Several Eagle Rock residents have filed a lawsuit against the city of L.A. for approving a new cell tower.
Verizon applied to build the 45-foot wireless cell tower in December 2022, according to the East Sider L.A. A public hearing on the tower was supposed to be held last summer, but the outlet reported that the Planning Department canceled it due to an issue that needed to be looked at by the advisory board.
On April 3, it was announced the project had been approved retroactively due to a “shot clock” deadline. The “shot clock” is a deadline placed by the FCC where there are time limitations on decision-making for wireless applications.
On Feb. 28, 2024, Verizon notified the Department of City Planners that “the deadline to act under federal law expired,” according to city officials.
Jessica Wethington McLean, the spokesperson for the Defense of the Colorado Boulevard Specific Plan, told KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian the plan didn’t include public comment.
“All we're asking for is for the law to be applied properly and for the people to be heard as they have the right to do,” she said.
She said the problem isn't that the city made a mistake, it's that they need to fix the mistake.
“And in this case, the mistakes that were made have silenced an entire community, they've denied the rights of the people to be heard about projects that are important in their neighborhood,” she said.
City Councilmember Kevin de León has since filed a motion to stop the project until there is a public comment session. As of now, the project is stalled.
In a statement to KNX News, the city’s planning commission said, "The project at 1731 Colorado Boulevard was deemed approved as of July 14, 2023 by operation of Government Code Section 65964.1."
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