New Rules Restrict Antenna Placements

The visual impact of microwave antennas will be regulated by an urgency ordinance passed by the City Council this week.

Under the temporary law, applications for rooftop antennas that are screened from view will be speeded through the bureaucratic process.

But telecommunications companies looking to place antennas on poles up to 60 feet high will have to seek permission from the Planning Commission.

With the city anticipating 50 to 75 applications for microwave antennas in the near future, planners asked for the council to quickly pass a temporary ordinance.

“We really are starting to get a proliferation of these” antenna applications, Councilwoman Ann Van Haun said. “There really should be some controls set up.”

Urgency ordinances bypass the normal 30-day waiting period for a city law to take effect and require a four-fifths vote. The council approved the ordinance by a 4-0 vote, with Councilwoman Helen Wilson absent.

Planning staff will begin working on a permanent ordinance that will be considered by the council in coming months.