LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday evening honored its volunteers, commissioners and committee members, and accepted a staff proposal to approve an urgency ordinance related to the city's efforts to establish regulations for wireless communications facilities.
The Tuesday meeting focused on honoring those who volunteer their time for the city, with a reception held before the meeting started to say thank you to those numerous individuals.
With Mayor Tim Barnes absent, Mayor Pro Tem George Spurr led the meeting.
Lakeport Police Lt. Jason Ferguson introduced several of the agency's volunteers, who “do an enormous amount of stuff for us.”
Sgt. Greg Scott, the police department's longest serving volunteer at 10 years, is a retired Cal Fire captain and a fire expert whose experience helped the city during last year's Mendocino Complex, Ferguson said.
Jean Patti has volunteered with the city for eight years. She works on pet licensing and data entry, and sends out arrest logs to the media, Ferguson said.
Arland Souza, who also has served nearly eight years, works regularly on parade and traffic control and is instrumental in helping police on the July 4 holiday, Ferguson said.
Luke Steely, who has been with the department a few months, is a great builder, creating a trophy case and shelving units for them, according to Ferguson.
“They’re irreplaceable,” Ferguson said of the group.
He also acknowledged volunteers who weren't in attendance, including Jerry Gonzalez, Trevor Storey, John Wiskirchen and Pastor Mike Suski.
Ferguson said that, altogether, Lakeport Police's eight volunteers did 700 hours of work for the agency, with an estimated cost of $19,170.
“We really couldn't do it without them,” Ferguson said.
Spurr then presented the group with a proclamation declaring April to 13 as Volunteer Week in Lakeport.
He also presented a proclamation honoring members of the Lakeport Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, the Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee, the Measure Z Oversight Committee and the Traffic and Safety Advisory Committee as part of National Volunteer Week.
In other business on Tuesday, Community Development Director Kevin Ingram presented to the council the proposed urgency ordinance establishing regulations for wireless communication facilities.
The urgency ordinance is to put in place a comprehensive telecommunications ordinance for the city of Lakeport, he said.
Ingram said the catalyst for the action is a recent Federal Communications Commission regulation concerning local regulation of small cell wireless communication facilities coming into use with the installation of the upcoming 5G network system.
His written report further explained that the FCC has said the rule is part of a national strategy to promote timely buildout of the 5G small cell infrastructure across the United States by eliminating regulatory impediments.
The new rule also creates national standards for 5G small cell siting by limiting local authority in several ways, stipulating that cities may require only objective information to review an application for a small wireless facility, and requiring the city to publish all applicable aesthetic and appearance requirements, according to Ingram’s memo.
On Tuesday, Ingram said the regulation outlines a deadline for jurisdictions like Lakeport to have criteria in place prior to April 15 in order to maintain some local control.
Currently the city’s zoning ordinance only requires a use permit for wireless communication facilities that exceed the maximum height, generally about 35 feet in most zoning districts. But other than that, there’s not much in the current municipal code that regulates the facilities, and doesn’t address anything related to small cell facilities installation or location within the public right of way.
The urgency ordinance would address those issues, as well as pieces, including design, placement, and establishes detailed design criteria and application procedures, stealth design, alternative location analysis and other criteria.
However, Ingram said that if the council adopted it, staff still planned on going through the standard procedure in creating a nonurgency ordinance, including going to the planning commission before bringing it back to the council.
He said that, due to the upcoming deadline, staff was looking to the council to take the action in order to establish placeholder rules.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina said the city has been in the place before where it didn’t have the property ordinance in place and Verizon showed up. “So it’s important that we get our house in order before anything else happens.”
The council approved the urgency ordinance 4-0.
In other news on Tuesday, City Manager Margaret Silveira said the city has received the keys to the former Bank of America building at 500 N. Main St. The bank has donated the building to the city.
She said a celebration is expected toward the end of April when company officials can visit the city.
“We’re excited,” she said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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