Reply comments were filed at the FCC October 14, 2008, on the wireless industry's petition for FCC preemption of local zoning authority over antenna tower siting. A Reply was filed by Miller & Van Eaton on behalf of the following communities, addressing arguments advanced by wireless carriers and associations in the initial round of comments.

Reply Comments of City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and County of San Diego, CA; Town of Palm Beach, FL; City of Atlanta, GA; City of Dubuque, IA; Anne Arundel County and Montgomery County, MD; Town of Southampton and City of White Plains, NY; City of Portland, OR; Henrico County and City of Virginia Beach, VA (Coalition for Local Zoning Authority)

Additional comments and filings may be found on the FCC's Web site: enter "08-165" under "Proceeding" (field 1) and click "Retrieve Document List."

CTIA Petition for Declaratory Ruling

In July 2008, CTIA, the trade association of the cellular telephone industry, asked the FCC to declare new limitations on local zoning authority as it affects cell tower siting. Specifically, CTIA requested the FCC to:

• create a "shot clock" of 45 or 75 days for wireless antenna or tower zoning applications;
• rule that applications are automatically deemed granted if a local government misses the FCC's deadline;
• prevent localities from considering the presence of service by other carriers in evaluating an additional carrier's application for an antenna site; and
• preempt any local ordinance that would effectively require a variance for every tower application.

On August 14, the FCC issued a public notice calling for comments on the CTIA petition. The notice scheduled initial comments for September 15, 2008 and reply comments for September 30, 2008.

Beginning on August 22, Montgomery County, Maryland (represented by Miller & Van Eaton), and other parties filed motions to extend these deadlines. On September 10, the FCC issued a two-week extension, making the new deadlines September 29, 2008 for initial comments and October 14, 2008 for reply comments. The documents relating to these motions are linked below.

Initial comments were filed at the FCC September 29, 2008. An Opposition was filed by Miller & Van Eaton on behalf of the following communities.

Opposition of City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and County of San Diego, CA; Town of Palm Beach, FL; City of Atlanta, GA; City of Dubuque, IA; Anne Arundel County and Montgomery County, MD; Town of Southampton and City of White Plains, NY; City of Portland, OR; Henrico County and City of Virginia Beach, VA (Coalition for Local Zoning Authority)

Documents pertaining to the FCC proceeding:

CTIA's "Shot Clock" Petition
MVE's analysis of the CTIA petition
FCC's Public Notice dated August 14, 2008

Montgomery County motion for extension of time (8/22/08)
NATOA, et al., motion for extension of time (8/25/08)
GMTC-RCC motion for extension of time (8/26/08)
CTIA's opposition to motions for extension of time (8/26/08)
Montgomery County's Reply to CTIA's opposition to motions for extension of time (8/29/08)
Airports Council International - North America's motion for extension of time (9/8/08)
Bay Harbor Islands, et al., motion for extension of time (9/8/08)
FCC notice extending time for two weeks (9/10/08)
Coalition Ex Parte Filing (11/13/08)