PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION
STAFF REPORT
DATE: 2/11/2019
TO: Honorable Chair and Commissioners
FROM: Community Development Department
APPLICATION REQUEST:
Title
CUP2017-0106: A Conditional Use Permit application to establish a 75-foot high wireless telecommunications facility designed as a mono-eucalyptus tree at the city’s Lester Water Treatment Facility located at 2970 Rimpau Avenue in the A (Agricultural) Zone. (Applicant: JD Fox with Wireless Development Resources, LLC, PO Box 8823, Newport Beach, CA 92660).
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the Planning and Housing Commission recommend adoption of the Negative Declaration and Resolution No. 2527 GRANTING CUP2017-0106, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
Body
PROJECT SITE SUMMARY
Area of Property: 5.14 acres
Existing Zoning: A (Agricultural)
Existing General Plan: U (Utility)
Existing Land Use: Water Treatment Facility
Proposed Land Use: A 75-foot high wireless telecommunications facility designed as a mono-eucalyptus tree.
Surrounding Land Uses/Zoning:
N: Chase Drive and Single-family residences / Low Density Residential designation of the Corona Vista Specific Plan
E: Rimpau Avenue, Offices, Irrigation supply store, and Single-family residences / A (Agricultural) and R1-9.6 (Single Family Residential, minimum lot size 9,600 square feet)
S: Single-family residences / R1-7.2 (Single Family Residential, minimum lot size 7,200 square feet)
W: Single-family residences / Low Density Residential designation of the Corona Vista Specific Plan
BACKGROUND
The 5.14 acre project site contains the Lester Water Treatment Facility, which is a city operated facility that treats water by removing pollutants to make water safe for use and consumption. The site currently contains an 80-foot high wireless telecommunications facility designed as a monopalm which was approved under CUP05-008 in 2006. The existing mono-palm design currently contains 12 panel antennas that facilitate wireless communication for the city’s Department of Water and Power.
In 2013, AT&T obtained approval to establish a separate telecommunications facility designed as a 75-foot high mono-eucalyptus on the site. The approval was under CUP13-001. Co-locating onto the existing monopalm was not an option for AT&T because the monopalm is not able to accommodate the necessary antennas which AT&T needs in order to meet their network coverage. The eucalyptus tree design was chosen for the site because this type tree would blend best in with the area which has existing live eucalyptus trees. AT&T, however, never constructed the facility and allowed the entitlement to expire after two years of inactivity. Currently, AT&T still has a lease in place with the City of Corona for the mono-eucalyptus at the project site and has been paying rent to the city as part of their lease agreement even though the facility has not been constructed. No alternative sites were explored since the lease is still active. At this time, AT&T is ready to move forward with the project to construct the mono-eucalyptus; therefore, application CUP2017-0106 is intended to re-entitle the previous expired entitlement. If CUP2017-0106 is approved, this project would replace the previous entitlement. The applicant’s proposal was reviewed by staff at the Project and Environmental Review Committee on December 7, 2017.
The new proposal is the same as the previous proposal in terms of location within the property, height of structure, number of antennas, and tree type. The only change proposed by the applicant is the size of the lease area which was previously 32’ x 15’. The new lease area is slightly larger at 36’ x 16’ feet in order to accommodate a generator pad which was not in the original proposal.
The proposed telecommunications facility is regulated by Chapter 17.65 (Telecommunications Facilities) of the Corona Municipal Code (CMC) which contains the city’s standards and regulations for telecommunications facilities. Per Chapter 17.92 (Conditional Use Permit) of the CMC, telecommunications facilities are allowed in any zone in the city by a conditional use permit.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The purpose of the mono-eucalyptus is to increase the capacity, speed, and reliability of AT&T’s existing cellular phone coverage and data network in an area that is currently experiencing a gap in 4G-LTE network coverage. Propagation maps were submitted to the city showing the three closest AT&T telecommunications facilities to the project site. The first facility is located 0.7 miles northeast of the project site at Community Church of the Nazarene. The second facility is located 1.8 miles southeast of the project site at Eagle Glen Park. The third facility is located 1.5 miles northwest of the project site at Calvary Chapel. For the area surrounding the project site, the existing AT&T coverage in this area mostly provides for outdoor service (sufficient signal strength for on-street or in-the-open areas), but there is not enough coverage for customers inside a vehicle or building. This is shown in Exhibit C1. With the mono-eucalyptus constructed on the project site, the coverage for customers inside buildings and vehicles would increase and fill in the current coverage gap in the area. This coverage is shown in Exhibit C2. The proposed telecommunications facility is therefore, necessary in order for AT&T to meet the service demand for their customers.
