The Local Situation
in Santa Fe
On
Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. the Santa Fe City Council
will hold a public hearing on:
1.
An Ordinance
to scrap the existing telecommunications ordinance (Chapter 27
of the City Code) and replace it with one that is far more favorable to
the wireless industry, eliminating many of the controls and
requirements presently existing. It will also permit the City to enter
into franchise agreements with wireless providers.
2. A franchise
to NewPath Networks to build a citywide network of “stealth” wireless
sites blanketing the entire city (which may include small
antennas on existing utility poles, fake lamp posts that are really
cell towers, etc.). NewPath Networks would have the right to install
antennas wherever they wish on any roads or sidewalks without further
application. A second company, Extenet Systems, is also waiting in line
for a franchise.
In Merrick, Long Island
(population 20,000), a similar franchise resulted in the installation
of 35 antenna sites throughout the city in a matter of months. Davis,
California, which originally issued 37 encroachment permits to NewPath
Networks, rescinded its approval on December 5, 2009.
These companies do not offer
wireless services directly to the public. They merely build the
antennas, and then sublease them to cell phone providers as well as
WiFi providers who wish to expand their coverage citywide without the
visual clutter that might alert the public. The Santa Fe franchise
agreements would also grant use of these networks to the city fire and
police departments for citywide expansion of the City's own wireless
network. The City's own wireless network is presently confined to City
Hall, the libraries, the Chavez Center, the Municipal Court, and other
City buildings.
The new
proposed telecommunications ordinance:
1. Eliminates the
requirement for wireless companies that place antennas on public
property to sign a lease with the City for each antenna.
2. Eliminates the
requirement for all owners of telecommunications facilities to register
annually with the City, and to provide a map of the location of all of
their existing facilities.
3. Previously any company
signing a lease with City had to provide a description of the services
they will offer, detailed engineering plans, the location and route of
their facilities, whether construction will require archaeological
clearance, construction schedule and completion date, surveyors map,
etc. All of this has been eliminated.
4. Previously the City
Council had to find that the lease agreement "is in the best interest
of the public". This wording is not included in the new drafted
Ordinance.
5. The new Ordinance, for
the first time, directs the City to "encourage the universal
availability of telecommunication service", i.e. universal wireless
coverage.
6. The new Ordinance will
only apply to telecommunication networks located within the public
rights-of-way. All regulations of antennas on private property
contained in the old Chapter 27 have been scrapped.
7. "Parks, open space,
trails or other City owned land are not considered public
rights-of-way." In other words, antennas going up in parks, open space,
trails, etc. will also not be regulated.
8. Antennas and towers built
by any public utility will also be exempt from regulation. This
includes, specifically, antennas for wireless meter reading and for the
construction of the so-called "smart grid".
9. Under the old ordinance,
the City Council was required to consider nine specific factors before
approving a lease: the capacity of the property to accommodate the
facilities, the capacity to accommodate additional utility facilities,
damage to other public or private facilities or landscaping, the public
interest, the public health, safety and welfare, the availability of
alternatives, etc. The new Ordinance contains no guidance whatever to
the City Council in granting a franchise.
10. Some of the information
provided to the City by telecommunication providers about their
operations is to be confidential and not available to the public.
a. Each
provider shall provide three year construction forecasts, but "The
information required to be provided to the city under this paragraph is
trade secret."
b. "The City
shall keep confidential any and all information related to a proposed
sale" if the franchise changes hands.
11. The City will be exempt
from lawsuits arising from any injury or damage resulting from the
franchise granted.
Link to ordinance: www.santafenm.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=5186
Link to franchise: www.santafenm.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DID=5188