La Verne council hears plan to boost cell coverage in North La Verne; master license agreement expected

The La Verne City Council on Feb. 2 received an update on efforts to improve cellular coverage in North La Verne, where Verizon customers have reported persistent dead zones. City Manager Dahmer said the city is working with infrastructure firm Crown Castle and carriers to pursue small‑cell attachments and fiber extensions that would allow improved service.

Dahmer told the council that Verizon previously applied for a macro tower near the former Sierra La Verne Country Club but the permits expired and the tower was never built. "We do expect within the next two months that we have those encroachment agreements," Dahmer said, adding that the council should see a master license agreement for small‑cell attachments returned for approval within about six weeks.

Why it matters: residents and some council members described the dead zones as a public‑safety concern. A resident who spoke at public comment, Bowen, said last year during a fire "people were cut off from any communication. It could have been a real disaster," and urged the city to use leverage with carriers to prioritize northern coverage.

Staff said two approaches could address the gaps: extending fiber up Wheeler to Golden Hills to enable multiple small cells to operate effectively, and permitting several small‑cell installations on city poles and streetlights. Dahmer described a Rapid Connect micro‑trench method that would lay fiber in a narrow cut and connect streetlights, a lower‑cost alternative to traditional trenching.

Dahmer also noted limits on what the city can charge for pole attachments under federal rules, saying the Federal Communications Commission set a cap on rental income per pole that constrains revenue from such agreements.

Council reaction was mixed. Several members expressed support for accelerating work that would improve emergency communications, while others raised resident health and aesthetic concerns about micro‑cell equipment on poles. "At the end of the day, North La Verne is a dead zone," Mayor Hepburn said, recounting a recent emergency call where he could not make a phone call from his yard. "So whatever we can do, obviously, we need to keep safety in mind."

Next steps: staff said it will return a draft master license agreement for council approval and continue negotiating encroachment agreements with carriers and infrastructure partners. The council did not take formal action at the meeting; staff sought direction and outlined a timeline for the license agreement and encroachment permits.

Quotes used in this article are drawn from council meeting remarks and public comment as recorded in the meeting transcript.