T-Mobile has sued the City of Agoura Hills, which denied on appeal a permit for an “unmanned wireless telecommunication facility consistent of three (3) new T-Mobile antenna flag poles, with two (2) antennas inside each pole, and six (6) associated ground-mounted equipment cabinets surrounded by an 8-foot high masonry equipment enclosure, at the Lindero Canyon Middle School.”
The city’s planning commission had originally approved the site, but the city council reversed the decision after input from the community. The city hired an outside consultant, who identified a water tank site with coverage superior to the middle school site, but city staff informed the council on April 14 that the company was “not interested in pursuing an alternative site [and was] interested only in the site they had proposed.”
T-Mobile Senior Development Manager Clark Harris told Sunroom Desk that T-Mobile rejected the alternative site because it is not an allowed location according to the city’s current ordinance. Agoura Hills’ October 2009 staff report on options for the T-Mobile wireless facility says this:
“The Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (LVMWD) water tank is on land zoned “U” (Utility) and a Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA) would first be necessary to allow a cell site as a conditionally permitted use. Once the ZOA is adopted, a separate CUP application for entitlement request is necessary. Also, while it appears that the water tank site may be a less intrusive option, it would not be possible to fully assess its visual and neighborhood impacts until designs are completed and reviewed as part of the CUP.
…The consultant recommends that if the city deems the water tank site a feasible alternative, Council will have to direct staff to initiate the necessary legislative steps.”
As a result of these hearings, Agoura Hills has imposed a ten-month moratorium in order to study its zoning laws and determine what conditions and standards should apply to future cell tower sites. The city will explore regulatory options that meet state and federal law as well as the standards set in the city’s General Plan. It will also explore various cell tower issues, from blight and neighborhood compatibility to new technologies and future trends in wireless communications.