Site plan
The project site is a 5.14-acre parcel located on the southwest corner of Rimpau Avenue and East Chase Drive and was zoned Agriculture. The site is completely developed with the Lester Water Treatment Facility which is owned and operated by the City of Corona’s Department of Water and Power. The water treatment facility contains two water reservoirs, a chlorine basin, a pump house, an office building and various basins and staging areas. The project site is accessible from Rimpau Avenue. The mono-eucalyptus will be placed within a 36’ x 16’ area leased to AT&T. The location is centrally located within the Lester Water Treatment Facility. The tower is approximately 259 feet from Rimpau Avenue, 245 feet from Chase Drive, 104 feet from the westerly property line which is where the nearest residential properties are located, and 358 feet from the southerly property line with residential properties farther south. Additionally, the mono-eucalyptus will be 91 feet north of the existing monopalm.
Antenna Layout
The antennas will be mounted on a three-sector triangular array with four panel antennas per sector, for a total of twelve panel antennas. The antennas are eight feet in length and will be mounted onto the mono-eucalyptus at a height of 72 feet measured to the top of the antennas. Per the project’s conditions of approval, Exhibit B, the antennas including the support arms are required to be painted green to match the color of the tree foliage and covered by antenna “socks” that are textured with the same tree foliage to help the antennas blend into the tree. There will also be eight RRUs (Radio Remote Units) per sector for a total of 24 RRUs and four surge suppressors all mounted behind the panel antennas. The antenna plan is shown in Exhibit D.
Equipment Plan Layout
The equipment associated with the wireless telecommunications facility will be housed inside a 138 square foot equipment shelter which will be placed at the base of the mono-eucalyptus within the 576-square foot AT&T lease area. To the west of the equipment shelter is a diesel generator placed on a raised concrete pad, two GPS antennas, a telco utility rack with panels, and cabinets. The applicant is not proposing to fence the lease area since the Lester Water Treatment Facility is already fenced for security purposes. The equipment plan layout is shown in Exhibit D.
Elevations
As shown by the applicant’s elevation plan in Exhibit E, the mono-eucalyptus is 75 feet in height measured to the top of the branches. The antennas are 72 feet in height measured to the top of the antennas. The tower has a single trunk that splits into three smaller trunks that support the antenna arrays, panel antennas, and branches. Photosimulations of the tower on the project site are shown in Exhibits F1-F4. The photosimulations show what the tower would look like from different views at street level. Exhibit F1 shows the tower from Rimpau Avenue toward the northwest. Exhibit F2 shows the tower from Chase Drive toward the southeast. Exhibit F3 shows the tower toward the north from New Hampshire Drive within the residential neighborhood to the south. Exhibit F4 shows the tower toward the east from Jensen Street. As shown in the photosimulations, the project site contains several live mature eucalyptus trees in addition to other types of trees of varying heights which would help the mono-eucalyptus blend into its environment.
Access and Parking
As shown by the applicant’s site plan in Exhibit A, access into the project site will be obtained via an existing driveway located at the southeasterly corner of the site from Rimpau Avenue. The proposed telecommunications facility is not anticipated to impact the surrounding roadways in terms of traffic because a service technician for AT&T is anticipated to visit the site periodically throughout the year for routine maintenance and will utilize a parking space within the parking lot. The on-site parking will not be affected by the proposed facility because the site is visited by city personnel only and is not open to the public.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Per Section 15070 of the State Guidelines for Implementing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Section 6.01 of the City’s Local Guidelines, a negative declaration was prepared for the project because the initial study showed that there is no substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the City that the project may have a significant or potentially significant adverse effect on the environment. Therefore, a negative declaration is recommended for adoption (Exhibit G).
FISCAL IMPACT
The applicant paid $12,891.75 in application processing fees for the conditional use permit. Additionally, the applicant entered into a License Lease Agreement with the City of Corona to place the AT&T wireless telecommunications facility at the Lester Water Treatment Facility. The initial monthly license payment was $2,575.00 per month which was February 5, 2014, with an annual escalator of 4%. The current monthly license payment is $3,012.38.
PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENTS
A 20-day public notice was mailed to all property owners within a 500-foot radius of the project site, as well as advertised in the Sentinel Weekly News and posted at the project site. As of the preparation of this report, the Community Development Department has not received any inquiries from the public in response to the notice.
STAFF ANALYSIS
CUP2017-0106 is necessary to enhance wireless communication for AT&T to better serve its patrons and residents within the City of Corona. The applicant has taken steps to minimize the visual impacts the facility may have on the surrounding area by designing the facility to resemble a eucalyptus tree which will blend with the existing eucalyptus trees and other types of trees located on site. Also, the Lester Water Treatment Facility currently contains one telecommunications facility designed as a monopalm. Both tree designs help the facilities blend into the surrounding environment. Furthermore, CUP2017-0106 will implement General Plan Policy 7.13.2 which provides for the continued development and expansion of telecommunications systems for access of data, information, and communication purposes. Therefore, CUP2017-0106 is recommended for approval based on the findings listed below and the conditions of approval.
FINDINGS OF APPROVAL FOR CUP2017-0106
1. An initial study (environmental assessment) has been conducted by the City of Corona so as to evaluate the potential for adverse environmental impacts. The initial study shows there is no substantial evidence in light of the whole record that the project may have a significant or potentially significant adverse effect to the environment. Therefore, pursuant to Section 15070 of the State CEQA guidelines and Section 6.01 of the city’s Local CEQA Guidelines a negative declaration was prepared for the project.
2. All the conditions necessary for granting a Conditional Use Permit as set forth in Section 17.92.110 of the Corona Municipal Code do exist in reference to CUP2017-0106 for the following reasons:
a. The proposal will not be detrimental to the public health, safety convenience and general welfare, because any radiofrequency emissions from such installations are governed by limits placed by the Federal Communications Commission for human exposure. The proposed telecommunications facility is also required to adhere to FCC regulations and prior to construction the applicant shall obtain all required permits from local and federal agencies.
b. The proposed use is not detrimental to the other existing and permitted uses in the general area of the project site and relates properly to the surrounding roadways because the wireless telecommunications facility meets the building setback criteria of the zone, was designed as a mono-eucalyptus to be indistinguishable from the surrounding environment and is in a location where existing buildings, vegetation and other structures provide the greatest amount of screening.
c. Reasonable conditions as necessary are being imposed to the project to protect public health, safety, and welfare and to establish full compliance with the applicable development standards of the Agricultural Zone.
d. CUP2017-0106 will not significantly impact the existing circulation system because a service technician will visit the site periodically throughout the year for routine maintenance and will utilize a parking space within the parking lot, and sufficient parking is provided at the Lester Water Treatment Facility to accommodate this activity. Therefore, the proposed use will not impact the level of service on the surrounding streets.
3. The proposal is consistent with the General Plan for the following reasons:
a. The proposed project will fulfill General Plan Goal 7.13 which promotes having an adequate, safe, and orderly supply of telecommunication infrastructure to support existing and future land uses within the City because it will allow the telecommunications carrier to fill a gap currently experienced in this area of the city.
b. The project will fulfill General Plan Policy 7.13.2 which provides for the continued development and expansion of telecommunications systems for access of data and information and communication purposes because it will improve and provide convenient access to wireless service.
4. The proposal is consistent with the U (Utility) Zone for the following reasons:
a. The proposed wireless telecommunications facility is a permitted use in the Agricultural Zone and has been designed to comply with the development standards of the Agricultural Zone, as the proposed facility meets the required setbacks of the Agricultural Zone. The zone’s maximum height limit of 30 feet can be exceeded per the municipal code under a conditional use permit.
PREPARED BY: LUPITA GARCIA, ASSISTANT PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: SANDRA YANG, SENIOR PLANNER
REVIEWED BY: TERRI MANUEL, PLANNING MANAGER
SUBMITTED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
EXHIBITS
1. Resolution No. 2527
2. Aerial and Zoning Map
3. Exhibit A1-A2 - Site Plan and Enlarged Site Plan
4. Exhibit B - Conditions of Approval
5. Exhibit C1-C3 - Propagation Maps for AT&T coverage
6. Exhibit D - Equipment and Antenna Layout
7. Exhibit E - Elevation Plan
8. Exhibit F1-F4 - Photosimulations
9. Exhibit G - Applicant’s letter dated November 19, 2018
10. Exhibit H - Environmental Documentation
Case Planner: Lupita Garcia (951) 736-2293