(Photo by author)

13/11/2020

What happened:

The Development Standard Task Review Force tabled motion 4.3 to give AT&T time to abide by city code.

Why is matters:
AT&T representative explained that installing this antenna will increase the speed for AT&T and Cricket phone users.

When considering the placement of the antenna, the board brought up the issue of it being placed on one of the busiest streets on the island. "Why that particular area? That's the heart and soul of the entertainment center. Are there any other alternatives as to where to locate that versus there,” asked Board member Gary Johnson.

JD Salinas, AT&T External Legislative Affairs, explained the question of placement of the pole posed by the Board. "To answer the question as to why there is because there is so much traffic. At Louie's or in that area, there's a lot of people filming or on Facebook, and it's bogging down our system. People cannot even make a call for an emergency because there are too many people. There are two problems: it's either capacity or coverage. This is a capacity problem. This (the pole) should be able to alleviate that, and that's why we are targeting that area."

Chuck Fox asked Robert Renner, AT&T representative, if AT&T has considered renting some space on a roof top of one of the many businesses on surrounding Pike St. "Within 1/10th of a mile, there are several over half dozen businesses on Laguna, West Pike, across Padre, there's many more. Have you talked to one of them about renting some space on their roof top, which would comply with city code?"

Renner explained that AT&T did not ask any surrounding businesses because it would stall the process. "Potentially it could be on a roof top. That's 100% correct. We wanted to have some of this coverage alleviated as soon as we could. Obviously, we want to work with the city and partner with the city. We're potentially looking at close to a year to work out something with a private property owner."

Fox mentioned that business owners would most likely comply in a timely manner, "I bet you could make a deal in two days with at least 4 of the owners."

What now:
Chairman Gar Treharne read a letter from the City Attorney (Ed Cyganiewicz) saying, "I have been told by staff, and have confirmed through my review that the requested pole is not allowed under Form-Based Code in that area."

Treharne explained that he was not in favor of letting this pass because it's against city code.

The motion was tabled at the request of an AT&T representative to regroup and reassess.

[Click here to view agenda]

[Click here to view video]