that would keep broadband utilities underground and restrict small-cell installations in residential rights-of-way. "We need to accept the fact that the past town lawyer didn't know squat about this subject," Myers said, urging a third-party consultant to help.
Council members repeatedly framed the NPRM as a notice of proposed rulemaking that, if adopted, could strip discretionary authority. One council member said the proposed rules "wants to take every initiative away from you... it would eliminate anything that's discretionary." Another emphasized that staff has worked several years on a stronger local ordinance and asked that the council support sending comments to preserve local powers.
Following discussion, the council moved and approved a motion to direct the town manager to prepare a statement opposing the FCC NPRM and to include points raised during the meeting; the motion passed 6-1 on roll call. Staff said they would consolidate council comments and circulate the draft to council before submission if time permits; otherwise staff will file within the NPRM comment deadlines and share the sent copy with council.
What happens next: Town staff will draft reply comments opposing the NPRM, informed by council input and community testimony, and circulate the draft to council or share the filed comments after submission depending on timing constraints.
