T-Mobile and its partner Vertical Bridge have made a federal case out of the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors decision to nix the installation of a 100-foot cell tower on the edge of the 438-home San Joaquin River Club property.
It is why on Tuesday the board is rehearing their previous denial of an appeal of a county planning commission decision that rejected the project eight miles southwest of Manteca near the intersection of Airport Way and Kasson Road.
Upon conclusion of the Feb. 11 hearing, the Board voted 3-2 to deny the appeal, finding that the proposed location is not the least intrusive site as it sits nears the densely populated San Joaquin River Club.
In addition, the Board found technologically feasible alternatives exist such as Star link satellites as indicated by T-Mobile in their advertising.
County staff, prior to the Feb. 11 hearing, explored with the City of Tracy that owns and operates the New Jerusalem Airport several miles to the west that has 4,000 takeoffs and landings a year if a cell tower could go there.
The city indicated a 100-foot cell tower would unlikely be allowed by the FAA.
The tower has been backed by the governing board of the River Club that owns all the land. It has, however, been opposed by a number of people in close proximity to the tower who own homes at he club but not the land.
Data provided by the applicant shows that there is a significant gap in their cellular service coverage around the project site, and that the proposed project would close the gap.
The Applicant provided detailed maps showing less than reliable service as well as other deficiencies that affect not only the applicant’s customers, many of which rely on mobile phones as their primary communication device, but also first responders in the area.
The analysis also identifies the proposed location of the tower as the least intrusive way to close the service coverage gap.
The applicant submitted the project for consideration on July 21, 2023. .
They had considered four additional potential tower sites that were both within the coverage gap area and a 1-mile radius of the proposed tower. The Applicant provided information on each of the alternative tower sites regarding feasibility, which includes accessibility, availability of utilities, and owner interest. Ultimately, Vertical Bridge determined that the proposed tower location is the only viable option.
Vertical Bridge, T-Mobile’s partner filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief and Expedited Treatment against the County and the Board of Supervisors in federal district court.
They allege the county is in violation of the Federal Communications Act in that the denial of the application prohibits the provision of wireless services and that the County’s denial of Applicant’s appeal is not supported by substantial evidence.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 means the County cannot deny an application for a wireless communication facility such as a cell tower if the applicant has shown the following:
*A significant gap in cellular coverage for the Applicant telecommunication company in the area of the proposed tower.
*The proposed location is the least intrusive means to close that gap unless the County can show the “existence of a potentially available and technologically feasible alternative to the proposed location.
The actual location of the tower would be on River Club property on the northeast corner of Kasson Road and Durham Ferry Road.”
The hearing is Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Board of Supervisors chambers in the county administrative center in downtown Stockton.
