Opinion ID: 4672729
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Alliance’s Amended Complaint

Text: The Alliance’s membership consists of Santa Fe residents concerned about the health and environmental effects of radio-frequency emissions from telecommunications facilities installed on public rights-of-way. The Alliance alleges the radio-frequency emissions contain dangerous levels of radiation. The Alliance further alleges that exposure to radio-frequency emissions resulted in its members experiencing the following health problems: headaches, nausea, insomnia, tinnitus, seizures, cancer, fatigue, neurological issues, respiratory issues, cardiac issues, laryngospasms, numbness in extremities, high blood pressure, and internal bleeding. As a result of installation of telecommunications facilities and the accompanying exposure to radiation, many Alliance members have fled their homes, abandoned 3 their businesses, and either moved to remote sections of Santa Fe or taken up residence in their vehicles. The increasing presence of telecommunications facilities also constrains the ability of Alliance members to travel within Santa Fe city limits and to access government buildings and governmental services. The Alliance contends the impact from radio-frequency emissions will worsen as telecommunications companies upgrade the network in Santa Fe from 4G to 5G and as citizens retrofit their residences into smart homes. The Alliance attributes some of the rapid growth in telecommunications facilities on the public rights-of-way in Santa Fe to a series of federal, state, and local legislative enactments, as well as the three proclamations by the mayor. The amended complaint alleges the TCA precludes localities from regulating the placement and construction of telecommunications facilities based on the “environmental effects” of radio-frequency emissions. See 47 U.S.C. §§ 332(c)(7)(B)(iv). The Alliance contends the New Mexico Legislature passed the WCAIIA, exempting the installation of new telecommunications facilities on public rights-of-way from local land use review. Further, the Alliance asserts that Santa Fe, through the Amendments to Chapter 27, repealed (1) its land use regulations pertaining to radio-frequency emissions and public rights-of-way; and (2) provisions requiring notice to the public before installation of a telecommunications facility on a public rights-of-way. Finally, the amended complaint alleges the Santa Fe mayor issued three proclamations, suspending application of the Santa Fe Land Development Code to requests by 4 telecommunications companies to build telecommunications facilities. The Alliance attributes the construction of seven short cell towers to the mayoral proclamations. The Alliance filed a twenty-two-count amended complaint challenging the legislation and the mayoral proclamations. The amended complaint names as defendants the United States; Hector Balderas, the New Mexico Attorney General; and Santa Fe. Regarding the TCA, Count Eighteen raises a Fifth Amendment due process claim, arguing Congress lacked the authority to (1) delegate authority to the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) to be the sole regulatory authority over radiofrequency emission levels; (2) preempt states and localities from adopting their own regulations on radio-frequency emission levels; and (3) prohibit states from providing legal remedies for injuries from radio-frequency emissions. Meanwhile, Count Nineteen contends Section 704 of the TCA, by prohibiting local government officials from relying upon any speech regarding the health impacts of radio-frequency emissions when reviewing applications for new telecommunications facilities, violates the First Amendment because it restricts the ability of the public to speak about the health impacts of radio-frequency emissions. Finally, Count Four alleges Section 704 of the TCA infringes the Alliance’s First Amendment right to petition the government and access the courts.1 1 Additionally, Count Seventeen sought a declaration that the TCA did not preclude a locality from considering “health” effects when approving or denying the placement of telecommunications facilities because impacts on human health are not an “environmental effect” within section 332(c)(7)(B)(iv) of Title 47 of the United 5 The amended complaint advances four claims against the WCAIIA and the Amendments to Chapter 27. Count One alleges Fourteenth Amendment due process violations based on both provisions eliminating public notice requirements before approval of a new telecommunications facility. Count Three raises a Fifth Amendment Takings Clause claim, alleging the placement of radio-frequency emitting telecommunications facilities on the public rights-of-way rendered homes and businesses “uninhabitable and unusable.” App., Vol. I at 50. Count Four alleges the WCAIIA and the Amendments to Chapter 27 infringe on the Alliance’s access to courts and its ability to assemble and to petition the government, in violation of the First Amendment. Finally, Count Twenty asserts the Amendments to Chapter 27 violate the Alliance’s First Amendment right to free speech because they precluded the relevant city boards from regulating telecommunications facilities based on the health effects of radio-frequency emissions. Lastly, the Alliance raises one federal constitutional claim, Count Two, relative to the mayoral proclamations, asserting a Fourteenth Amendment violation of procedural and substantive due process. In support of this claim, the Alliance alleges Santa Fe, in accord with the proclamations, signed contracts with a telecommunications company permitting the installation of telecommunications States Code. To the extent Count Seventeen advances a claim for relief rather than a mere legal argument supporting the Alliance’s other claims against the TCA, it is not a constitutional claim, for it does not invoke any constitutional provision. 6 facilities without any notice to the public and that operation of these facilities endangers the life, liberty, and property interests of Alliance members.2