AT&T’s Cell Tower Claims Are Time-Barred Under Wash. Law, Says Walla Walla

Walla Walla, Washington, denies that the 65-foot faux pine tree cell tower that AT&T proposes to install is needed to close a service gap and provide wireless services, said the city’s answer Tuesday (docket 4:23-cv-05162) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington in Richland to AT&T’s Dec. 1 complaint (see 2312040002). All of AT&T’s claims, other than federal claims "cognizable" under Section 332 of the Telecommunications Act, are time-barred under Washington’s Land Use Petition Act because AT&T didn’t timely file a petition, said the city’s answer. AT&T also failed to satisfy the requirements of the Walla Walla municipal code, it said. The code’s provisions are imposed on “a competitively neutral basis,” and are consistent with Section 254 of the TCA, it said. The code is necessary “to preserve and advance universal service,” protect the public safety and welfare, ensure continued quality of telecommunications services “and safeguard the rights of consumers,” it said. The city urges the court to dismiss AT&T’s complaint with prejudice, and to declare that it didn’t violate any provision of the TCA’s Section 332, it said.