HomeMy WebLinkAbout006-2019DocuSign Envelope ID: 38CF57D2-C5D4-466C-9903-0D6C2A4DDDF4
RESOLUTION NO. 6-2019
GRANTING THE APPEAL BY ANITA TAFF-RICE ON BEHALF OF DANVILLE
CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE GROWTH AND DENYING LAND
USE PERMIT REQUEST LUP17-0035 BY VERIZON WIRELESS
ALLOWING THE INSTALLATION OF A WIRELESS
COMMUNICATION FACILITY ON AN
EXISTING JOINT UTILITY POLE
WHEREAS, EPIC WIRELESS on behalf of VERIZON WIRELESS has requested approval
of a Land Use Permit request (LUP17-0035) to allow the installation of a wireless
communication facility; and
WHEREAS, the proposed facility would be on an existing joint utility pole located within
the public right-of-way on the north side of Camino Tassajara approximately 225 feet east
of Gatetree Drive; and
WHEREAS, the project has been found to be Categorically Exempt from the requirements
of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Section 15301, Class 1; and
WHEREAS, the Danville Planning Commission did review the project at a noticed public
hearing on October 23, 2018; and
WHEREAS, at that meeting the Planning Commission approved Resolution No. 2018-08
approving the Land Use Permit application; and
WHEREAS, on November 2, 2018, the Town received an appeal of the Planning
Commission approval by Anita Taff -Rice on behalf Citizens for Responsible Growth; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council did review the appeal and the Land Use Permit request
during a regular meeting on February 5, 2019, and did continue the item to the Council's
March 5, 2019 meeting; and
WHEREAS, the Town Council did review the appeal and the Land Use Permit request
during a regular meeting on March 5, 2019; and
WHEREAS, the public notice of this action was given in all respects as required by law;
and
WHEREAS, a staff report was submitted recommending that the Town Council deny the
appeal and approve the Land Use Permit request; and
DocuSign Envelope ID: 38CF57D2-C5D4-466C-9903-0D6C2A4DDDF4
WHEREAS, the Town Council did hear and consider all reports, recommendations, and
testimony submitted in writing and presented at the February 5 and March 5 hearings;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Danville Town Council grants the appeal and denies Land Use
Permit request LUP17-0035 and makes the following findings in support of this action:
FINDINGS OF DENIAL
1. The applicant has failed to demonstrate that either the proposed wireless
communication facility which is the subject of the appeal or the proposed
alternative monopole presented during the March 5, 2019 meeting, would
constitute the least intrusive means of establishing a facility in the desired
coverage area. This finding is based on the following facts:
• The applicant testified that the proposed antenna has a range of approximately
1,500 feet.
• Based upon this, the applicant indicated that other potential pole locations in the
area of Camino Tassajara/Sycamore Valley Road (sometimes referred to as the
EBMUD pumping site in oral testimony) would not allow them to serve their
desired coverage area in the Gatetree Drive neighborhood because those
potential pole locations are approximately 2,200 feet away.
• The exhibit submitted by Verizon showing their planned additional sites in the
Sycamore/Camino Tassajara corridor (Exhibit A to the Mackenzie & Albritton
letter dated March 4, 2019), shows that many of the other locations (some
tentative, some already approved) are between 2,000-3,000 feet apart.
• With no explanation as to why these distances exceed the 1,500 foot range
maximum presented for this application, the Town Council cannot find that the
proposed location is the least intrusive to serve the Gatetree Drive area. While
detailed analysis of potential pole locations at the Sycamore/Camino Tassajara
intersection have not been prepared, there are poles in that area located within
the public right of way that are further removed from residences than the
proposed location and would be available to the applicant.
• The Town Council also finds that the proposed alternative monopole on
Gatetree Drive (Exhibit C to the Mackenzie & Albritton letter dated March 4,
2019) is not the least intrusive location as it is more visible than the original,
proposed location and cannot be adequately screened with landscaping.
2. The applicant has failed to adequately demonstrate that its proposed wireless
communication facility will be in compliance with all applicable Federal
Communication Commission regulations and guidelines for human exposure to
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DocuSign Envelope ID: 38CF57D2-C5D4-466C-9903-0D6C2A4DDDF4
Radio Frequency emissions. The Radio Frequency report for the facility prepared
by Hammett & Edison, Inc. (dated June 1, 2018, Exhibit B to Mackenzie & Albritton
letter of January 30, 2019), explains that computer modeling was used to determine
compliance with FCC exposure limits, and refers to Figure 2 to explain this
methodology. Figure 2 contains the following explanation:
"Higher levels are allowed for short periods of time, such that total exposure levels
averaged over six or thirty minutes, for occupational or public settings,
respectively, do not exceed the limit, and higher levels also are allowed for
exposures to small areas, such that the spatially averaged levels do not exceed the
limits. However, neither of these allowances is incorporated in the conservative
calculation formulas in the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Bulletin
No. 65 (August 1997) for projecting field levels. Hammett & Edison has built those
formulas into a proprietary program that calculates, at each location on an arbitrary
rectangular grid, the total expected power density from any number of individual
radio sources. The program allows for the description of buildings and uneven
terrain, if required to obtain more accurate projections." (Italics added)
The Town Council finds that the use of a propriety software program developed
by the applicants engineer as the only basis to demonstrate compliance with FCC
standards does not constitute substantial evidence to establish actual
compliance.
APPROVED by the Danville Town Council at a regular meeting on March 5, 2019, by the
following vote:
AYES: Arnerich, Blackwell, Morgan, Storer
NOES: stepper
ABSTAINED: None
ABSENT: None
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PAGE 3 OF RESOLUTION NO. 6-2019