Earlier this month, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a new ordinance revising the zoning standards for small cell wireless facilities to further comply with a new rollout of 5G wireless networks.
The new legislation now requires that the wireless facilities submit their annual radiofrequency reports, comply with the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) maximum exposure for radiofrequency emissions, and post signs warning of frequency emissions at all of their facilities. Each of these standards was proposed by the San Diego County Planning Commission.
Supervisors rejected three other requirements from the Planning Commission as they feared they may violate federal law. Some of the declined conditions required small cell facilities to have a 100-foot setback from all residential buildings and instructed wireless carriers to submit master plans for placement of any equipment.
Supervisor Dianne Jacob, the chair of the board, commented, “In the end, the bulk of the recommendations for consideration today are the best that we can do … I feel strongly about that, and I feel that to do nothing would be an injustice to the people in the unincorporated area.”
A federal law passed last year in hopes of accelerating the spread of 5G ordered San Diego to loosen rules for their cell towers.
