HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinances_2753_CCv0001.pdf ORDINANCE NO. 2753
AN URGENCY INTERIM ORDINANCL OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS
EXTENDING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE APPROVAL OF
SPECIFIED ENTITLEMENTS AND PERMITS FOR THE INs'rALLATION,
AUGMENTATION AND RELOCATION OF COMMERCIAL WIRELESS
TELECOMMIJNICATIONS FACILITIES WITHIN CEwrAfN SPECIFIED
AREAS OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS
WHEREAS, the City of Redlands C"City') currently regulates the installation of wireless
antenna and associated telecommunication facilities (collectively, "Wireless Facilities") on
private and publiely-owned land in non-residential areas through Chapter 1.8.178 of the Redlands
Municipal Code, and
WHEREAS, Chapter 18.178 of the Redlands Municipal Code was last updated in 2000
with regard to the to comprehensive regulation of Wireless Facilities; and
WHEREAS,the City has recently experienced a significant interest in the location of
Wireless Facilities in public rights-of-way,residential, and other 7-ones of the City; mid
IE AS, changes in wireless communication technology,together with the desire of
Wireless Facilities providers to increase communication services in the City and surrounding
areas, will likely produce additional applications for the installation and modification of Wireless
Facilities in the.City; and
WHEREAS,the increased interest in the installation of Wireless Facilities,particularly in
the public rights-of-way, sensitive neighborhoods and residential zones of the City,was not fully
anticipated at the time the City established its existing regulatory structure for the approval of
Wireless Facilities and,as a result, an immediate need exists to explore regulatory options for
better managing and minimizing the safety, aesthetic, co-location, and rights-of-way
management issues implicated by the increased interest in the location of Wireless Facilities in
the City; and
WHEREAS, in print Telephony PC'. L.1. v. "io"f?f Diego (2008)543 F3d 571
C,5prinl'�, the Ninth,Circuit Court,of Appeals expressly overruled almost seven(7) prior years of
Ninth Circuit jurisprudence relating to 47 US,C. § 253, a key provision of Federal
Telecommunications Act that, until the ruling inS&int, had been expansively interpreted in a
manner that severely limited local authority to regulate the installation of Wireless Facilities; and
WHEREAS, the increased interest in the location of Wireless Facilities, together with the
significant change in law created by� yrini and subsequent state and federal law, creates a need
and an opportunity for the City to review and analyze its existing ordinances and the current state
of the law so that, as far as legally possible,the City may safeguard public rights-of-way,
residential areas, and other sensitive zones-and areas within the City from the intrusion of
incompatible and potentially disruptive uses through the development of anew ordinance
relating to the placement, construction,and modification of Wireless Facilities; and
1,."ccicrlr%Ordinance,,,.',2753 Extending Wireless Moratodum 5.9,11 doe
WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Redlands ("this City Council")desires to
provide for the health., safety and welfare of the residents of the City by exercising the police
power provided for in the California Constitution that underlies the City's zoning powers, to
provide that the installation and maintenance of Wireless Facilities in the City be conducted in
such a manner as to be safe, compatible with existing and future uses, and consistent with the
Redlands General Plan, and state and federal law; and
WHEREAS, in order that this may be accomplished, this City Council intends to extend,
on an urgency basis,a temporary moratorium that was established by this City Council on
September 7, 20 10, and extended on October 5, 2010, on the issuance of discretionary or
ministerial entitlements and permits for the installation, augmentation or relocation of Wireless
Facilities within certain specified areas of the City so that City staff,this City Council, and the
residents of the City will have sufficient time to consider a comprehensive ordinance lawfully
regulating the installation, augmentation, relocation and maintenance of Wireless Facilities; and
WHEREAS, it is the, desire of this City Council to extend the moratorium period
established by Ordinance No. 2740 of the City of Redlands by a periodof one(1) year as
permitted by Government Code section 65858; and
WHEREAS,there is a current and immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare
because,without this urgency interim ordinance, Wireless Facilities could be installed,
constructed or modified in and adjacent to, public rights-of-way, residential areas, and other
sensitive zones and areas of the City, without conforming to the City's full intention to minimize
disruption to neighborhoods caused by an increase of Wireless Facilities; and
WHEREAS, without the extension of the moratorium as proposed by this urgency
interim ordinance, Wireless Facilities could adversely affect the City as follows:
1. Create land use incompatibilities, including excessive height of poles and towers;
2. Create visual and aesthetic blight and potential safety concerns arising from excessive
size,height or lack of camouflaging of Wireless Facilities, and their associated pedestals and
meters;
3. Create visual and aesthetic blight, and potential safety concerns by failing to capitalize
on alternative technologies, co-location opportunities,and protocols for investigating the
feasibility of alternative installation locations and configurations;
