Santa Barbara Releases Final Draft of Small Wireless Facilities Ordinance

Source: City of Santa Barbara

[On Thursday], the City of Santa Barbara released the final draft of the Small Wireless Facilities Ordinance, which will be presented to the Ordinance Committee on July 27, 2021 for review and approval and then forward to the City Council.  The Ordinance upholds the community’s interest in protecting the City of Santa Barbara’s visual character and contains safety considerations, while at the same time, follows Federal Communications Commission regulations that preempts local zoning discretion.  

The first draft of the Ordinance was released on December 1, 2020, for public review and comment. The City received dozens of comments proposing some changes to the Ordinance.  Most of the public comment received has been listed in an attached matrix chart that also provides information on whether the changes were adopted and a brief description as to the basis for the determination. 

This Ordinance regulates the placement of Small Wireless Facilities in the public rights-of-way and establishes reasonable and comprehensive standards and procedures as to aesthetics, construction, operation, modification, and removal, for small cell permitting within the City.  The regulations also outline the requirements for Small Wireless Facilities application and installation procedures, establishes the City’s location preferences and design standards, and lays out the public notification procedures and appeal process.

A copy of the proposed ordinance is available online at: https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/attorney/news_and_documents/default.asp.