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Board upholds T-Mobile microcell permit at St. Paul's Church over neighborhood objections
Summary
San Francisco's Board of Appeals denied a neighborhood appeal of a concealed microcell installation at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, voting 4-1 to uphold the building-permit decision after hearing community safety and notice concerns and T-Mobile's EMF and alternatives analysis.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Sept. 20 voted 4-1 to deny an appeal of a building permit that allows a concealed microcell installation for T-Mobile on the chimney of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church in the Outer Sunset.
Appellant Erica Swagg and several neighbors urged the board to reject or continue the accessory-use permit, saying the neighborhood had not received adequate notice, that the church had failed to engage the community and that placement is too close to residences and children. Speakers reported a petition with hundreds of signatures opposing cellular equipment on the church site.
T-Mobile's attorney, Paul Albritton, presented photo simulations, an alternatives analysis and an EMF assessment by Hammett & Edison. The company described the facility as a low-power microcell (maximum effective radiated power around 14 watts) concealed behind a screening element on a chimney; the EMF report summarized that modeled exposures are a small fraction of federal limits (T-Mobile's consultant estimated around 0.0068% of the federal standard at measured points).
Commissioners debated whether the accessory-use determination and the city's telecommunications guidelines permit the site and whether neighborhood notification practices were adequate; several commissioners said the planning process for conditional-use towers (which require fuller public notice) differs from the administrative accessory-use procedure that applies to these microcells. One commissioner voted no, citing neighborhood concern and desire for more outreach; a four-commissioner majority concluded the building-permit review met applicable standards and upheld the permit.
The board noted T-Mobile had presented structural review, fire and mechanical signoffs and the Department of Public Health review (as required by accessory-use procedure). Commissioners asked whether the antennas could be moved higher on the structure without reopening the permit; T-Mobile said moving them would likely require a new submittal and additional design work.
The vote to deny the appeal was 4-1; the case remains a local permit decision with limited administrative remedies.
