Sonoma County Board adopts updated telecommunications ordinance, tightens faux-tree maintenance and directs audit

County planners and community members clashed over microplastic debris and technical oversight as the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on May 19 adopted a package of updates to the county's telecommunications ordinance.

Doug Busch, a planner in Permit Sonoma, told the board the update modernizes 30-year-old language and aligns local code with federal terms such as "eligible facilities requests," while strengthening application requirements so local reviewers see more meaningful alternatives and visual analyses. "We want applicants to show their work and to consider a broader range of different sites and designs," Busch said, arguing better upfront information reduces legal risk and improves outcomes.

The proposal also codifies maintenance and decommissioning standards that were previously only imposed as conditions of approval and tightens application checklists so staff and decision-makers can compare proposals "apples to apples." That approach, staff said, is intended to reduce later appeals and unnecessary delays while complying with federal shot-clock limits for processing certain applications.

Public commenters urged additional safeguards. Paul Shabrock of the EMF Safety Network recommended the county "require an independent RF engineer to review the accuracy" of technical filings and coverage maps, saying county staff and commissioners lack the technical expertise to verify coverage and exposure calculations. Sydney Cox, also with EMF Safety Network, asked the board to require independent review and to reconsider whether some eligible-facility requests should be processed as conditional use permits.

Several speakers and supervisors focused on faux-tree (camouflaged tower) designs. Don McEnhill said his group documented large amounts of plastic needle debris from artificial-tree camouflages and urged faster response and cleanup. "When that solution turns into plastic pollution on the ground, you know, obviously, I'm very hopeful the new standards will reduce the problem going forward," he said.

Supervisor Hopkins moved to adopt the Planning Commission-recommended ordinance with revisions requested by board members: route telecommunications use-permit review to the zoning administrator (for efficiency) with a path to reassess after one year; shorten the required response time for Permit Sonoma notification of deterioration and require cleanup of plastic debris within 30 days of inspection; request photographic monitoring from applicants; and direct staff to conduct an audit of existing faux-tree facilities and return with findings. Counsel and staff clarified that some chapter changes would require first and second readings but that the ordinance's primary code changes could be advanced now with direction to return for additional chapter 2 revisions as needed.

The board approved the amended motion by roll-call vote.

What happens next: staff will implement the ordinance changes, incorporate the shortened correction timelines and maintenance standards into future permits, and carry out the directed audit and photographic monitoring. The board also asked staff to return after one year with an implementation report and to consider whether a third-party technical review process should be used for particularly technical applications.

Sources: presentation and public hearing remarks by Doug Busch (Permit Sonoma), Paul Shabrock and Sydney Cox (EMF Safety Network), Don McEnhill (Restore the Riverkeeper), and Supervisor Hopkins.