Therefore, the question actually before us is whether the city's consideration of aesthetics is ‘in conflict with general laws.'"Īfter framing the issue in a way favorable to the city, the court examined the statutes.
"Thus," Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw wrote for the appellate court, "the threshold issue is not, as Sprint argues and the District Court apparently believed, whether the PUC authorizes the city to consider aesthetics in deciding to grant a WCF permit application, but is instead whether the PUC divests the city of its constitutional power to do so. The Ninth Circuit said that the statutes in question – Public Utilities Code §§ 79.1 – do not eliminate local governments' constitutional authority to regulate local aesthetics. Stotler had concluded that the city's consideration of aesthetics was not permitted under the state Public Utilities Code (PUC). District Court Judge Alicemarie Stotler ruled in favor of Sprint, but a unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit overturned the decision.Īs the Ninth Circuit explained, the Telecommunications Act attempts both to "encourage the rapid deployment of new telecommunications technologies," and "to preserve the authority of state and local governments over zoning and land use matters." Under the act, a local government may deny a request to construct a wireless antenna tower if authorized by local law and supported by a reasonable amount of evidence. Sprint sued, arguing that the denials violated the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996. It rejected one proposed antenna because it would disrupt the residential ambiance and another because it would detract from the natural beauty of a city entrance. In 20, Sprint PCS applied to the City of Palos Verdes Estates for permits to construct 10 cell phone towers in public rights-of-way. And it is one of the most explicit: "California law does not prohibit local governments from taking into account aesthetic considerations in deciding whether to permit the development of WCFs within their jurisdiction," said the court.
#PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE 7901.1 SERIES#
The ruling is the latest in a series of court decisions upholding the authority of local government to decide where wireless antennas are located.
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