San Francisco certainly isn't making many friends in the wireless sector. The city recently passed a new law requiring the industry clearly display all phone radiation levels at retail -- and they're being sued by the industry, which insists cell phone radiation is already managed by the FCC, there's no solid evidence of health issues, and the warnings unnecessarily frighten consumers. Now San Francisco is working on a new ordinance that would let the city reject tower builds based on aesthetic reasons, and give local communities more authority on build locations:

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Avalos' ordinance, however, would ban new utility poles built solely for new antennas. It would also require special permits for large antennas on public property, force carriers to plant trees to disguise antennas in some locations, and oblige the city to notify neighbors of new installations. Neighbors would then have the opportunity to protest new antennas and force a hearing with the Department of Public Works.

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San Francisco may find themselves running into a new rule passed last fall by the FCC, which puts a 90-150 day shot clock on municipal tower build decisions. Of course AT&T's also impacted here; the company working hard on trying to shore up flaky wireless network performance in the Bay Area, but recently noting these efforts are well-behind NYC improvements due to additional layers of bureaucratic wrangling. Of course at the same time, nobody wants towers in their backyard, so something here has to give...