The hard-core NIMBYs at San Francisco Beautiful (our Comcast monopoly’s L’il Buddy) ended up going two for two yesterday in their crusade ensure that dial-up internet service is the best that some San Franciscans can get. That is, they won a stay from Superior Court Judge Harold Khan temporarily blocking the installation of AT&T sidewalk boxes and they’ll have no requirement to post a bond to keep their stay.
This is, of course, despite the fact that the Board of Supervisors recently approved the installation.
Let’s hear the reaction from AT&T Regional Vice President, Marc Blakeman:
“Residents across the City, as well as the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, have voiced support for competition and choice when it comes to TV, high speed internet and digital phone service.
Despite today’s decision to issue a temporary stay, AT&T believes it ultimately will prevail in the litigation and it remains committed to bringing San Francisco a next generation IP network.”
Which, you know, sounds good to me, but I’m not a NIMBY.
So, when you see these existing boxes, which Judge Khan has no control over, what’s your reaction? Do you say, well there’s graffiti on a telephone box or an electricity box or a mail box so we shouldn’t have telephones and we shouldn’t have electricity and we shouldn’t have mail service? I don’t know.
Click to expand
Let’s hear from the NIMBY side of things after the jump, but I warn you, it’s barely legible.
On It Goes…
“SF
Judge
Orders
a
Stay
of
Construction
of
726
AT&T
Utility
Boxes
San
Francisco.
On
November
14,
2011,
Judge
Harold
Kahn
of
the
San
Francisco
Superior
Court
“stayed”
the
City
of
San
Francisco’s
approval
of
location
and
construction
of
726
AT&T
utility
boxes
citywide.
The
injunction
will
remain
in
effect
pending
a
final
ruling
in
the
environmental
lawsuit
filed
by
a
coalition
of
San
Francisco
organizations,
including
San
Francisco
Beautiful,
San
Francisco
Tomorrow,
the
Dogpatch
Neighborhood
Association,
the
Potrero
Boosters
Neighborhood
Association,
and
the
Duboce
Triangle
Neighborhood
Association.
The
groups’
Petition
for
Writ
of
Mandate
filed
in
August
challenges
the
City’s
refusal
to
conduct
any
environmental
review
whatsoever
before
approving
726
utility
boxes
that
impact
pedestrian
safety
and
aesthetics.
Judge
Kahn’s
ruling
(attached)
explains
that
the
stay
is
being
granted
because
the
City
violated
the
California
Environmental
Quality
Act.
The
evidence
shows
that
the
proposed
AT&T
boxes
will
have
a
“significant
and
cumulative
adverse
effect
on
the
aesthetics
of
San
Francisco.”
The
ruling
relies
on
testimony
at
public
hearings
before
the
Board
of
Supervisors
during
which
the
public
and
many
of
the
Supervisors,
including
Board
President
David
Chiu,
explained
that
the
726
boxes
would
have
significant
cumulative
impacts
that
warrant
environmental
review.
“We
are
profoundly
grateful
to
the
Court
for
upholding
environmental
laws
that
require
commonsense
mitigation
measures
such
as
placing
the
AT&T
equipment
on
private
property
rather
than
giving
away
our
public
sidewalks,”
said
Milo
Hanke,
past
president
of
San
Francisco
Beautiful.
