AT&T ‘Entitled’ to Summary Judgment vs. Walla Walla, Says Its Motion

AT&T seeks summary judgment against Walla Walla, Wahington, for the city’s denial of its application for a conditional use permit to build a 65-foot cell tower (see 2312040002), said its motion Thursday (docket 4:23-cv-05162) in U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington in Richland. AT&T seeks the tower to provide and improve wireless services in a specific area of the city, said the motion. Federal law “limits local governments from preventing installation of wireless facilities, based on the nationwide goal of promoting availability of reliable wireless service,” it said. Walla Walla violated federal law by denying AT&T’s application, it said. Because the evidence submitted in support of this motion establishes there are no disputed issues of material fact, the carrier “is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law,” the motion said. It asks that the court order the city to approve the application and “any and all other authorizations necessary” for construction and operation of the proposed tower. AT&T’s wireless network “has experienced significant service problems” in the Walla Walla area for years, said its motion. By 2022, the carrier had solved its coverage gap in downtown Walla Walla, after the city approved an application to collocate AT&T facilities on an existing tower, it said. "That AT&T site has now been built and is on air," it said. But the significant service coverage gap in the the city's eastern residential portion -- the subject of the litigation -- “remains to this day,” it said. Placing a new wireless facility in this location is difficult due to Walla Wall’s zoning regulations “and the area’s residential makeup,” it said.