AGENDA REPORT
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
DATE: 3/6/2019
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Development Department
SUBJECT:
Title
City Council consideration of CUP2018-0009, a Conditional Use Permit application to establish an 80-foot high wireless telecommunications facility designed as a monopine (located at 809 E. Parkridge Avenue) in the MSI (Medium Service Industry) designation of the Birtcher Business Center Specific Plan (SP82-2), and the Negative Declaration regarding potential environmental impact of the project. (Applicant: Frank Ortega with Coastal Business Group)
End
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council:
1. Take no action, thereby affirming the Planning and Housing Commission's action granting CUP2018-0009, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval.
- OR -
2. Set the item for review at a subsequent meeting.
Body
ANALYSIS:
The purpose of Conditional Use Permit 2018-0009 is to construct a new telecommunications facility on property located at 809 E. Parkridge Avenue in order to increase the capacity, speed, and reliability of T-Mobile’s existing cellular phone coverage and data network in an area that is currently experiencing a coverage gap in 4G-LTE network coverage. The property is located in the Birtcher Business Center Specific Plan (SP82-2) and the zoning of the property is Medium Service Industry (MSI).
The telecommunications facility is designed as a monopine and resembles a faux pine tree. The overall height of the monopine is 80 feet, but the center of the three-sector array antenna will be located at a height of 70 feet. The monopine will be located at the southeasterly corner of the site and oriented toward the overpass for Interstate 15. Per the MSI development standards for the project site, the minimum front building setback for the property is 25 feet and the minimum side and rear yard setbacks are 10 feet. The monopine is located in a landscaped area of the site and is approximately 15 feet behind an existing six-foot high perimeter wrought iron fence. The monopine’s setbacks from the property lines are 36 feet from the front property line facing Parkridge Avenue, 185 feet from the rear property line and 20 feet from the side property line. The nearest sensitive receptors are existing residences located to the rear of the project site but are approximately 350 feet to the northwest from the proposed location of the monopine.
The applicant has taken steps to minimize the visual impacts the facility may have on the surrounding area by designing the wireless facility to resemble a pine tree. The antennas will be painted green and covered by antenna “socks” to further reduce the appearance of the antennas’ within the branches of the tree. Additionally, the property has several trees that are approximately 25 to 30 feet tall that line the south and east property lines of the project site. There are also several trees, such as palm trees, that are similar in height to the proposed monopine that are located sporadically throughout the area.
Propagation maps were submitted to staff showing the coverage in the area with and without the proposed monopine. The maps are provided as exhibits in the Planning and Housing Commission staff report. Currently, without the monopine, the project area has mostly coverage inside commercial buildings, but insufficient coverage inside residential buildings and inside vehicles. With the monopine, the coverage for inside residential buildings and vehicles would improve along Interstate 15 and minimize dropped calls in the area.
CUP2018-0009 will implement General Plan Policy 7.13.2, which provides for the continued development and expansion of telecommunications systems for access data, information, and communication purposes because it will improve and provide convenient access to wireless service in the service area around the project site.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
Not applicable.
STRATEGIC PLAN:
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The applicant paid $12,891.75 in application processing fees for the conditional use permit.
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. The Planning and Housing Commission at its meeting on February 11, 2019 adopted the negative declaration for CUP2018-0009.
PLANNING AND HOUSING COMMISSION ACTION:
At its meeting of February 11, 2019, the Planning and Housing Commission considered the subject matter and took the following action:
Motion was made, seconded (Jones/Alexander) and carried unanimously, that the Planning and Housing Commission adopt the Negative Declaration and Resolution No. 2528 granting CUP2018-0009, based on the findings contained in the staff report and conditions of approval. The minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting are included as Exhibit 5.
PREPARED BY: JOANNE COLETTA, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY: KERRY D. EDEN, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER/ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
SUBMITTED BY: MichELE NISSEN, ACTING CITY MANAGER
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - Locational and Zoning Map.
2. Exhibit 2 - Site Plan for CUP2018-0009.
3. Exhibit 3 - Photosimulation of monopine.
4. Exhibit 4 - Planning and Housing Commission Staff Report.
5. Exhibit 5 - Draft Minutes of the Planning and Housing Commission meeting of 02/11/19.