T-Mobile West LLC, Plaintiffs and Appellants v. City and County of San Francisco, Defendants And…

Summary

The court upheld San Francisco's ordinance requiring permits and, in some areas, aesthetic review for wireless facilities in public rights-of-way. It held that the state telecommunications statute grants a statewide franchise but does not preempt local regulation of the location and manner of installation, and that the separate statute requiring equivalent treatment applies only to temporary construction access. The ordinance therefore neither is preempted nor violates the statutory equivalence requirement.