4. Create traffic and pedestrian safety hazards due to unsafe location of poles, towers,
equipment boxes or other materials or construction related to Wireless Facilities;
5. Create operational conflicts with other land uses, facilities, or utility system.$
authorized or existing on the same,or adjacent sites;
6. Deteriorate,the quality of life in a particular neighborhood; and
F"CeIvrk�0rdinance0753 Extoiding Wireless Moratorium 5.9,1 Ldoc 2
7° Create the necessity to install large equipment cabinets or concrete vaults within or
beneath the public rights-of-way to house equipment to operate the Wireless Facility, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to state law, on September 7,2010 this City Council took action to
establish, as an interim measure, a temporary moratorium on the approval of applications for
Wireless Facilities while contemplated zoning and permitting proposals are, being considered;
and
WHEREAS, on October 5, 2010, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2740 to extend
the temporary moratorium on the approval of an application for eyeless facilities for a period of
ten(10)months and fifteen(15) days; and
WHEREAS,this City Council has held a noticed public hearing and has taken testimony
regarding the proposed extension of the moratorium to regulate Wireless Facilities within certain
specified areas of the City; and
WHEREAS,on July 12, 2011, the City staff issued a report to the City Council and the
public describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the establishment of
the temporary moratorium established on September 7, 2010 and extended on October 5, 2010;
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are true and correct.
SECTION 2. The adoption of this urgency interim ordinance is exempt from the
California Environmental Quality Act ("CE A" pursuant,to (i) State CEQA Guidelines section
15060(c)(2) because the adoption of this ordinance will not result in a direct or reasonably
foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment,and (ii) State CI Guidelines section
1506 1(b}( )because there is no possibility that the adoption of this interim ordinance may have a
significant adverse effect on the environment. This interim ordinance establishes a moratorium to
study the laws under which the City may consider feasibility or planning studies for possible
future actions which the City has not approved, adopted or funded. and does not involve
adoption of a plan that will have a legally binding etTect on later activities. A Notice of
Exemption has been completed in compliance with CEQA and the State CEQA Guidelines,
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any provision,of the Redlands Municipal Code, including
Title 18 thereof,or any other ordinance of the City of Redlands. this urgency interim ordinance
shall apply to all applications for the installation and/or augmentation of Wireless Facilities
within all areas of the City, except for City-owned land, land having the General Plan
designation of"Parks/Golf Courses"and privately-owned land zoned with the City's M-I (Light
Industrial) District or the M-2 (General Industrial) District,and the EV/IR(Regional Industrial)
District of the East Valley Corridor Specific Plan. Because this ordinance is necessary to protect
the.public health and safety, it shall operate retroactivelyas to all pending and active
encroachment permits issued for the installation or augmentation of Wireless Facilities within the
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City, provided that the rights to construct such Wireless Facilities have not vested pursuant to
Avery (,omtnuni4,,Developers, Inc. v. �outh C`Oast Regional Com. (l 'l ) 17 Cal. 3 d 785.
SECTION 4. There shall be a temporary moratorium in effect applicable to all property
within the City,except for City-owned land, land having the General Plan, designation of
"Park-s/Golf Courses" and privately-owned land zoned with the City's M-1 (Light Industrial)
District or the M-2 (General Industrial) District, and the EVJR(Regional Industrial)District of
the East Valley Corridor Specific Plan prohibiting the approval of zone changes, variances,
conditional use permits, encroachment permits, special use pertnits, building permits,electrical,
mechanical. or plumbing pen-nits, or use and occupancy permits for any installation,
augmentation or relocation of any wireless Facilities,except those described in Section 6 of this
ordinance, notwithstanding other existing provisions of the Redlands Municipal Code or
regulations of the City.
SECTION 5. Except to the extent otherwise prohibited by law, this temporary
moratorium is not intended to, and does not, affect the acceptance and/or processing of permit
applications for Wireless Facilities; rather, it is intended to, and does, prohibit only the issuance
of approvals and permits for such Wireless Facilities. City staff shall continue to accept
applications for Wireless Facility approvals, augmentations and relocations received after the
effective date of this ordinance. At a Wireless Facility applicant's written request, during the tenn
of this moratorium the City shall continue to process applications for permits or approvals
relating to Wireless Facilities; however, any new standards for such Wireless Facilities and the
permitting thereof which,are adopted during the moratorium and are effective at the expiration of
the moratorium shall nevertheless apply to such applications. Any time limits or mandatory
approval time frames relative to the processing and/or action upon permit applications for any
and all Wireless Facilities are tolled during the term of this moratorium.
