Update from the Montgomery County Coalition to Control Cell Towers (MC4T) dated March 11, 2017:
As of March 8, 2017, the time to submit comments to the FCC regarding the streamlining of cell tower deployment is closed. For those interested, here are links to some of the relevant submissions of interest (beware, as they are lengthy!):
Montgomery County, Maryland: https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/103091020720870/COMMENTS-Montgomery%20County.pdf;
State of Maryland Department Of Transportation, Highway Administration: https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/103080203219641/SHA%20Response%20to%20WT%2016-421%203-8-2017.pdf;
The Smart Communities Siting Coalition (a coalition of 1800 communities, of which our own Montgomery County is a part): https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filing/1030998488645; and,
Crown Castle: https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1030840282837/Crown_Castle_Comments_-_Small_Cell_Infrastructure_PN_(Final).pdf.
The County called the federal government out for its own hypocritical behavior, and also called Mobilitie out for being the one provider that cannot seem to get its act together and which, because of its own careless and imprecise work, decided it would rather lobby the FCC to overcome its obstacles than to actually adhere to local rules and prepare thorough and meticulous applications in the first place.
In support of the FCC’s desire to strip local governments of power, Crown Castle in its submission called out a bunch of states for allegedly making the application process difficult. Of course, not only was Maryland one of those states, but it even highlighted Montgomery County specifically, accusing the County of charging the highest application-related fees in the country. Whether true or not, Crown Castle – and the industry in general, for that matter – is not exactly destitute.
Crown Castle was recently on the verge of filing 100+ tower applications in Montgomery County but, per the County’s request that it delay those filings, Crown Castle again agreed to delay doing so until at least May. The County is going to be meeting with the FCC in the near future to continue its pursuit of retaining as much local power in this matter as it can.
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Montgomery County Coalition to Control Cell Towers (MC4T)
Andy Spivak, Stonebridge Community
Drew Morris, Stonebridge Community
Aaron Rosenzweig, Westleigh Gaithersburg
Sue Fitzpatrick, President – North Potomac Citizens Association
Naomi Yount, VP – North Potomac Citizens Association
Carol V. Falk, President – West Montgomery County Citizens Association
Montgomery County Alliance
Lisa Patterson, President – Darnestown Civic Association
Art Slesinger, Darnestown Civic Association
Mike Saft, Stonebridge Community HOA Board
Peter Cheung Westleigh
Joseph Chiu Dufief Mill Estates
Steve Tvardek, Hunting Hill HOA Board
Stephen Tolbert, Hunting Hill HOA Board
Tracey Blanton, Mill Creek Towne
Lisa Cline, Washingtonian Woods
Jim Sledge, Germantown
Laura Tise Magnuson, Esq., Germantown
Kevin Dinallo, Dufief Mill Estates
Sharon Bernstein, Dufief Mill Estates
Kate Kheel MSMA
Dean Lin
Glen Brown
Kim Schwalm
Kate Doonan
Susannah Goodman
Linda Mayo, President, Potomac Crossing HOA