[RTC List] Telecom & County Planning Commission Meeting Thursday 1/17

[Tina Nerat]

Hi all, 

Sorry for the short notice, but we need help at the Planning Commission
meeting tomorrow night, Thursday 1/17 at 6pm in Supervisor's chambers. Up
for consideration is Community Infrastructure & Services Element for the
General Plan Update. This Element includes a tiny bit about
Telecommunications (see below for history on this). Agenda is at
http://co.humboldt.ca.us/planning/commission/getagenda.asp?key=1172008111023
AM.

 

The material to be reviewed is at:

http://co.humboldt.ca.us/planning/gp/gpdemo/GPU-TOC-Demo3.htm#ch7. You will
see there's very little in there on telecommunications. It's almost an
afterthought. Several years ago, the County stated its intentions to have a
standalone Telecom Element, but it's not in here.

 

I believe that we need to advocate for a standalone Telecom Element. In
summary:

1) Encourage the County to have a standalone Element just as they originally
intended. It's watered down if there is telecom policy sprinkled throughout
the Circulation, Infrastructure, and Economic Development Elements. Telecom
policy should be in one place.

2) The County should be a model and provide leadership for other local
jurisdictions by having a Telecom Element, and it's an opportunity to be the
first in the state and a model for other counties.

3) Telecom should be given the attention it deserves as critical
infrastructure. Half of our population has no access to broadband and look
at the havoc wreaked when the fiber has been down.

4) County should rewrite the Wireless Transmission Facility Ordinance - in
its current form, it is a deterrent to broadband implementation.

 

If you believe, like I do, that telecom is critical infrastructure for our
region, please come to voice your views or to show support if you don't
speak. I will be speaking for sure. This is not intended to be an
adversarial event - we just need to work in a proactive way to get Telecom
as a standalone element in the General Plan Update. If I'm the only person
there, it doesn't have the same impact. Bodies in the room showing support
matter even if you don't speak. Thanks for the help and sorry for the short
notice - up until this morning I thought we had it all worked out with the
County. Tina

 

---

History:

In 2004, I was contracted by the County to do a telecom assessment of the
County. One of the deliverables was a proposed Telecom Element for the
General Plan Update. Another deliverable was an assessment of the proposed
Wireless Transmission Facility Ordinance. See proposed plan and background
at http://www.neratech.net/docs/final_report.pdf starting on page 66. My
comments on the ordinance are on page 78. This Element would have made
Humboldt the first in the state to have a Telecom Element.

 

Feedback in 2004-2005 from the County on the proposed Telecom Element was
favorable and it seemed to be generally understood that some version of it
would be included in the General Plan Update as a standalone Element. County
personnel have talked as if it was a done deal. And in fact, this proposed
Telecom Element has been discussed by the Governor's Broadband Task Force
members and word has spread around the state that "Humboldt has a model you
should look at". I have gotten calls asking for the link to my report. 

 

So... when I saw the content of the proposed element last week, I scheduled
a meeting with the Planning Department. They agreed that omission of
Telecommunications policy was an oversight, and we've been in very positive
discussions over the last week to correct the oversight. However, the
current architecture of the General Plan Update requires Board of
Supervisors approval to add a standalone Telecom Element. If there isn't a
standalone Element, telecom policy will be scattered around in Circulation,
Land Use, and Economic Development Elements. The Planning Department can't
change the structure without us advocating to the Commission and Board of
Supervisors. 

 

 

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