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I. GUIDELINES FOR PERMIT'T'ING PROCESS Local Government Issues In April 1995, SANDAG conducted a telephone survey of the 19 local governments within the San Diego region to gather information about local regulations governing the processing of applications for wireless communications facilities (Appendix 1). This survey revealed that local governments in the San Diego region face two primary issues regarding wireless communications facilities: (1) visual impacts; and (2) health and safety issues. Together, these two issues represent the greatest sources of local community concern regarding wireless communications facilities. Addressing these issues is critical to any local government, which is charged with ensuring the public health, safety,and welfare of its constituents. Visual Impacts The fast-paced growth of wireless communications technology in recent years has presented local governments with the challenge of_where to locate wireless communications facilities in their communities. Unlike ground-wired telecommunications, such as the land-based telephone system, wireless communications technologies,by their operational nature,require numerous antennas to be mounted at various heights throughout the landscape. To site them at the specific height required by a particular system, these antennas are sometimes mounted on towers, monopoles, tall buildings, or other structures on tops of hillsides. One of the greatest concerns faced by local jurisdictions is • the visual impacts of wireless communications facilities. Health and Safety Issues In addition to visual impacts, possible health risks related to Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) and Radiofrequency Radiation (RFR) are another major source of local community concern with wireless communications facilities. (Health issues related to EMFs and RFR are discussed in detail in Section IV.) To date, scientific research on the effects of wireless communications facilities on human health has been inconclusive. Locating communications antennas and towers in or near residential communities often becomes a subject of local controversy, often due to personal health and safety concerns voiced by local residents. When reviewing and considering permits for wireless communications facilities, planners and decision-makers alike must be able to respond to local citizen concerns about health risks associated with them. Wireless Communications Industry Issues The wireless communications industry is government mandated, consumer-driven, and typically involves intense economic competition among individual providers seeking to capture or enlarge their portions of the consumer market. This competition is fueled by the public's tremendous demand in recent years for widespread wireless communications services, as well as by the license requirements of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). To meet consumer demand, 11111- providers have rushed to establish and/or expand their systems as quickly and effic:ently as possible, which has resulted in more antennas and towers across the visual landscape. In addition, 3