San Francisco: FCC Declaratory Ruling Contrary to Spectrum Act
The Spectrum Act limits the FCC’s authority over state and local infrastructure approvals to modifications of existing facilities that don’t substantially change their physical dimensions, said both the city and county of San Francisco in a reply brief (docket 20-71765)…
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filed Friday with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the League of California Cities challenge of the 2020 FCC wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling (see 2304030059. The law doesn’t allow the FCC to “interfere with State and local authority beyond this specific limitation” and doesn’t give the FCC authority “to impose a federal preference for certain siting conditions or impose retroactive procedural requirements on local governments,” said the filing. The declaratory ruling’s limitations on what can be treated as “concealment elements” under the rules are too narrow, and its relaxation of limits on equipment cabinets conflicts with the statute, the brief said. The ruling’s conclusion that a change in antenna height doesn’t constitute a substantial change to an existing facility is contrary to the law, the brief said: The FCC “fails to explain how ignoring the height of a new antenna can be squared with the statute.” In a separate filing, Marin County California and the National Association of Telecommunication Officers and Advisors endorsed the briefs from San Francisco and the League of California Cities.