On April 20 the Albany City Council approved a revised wireless ordinance that does not allow antennas in residential districts but sent an alternate version that does allow antennas in residential neighborhoods back to the Planning & Zoning Commission to clarify some points, with the intent that the council will vote on that version in the near future.

The number of those who spoke in favor of antennas in residential neighborhoods at the meeting was approximately equal to the number who were opposed. Those who want to keep away from our homes and schools need to speak out in greater numbers -- by emails, phone calls, in-person meetings with council members and planning commissioners, letters to the editor of local papers, and, most important, showing up at the meetings where the ordinance allowing antennas in residential neighborhoods will be discussed in the near future. 

There will likely be a Planning & Zoning Commission hearing in May or June on the ordinance that allows antennas in front of homes, and a council hearing in June, July, or September.  We'll let you know the dates as soon as we know them.

In the meantime, the most important thing to do is let as many people as possible know about the proposed change.  Tell your neighbors and other parents in your child's school. 

One other note: the Contra Costa Times and Albany Journal articles this past weekend were incorrect in stating that prohibiting antennas in residential neighborhoods violates federal law. The reverse is true: federal law explicitly gives cities the right to regulate where antennas can and cannot go as long as a city does not prohibit wireless service altogether.  Many cities restrict where wireless antennas can be located, and Albany has done so for the past 10 years with no legal challenges to that part of our regulations. We've asked the reporter who wrote that story to publish a correction.