Dear Mr. Schere,
RE: Bethesda Beat piece titled “Montgomery County Council to Vote Tuesday on Small Cell Antennas Bill.” We hope that you would consider making a correction to this piece.
Please consider this:
1. Montgomery County was NOT considering zoning that would allow small cells in residential and commercial areas. They were only considering residential. They approved zoning for deployment of 5G small cells in May 2018.
2. Its misleading to say “aimed at making faster 5G internet service” when 5G is not yet available.
3. It is misleading to say “wireless providers would be required to construct replacement … towers 30 feet from homes.” They are not required to construct. They will be adding components to existing poles within the county. 30 feet is not the mandate it is the absolute smallest distance a pole is to be near a home – ideally many council members would like to see them double the distance.
4. It is inaccurate to say “a recent [FCC] ruling preempts local governments from establishing guidelines for installing cell towers in their own jurisdictions.” This is exactly what the County and many others are trying to do – establish their own guidelines. They are NOT preempted from doing so.
5. It is misleading to say that extending a setback from 30 to 60 feet from a home would require more equipment. Nothing has been shown that the individual components of a small cell would need to change if 30 feet is added to the setback.
6. It is misleading to say “and would ensure that we don’t get future wireless” in regard to the County not passing this particular ZTA. The Council members discussed this fact and detailed the timeline they would have to pass a ZTA on small cells near homes and it is not now. In fact, Federal rules go into effect in January 2019 and there is no bill from the state legislature that would stop localities from passing their own zoning.
7. The quote from the resident seems very misleading. It seems to indicate that property values could potentially diminish if you do not have a cell pole near your home. On the contrary, the author and the individual contributor should review the referred County FCC challenge for expert exhibits that concluded there could be negative effects to property values from cell towers placed near homes and the larger they were and the larger their components the more reduction of value – estimated 10-20%.
See County filings:
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