I strongly urge the City Council to publicly oppose the FCC’s proposed rules in Docket 25-276, “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireless Deployments.” This initiative is not about “building America”; it is about stripping away local rights, eliminating public participation, and giving the wireless industry near-total control over the placement of cell towers.
San Jose and Encinitas have already written letters of opposition and Palo Alto’s city attorney is putting together a coalition of cities.
If adopted, the FCC rules proposed in Docket 250276 would:
• Force automatic approval of towers after 150 days, even if there is strong community opposition.
• Block local governments from requiring independent experts to verify FCC radiation compliance, leaving the industry to self-certify.
• Eliminate vital community protections by prohibiting consideration of aesthetics, property values, and historic preservation.
• Silence residents by removing public hearings, conditional and special use permits, and local decision-making. These rules would allow towers to be placed virtually anywhere, with no say from the people who must live with them. This is unacceptable. I respectfully call on both the FCC and Congress to reject these rules and preserve the authority of local governments to protect the health, safety, and character of their communities.
I urge you to join other cities in opposing the new FCC rules. Thank you for your consideration.
I strongly urge the City Council to publicly oppose the FCC’s proposed rules in Docket 25-276, “Build America: Eliminating Barriers to Wireless Deployments.” This initiative is not about “building America”; it is about stripping away local rights, eliminating public participation, and giving the wireless industry near-total control over the placement of cell towers.
San Jose and Encinitas have already written letters of opposition and Palo Alto’s city attorney is putting together a coalition of cities.
If adopted, the FCC rules proposed in Docket 250276 would:
• Force automatic approval of towers after 150 days, even if there is strong community opposition.
• Block local governments from requiring independent experts to verify FCC radiation compliance, leaving the industry to self-certify.
• Eliminate vital community protections by prohibiting consideration of aesthetics, property values, and historic preservation.
• Silence residents by removing public hearings, conditional and special use permits, and local decision-making. These rules would allow towers to be placed virtually anywhere, with no say from the people who must live with them. This is unacceptable. I respectfully call on both the FCC and Congress to reject these rules and preserve the authority of local governments to protect the health, safety, and character of their communities.
I urge you to join other cities in opposing the new FCC rules. Thank you for your consideration.