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San Juan Capistrano Council votes to begin rewrite of wireless facilities code
Summary
The council unanimously voted to initiate a comprehensive update to the municipal code governing antennas and wireless facilities, citing changes in state and federal law and aiming to preserve camouflaging standards while streamlining review processes; staff expects completion in early 2026.
The San Juan Capistrano City Council on Nov. 4 voted unanimously to initiate a comprehensive update to the city's wireless facilities (antenna) code, a rewrite staff said is needed to align local rules with recent state and federal requirements.
Laura Stokes, the city's planning manager, told the council the city's current antenna code dates to 2002 and that federal and state regulations enacted since then limit some local design controls and set stricter processing timelines. "Our current code was adopted in 2002," Stokes said. "Since 2002, there's been significant changes for federal and state regulations over wireless facilities." She added that camouflaging remains permitted and is one reason many facilities are visually integrated into buildings and infrastructure.
Stokes said the city has roughly 32 existing facilities, most of which are camouflaged, and that the proposed update would clarify review paths for three primary categories: brand-new towers on private property (which would still require a conditional use permit), co-locations on existing towers (which may be eligible for streamlined administrative review), and equipment swaps or antenna modifications (which often will not require a conditional use permit and could be processed via building permit or administrative approval). She told the council staff expects the code update to be completed in early 2026 and recommended sending draft language to the planning commission for public hearing and recommendation.
Council members asked whether standard disguises such as water-tank or tree-style camouflaging would be relaxed under the new code. Stokes replied, "We are thankfully not having to relax those standards, but it will be standardized as opposed to being a little bit more subjective," adding that the rewrite will specify acceptable camouflage approaches rather than leaving them open-ended.
Stokes said staff found the initiative to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and reiterated that the update is intended to preserve community character where federal and state rules allow. With no public speakers on the item, a councilmember moved to initiate the amendment and the motion passed unanimously.
Next steps: staff will draft code language in coordination with the city attorney, forward it to the planning commission for review and public comment, then return recommendations to the council for possible ordinance adoption.