SECTION 6. The provisions of this urgency interim ordinance shall not apply to:
A. Privately owned and operated noncommercial communications facilities attendant to
a residential use, including but not limited to television reception antennas, satellite dish
antennas no greater than two(2) meters in diameter or amateur "ham" radio facilities.
B. Existing and.proposed government owned and operated communications facilities
and/or existing or proposed emergency medical care provider owned and operated
communications facilities.
C. Any antenna facilities exempted from this ordinance by federal law.
D. Communication facilities, existing orproposed, on City owned property.
E. Communication facilities proposed on property having the M-1 (Light Industrial)
District or the M-2 (General Industrial)District;and the EVAR(Regional Industrial)
District of the Last Valley Corridor Specific Plan.
lAcclerkkOrdinances'053 xtending WirrIess ora rima 59.1 Ldoc 4
F. Communication facilities proposed on property having the"Parks/Golf Courses"
General Plan land use designation.
SECTION 7. This ordinance is an interim zoning ordinance, adopted as an urgency
measure, pursuant to Government Code section 65858 to protect the public safety,health and
welfare by prohibiting land uses which may, in the absence of reasonable,lawful,regulation, be
in conflict with the,City's General Plan, the Redlands Municipal Code, or the environmental and
aesthetic welfare of the City and its residents. Specifically,this ordinance is necessitated by the
filing of applications for Wireless Facilities within the City coupled with the additional enhanced
regulatory opportunities created by the Sprint decision and other recent state and federal law.
The City Council hereby finds that the facts, circumstances, and opportunities described,in the
recitals for this ordinance,as adopted herein, demonstrate a current and immediate threat to the
public health, safety and welfare because the existing regulatory structure for Wireless Facilities
is not sufficient to adequately protect the City and its residents from the safety, aesthetic and
other rights-of-way management-related considerations implicated by the installation of Wire-less
Facilities within the City. Based on the foregoing, and based on the judicial guidance provided
by the Sprint decision and other state and federal law, this City Council finds and declares that
the City must proceed thoughtfully and deliberately in the wireless communications area so that
the installation and maintenance of Wireless Facilities in the City are conducted in such a
manner as to lawfully balance the legal rights of applicants under the Federal
Telecommunications Act and the California Public Utilities Code while, at the same time,
protecting to the full extent feasible against the aforementioned safety and land use concerns.
The preparation of such an ordinance, together with the necessary public outreach, legal
research, and City processes for consideration of such enactments may require, an additional one
(1) year after the expiration of the moratorium period established by Ordinance No. 2740, In the
interim, a moratorium as described in Section 4 of this ordinance.is required to protect the public
from threats to the public health, safety and welfare discussed above.
SECTION 8. The findings and determinations contained in the City Council staff reports
dated September 7, 2010, October 5, 20 10, and August 2, 2011, and Ordinance Nos. 2738 and
2740, are hereby adopted and incorporated by reference as though folly set forth herein.
SECTION 9. This ordinance sbal I take effect immediately upon its passage. It shall be
of no further force or effect one(1) year after the expiration of the moratorium period established
by City of Redlands Ordinance No. 2740.
SECTION 10. This ordinance is adopted under the authority of state law. If any section,
subsection, clause or phrase is declared invalid,or otherwise void by a court of competent
jurisdiction, it shall not affect any remaining provision hereof. In this regard, this City Council
finds and declares that it would have adopted this ordinance notwithstanding any partial
invalidity hereof
SECTION 11, City staff is directed and ordered to prepare at least ten(10) clays prior to
the expiration of this ordinance, or any extension hereof, awritten report describing the measures
taken to alleviate the conditions which led to the adoption of this ordinance.
U,ederVkOrdinanceQ753 Extendin 'irelm Moratorium 5,9.I}.dere; 5
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Pete Aguilar, Mayor
ATTEST:
ani Irwin,n, City er
, Sam Irwin, City Clerk of the City of Redlands, hereby certify that the foregoing urgency
ordinance was passed by a 4/5ths vote of the City Council of the City of Redlands at a regular`
meeting held on July 19, 201,1, by the following vote:
A Councilmembers Harrison, Bean, Foster, Gardner, Mayor Aguilar
NOES: lane
ABSENT: None
ABSTAINED. None
Citi Clerk
V%c lcrk-%0rdin c s1,2753 Cmending Wireless mora grium 5.9 11.cYta 6