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The city attorney failed Tuesday to convince the City Council to adopt an ordinance regulating a gathering storm of telecommunications companies eager to enter a vast network of wire, conduit and cable under Berkeley’s streets. 

Keen to keep up with the demand for communication systems such as video, data and cellular phone services, telecommunication companies are converging on cities throughout the state to create service networks.  

To establish these networks, telecommunication companies have to dig trenches, often along heavily used streets. The work, if not managed properly, can unnecessarily snarl traffic, put pedestrians at risk and leave behind diminished streetscapes.  

City Attorney Manuela  

Albuquerque urged the City Council to quickly adopt an ordinance regulating the installation and maintenance of communications equipment and establish a standardized fee schedule to compensate the city for use of public property.  

But by midnight, the council was unable to reach agreement on the ordinance and voted to delay a decision until next Tuesday’s meeting by a 5-4 vote. Mayor Shirley Dean and councilmembers Miriam Hawley, Polly Armstrong and Betty Olds appeared ready to approve the ordinance but did not have enough votes.  

In a related issue, the council unanimously approved the initiation of a zoning amendment to regulate telecommunication pedestals on private property. Pedestals are above-ground enclosures that house a variety of communications equipment. Residents have objected to the pedestals, claiming they are unattractive and contribute to neighborhood blight. 

Albuquerque said she developed the ordinance with input from telecommunications companies and a consulting attorney who is the architect of a similar ordinance in the Southern California town of Hawthorne. The consulting attorney, William M. Marticorena, said other cities including Irving, Torrence and Inglewood are in the process of adopting kindred ordinances.  

“It is our advice the city adopt this ordinance quickly,” Albuquerque said on Wednesday. “It’s in the best interest of the city and will provide a uniform process for telecommunications companies to do business in Berkeley.” 

Councilmember Dona Spring said there was too much information too fast and she wanted to better understand ramifications of the ordinance. She said she is uncertain whether the city has the staff to effectively regulate telecommunication projects. 

“We want an ordinance that’s enforceable and will reimburse the city for all its costs,” she said. 

Spring said the condition of city streets is also a concern. She wants to make sure there will be proper compensation for damages to streets from the procedure known as trenching, which is known to form ruts. 

“Once you dig up a section of the roadway and then re-pave, it’s never the same,” she said. “It’s important we respect and restore the integrity of our streets,” she said. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington said he is concerned about a portion of the ordinance that will allow partial fee exemptions for certain communication companies. He said he has not been able to find out which companies would receive exemptions and why. 

“I want to make sure the largest companies won’t receive exemptions while smaller companies have to pay the full rate,” he said. 

Dean said she was very disappointed the council did not adopt the ordinance. She said it was complex and difficult to understand, but noted the council had an earlier session with a telecommunications task force and had seen several preliminary drafts of the ordinance before them. 

“All they had to do was simply follow the ball and if they did that, there should have been no problem at all,” Dean said. “What I saw was an inattentive council that maybe had not even read the materials.” 

At least seven representatives, mostly lawyers, from telecommunications companies addressed the council during a public hearing. All said they were “shocked,” “appalled” and “dumbfounded” that the City Council would even consider regulating the corporations. None of the representatives would go on record with the Daily Planet regarding the ordinance. 

The council will have another opportunity to adopt the first reading of the ordinance at next Tuesday’s meeting. The second reading would be at the Jan. 16 meeting and the ordinance would become law by mid-February.