Board continues Sacramento wireless appeal to let Public Health clarify distance and measurement standards

Commissioners on July 20 continued an appeal regarding a wireless facility at 1590 Sacramento Street, citing the need for the Department of Public Health to clarify how it set a public‑exposure standoff that shifted from 6 feet to 4 feet between tentative approvals.

Appellant Mitchell Kemp told the board the plan package lacked clear representation of occupied bay windows and disputed a series of changes in the RF engineering supporting documents that altered calculated effective radiated power and standoff distances. “You can’t have engineering reports with any validity if they aren’t measured to some place that exists,” Kemp said.

Permit counsel Paul Albritton and RF engineer Bill Hammett said engineering reports were revised, measurements were taken from the actual conditions, and that the facility complies with FCC standards; Hammett explained that the change from 6 to 4 feet reflected a refined near‑field calculation rather than an arbitrary reduction of a safety buffer. Public Works staff said Public Health had recalculated standoff distances after a supplemental report and that Public Works relied on DPH’s delegated determinations under Article 25.

Multiple commissioners said they needed a clearer statement from Public Health about its measurement standards and why the standoff changed; the board continued the item to the July 27 meeting so DPH staff could appear and explain the methodology.

The continuation preserves the permitted status pending that clarification; the board did not overturn the permit at this meeting.