Loss of cell tower leaves some without service

The Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday moved to help AT&T customers in the community regain lost cellphone service.

Members voted unanimously to have City Manager John Pietig and AT&T identify a temporary spot for a wireless antenna until a permanent solution can be developed as part of an “urgency ordinance.”

Crews removed wireless equipment atop the Artists Theatre at Laguna Beach High School on July 31, some 60 days after a 25-year lease between the Laguna Beach Unified School District and AT&T expired, Assistant Supt. of Business Services Dean West said.

Mayor Elizabeth Pearson, an AT&T customer, said she has been without service since the morning of Aug. 29 and suggested the matter be placed on the council agenda, calling it a public safety issue for people who need to get in touch with loved ones in an emergency.

The council surpassed the two-thirds vote needed to place the matter on the agenda and four-fifths needed to pass the emergency ordinance, City Atty. Phil Kohn confirmed in an email Wednesday.

“It’s our residents who will suffer if we have a disaster tomorrow,” Pearson said.

Meanwhile, an antenna atop the Moorhead Reservoir, in north Laguna, had been undergoing repairs, adding to problems with cell coverage, Pietig added.

“This is likely causing a much more widespread problem than removal of the cell site at the high school,” Pietig said, adding that AT&T told him late Wednesday that the antenna was up and running again.

AT&T technicians were working to restore service in the area and boosted capacity of neighboring wireless sites to take on the added cellular needs, company spokeswoman Meredith Red wrote in an email.

The district, which received $4,000 a month from AT&T to provide space for the wireless equipment — three to four antennas 5 feet high — sent a notice to the telecommunications company 18 months before the lease expired, saying Laguna Beach Unified would not renew the contract, West said.

“There was not a cost benefit [to the district],” West said, adding that Laguna Beach Unified did not use AT&T’s wireless equipment for classroom computer connections.

AT&T officials suggested upgrading equipment from 3G to 4G, but the district declined the offer, West said, citing past community resistance to installing cellular antennas.

“We served the lease faithfully for 25 years,” West said. “[AT&T’s] responsibility as a private entity is to secure a space. It’s not the school district or city’s responsibility to find them a new spot.”

West said space formerly occupied by cables and other equipment inside the Artists Theatre will be used to house costumes for the performing arts department.

Pietig, also an AT&T customer, noticed calls dropping last week and began to hear from residents, including Pearson, who called him Tuesday before the meeting.

The city and AT&T are working to identify how many Laguna customers are affected, Pietig said.

“Our citizens are left with reduced or insufficient service, so I’m not sympathetic to AT&T,” he said.

A temporary solution may be in the works.

AT&T inquired about installing an antenna at St. Catherine of Siena Parish on Temple Terrace about two months ago, the Rev. Ken Schmit said.

The parish is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, and any contracts must be approved by the bishop’s office, Schmit said.

“If [the proper permits] go through, we’ll take it,” Schmit said. “The location is decent up where we are. You won’t get a lot of coverage behind us, but anything out toward the water, to the west and the north [would be in range].”

The setup would probably feature a truck or trailer with a 36-foot pole raised to provide service, Pietig wrote in a follow-up email.

If all the requirements are met, a temporary antenna would be in effect until March 1, according to the ordinance.

Council members Steve Dicterow and Toni Iseman said they were concerned about voting on the matter because church neighbors didn’t have adequate time to respond.

Kohn said he didn’t learn of the matter until hours before Tuesday’s meeting.

“I’m not suggesting anything unless neighbors have an opportunity to weigh in; many people believe [cell antennas] are a health issue,” Iseman said. “I’m voting yes with concern into how one cell site could cause the complete collapse of service in Laguna Beach.”

Iseman urged customers to call AT&T and ask to have their bills prorated because of lost service days.