HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3.13.1
TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS September 6, 2007
Staff Report to the Planning Commission
RE: CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT RENEWAL FOR AN EXISTING/
PREVIOUSLY APPROVED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS FACILITY
(FILE# 198-96). THE FACILITY CONSISTS OF GROUND CABINETS AND
SIX PANEL ANTENNAS MOUNTED TO THE FOOTHILL COLLEGE
GYMNASIUM. NO CHANGE IS BEING PROPOSED TO THE EXISTING
FACILITIES; FOOTHILL COLLEGE/SPRINT WIRELESS; 12345 EL MONTE
ROAD; FILE# 151 -07 -CUP RENEWAL.
FROM: Brian Froelich, AICP, Associate Planner
APPROVED BY: Debbie Pedro, AICP, Planning Director—yp
RECOMMENDATION: That the Planning Commission:
Forward a recommendation to the City Council that the Conditional Use Permit be
extended for ten (10) years, subject to continued compliance with the existing Conditions
of Approval.
BACKGROUND:
On November 15, 2001 the City Council approved a renewal of Conditional Use Permit
#198-96 (Sprint). The installation consists of six (6) panel antennas mounted to the
parapet of the Foothill College Gymnasium and adjacent locker room building.
Conditions of Approval (Attachment #1) state that the Conditional Use Permit is valid for
three (3) years and must be subsequently renewed. The applicant has submitted this
request for use permit renewal with no change proposed to the existing facility
(Attachment #2).
Town staff has consulted the City Attorney regarding Government Code Section 65964
(b) and condition #2 regarding the duration of time between permit renewal must be
amended to allow a minimum of 10 years (currently three (3) years).
(b) Unreasonably limit the duration of any permit for as wireless
telecommunications facility. Limits of less than 10 years are presumed
unreasonable absent public safety reasons or substantial land use reasons.
However, cities and counties ma establish a build -out period for a site.
DISCUSSION:
The facility's operation is consistent with the Town's Wireless Communications
Facilities Policy (Attachment #3). The site is non-residential and visual impacts have
been reduced by the installation of the antennas below the top of the roof parapet. The
applicant has provided a current Electromagnetic Energy Survey (Attachment 44). The
Planning Commission
Lands of Foothill College
12345 EI Monte
September 6, 2007
Page 2 of 2
Electromagnetic Survey concludes that the facility is operating at less than the Maximum
Permissible Exposure (NOE) per current FCC limits.
The Wireless Communications Facilities Policy requires that the wireless carrier's 3-5
year Master Plan be included with all applications (Attachment #5). The 3-5 year Master
Plan shows existing facilities and coverage in the Los Altos Hills/Los Altos area.
This Sprint installation provides CDMA (code division multiple access) coverage, which
provides cellular telephone and data capabilities.
According to the Sprint representative, the company has no plans to pursue acquisition of
new sites in Los Altos Hills at this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE (CEOA
The proposal is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental
Quality Act per Section 15301(a) of the CEQA Guidelines.
CONCLUSION:
The facility is operating in compliance with the approved Conditional Use Permit,
Conditions of Approval, and the Wireless Communications Policy. Extension of the Use
Permit will allow continued operation of the facility for an additional ten (10) years at
which time Planning Commission/City Council review will be required.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Original Conditions of Approval (February 6,1997) -Amended Condition #2
2. Applicant's Statement requesting permit renewal
3. Los Altos Hills -Wireless Communications Policy
4. Electromagnetic Energy Survey prepared by Hammett and Edison, Inc. dated June
28, 2007
5. Sprint 3-5 Year Antenna Master Plan
6. Project Aerial Map
7. Project Plans Approved by the City Council (February 5, 1997)
cc: Jason Osborne
NSA Wireless
2527 Camino Ramon, Suite 305
San Ramon, CA 94583
ATTACHMENT
CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL FOR
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT
WIRELESS TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
12345 El Monte Road (Lands of Foothill College)
File # (151 -07 -renew) (165-01) (198 -96 -original) (Sprint)
PLANNING:
1. Any changes or revisions to the telecommunications facility or its use shall
require an amendment to the conditional use permit. Additionally, the Planning
Director may, at any time, schedule a review or revocation hearing before the
Planning Commission regarding the use permit, if any condition of approval is not
being met or the facility is being used inconsistently with the approved use or in
violation of Town development codes.
2. The use permit shall expire 4xee-(3) ten (10) years from the date of approval.
Renewal of the permit must be requested in writing, with appropriate fees, prior to
the expiration date.
3. The panel antennas shall be painted to blend with the building color, to the
satisfaction of the Planning Director.
4. The applicant shall submit a signed agreement to the Town, agreeing that, should
the use be discontinued by the carrier, all facilities will be removed not later than
ninety (90) days after discontinuance of the use or abandonment. The agreement
shall be drafted by the City Attorney, and must be signed by the applicant and
submitted to the Town.
5. Not later than thirty (30) days after installation and initial operation of the antenna
facility, and on or prior to January I" of each year thereafter, testing of radio
frequency emissions shall be conducted by qualified professionals and the reports
of such testing shall be provided in writing to the Planning Department, with a
comparison of applicable Federal emission standards. If at any time the emission
levels are shown not to comply with Federal standards, the use permit shall be
scheduled for a revocation hearing before the Planning Commission.
Attachment 2
Sprint'
Together with Nextel
LOS ALTOS H1LLS PLANNING DEPARTMENT
26379 Fremont Road
Los Altos Hills, Ca 94022
650-941-7222
Proiect Address: 12345 El Monte Road (Foothill College), Los
Altos Hills / APN# 175-041-010
FSO4XC112
I am formally requesting to renew the conditional use permit application for project #
CUP -198 (ZP/SD) (Approved under Sprint).
Currently Sprint operates a cellular facility at the location referenced above and is
formally requesting a conditional use permit renewal based on substantial compliance.
It is important to mention this site is used as a communications facility by numerous
residents, students, and provides cellular coverage to not only business customers, but
provides emergency services to the public when necessary.
I have included revised plans which reflect the current couditions, which are essentially
the same as the original plans.
New Cellular Facilities "Master Plan" in Los Altos Hills:
At this time, Sprint / Nextel is evaluating their current network and making a
determination of what cellular facilities will be necessary to maintain our coverage
objectives. As you may or may not know, our two systems have merged which has
literally doubled our "coverage" in the area. At this point I am merely ensuring our
existing facilities are complaint with previous use permits issued. Additionally, over the
course of the next few years, as technology changes Sprint/Nextel will be upgrading
existing facilities to minimize the need for additional visual blight by adding "new"
facilities.
Sprint' _O
Together with Nextel
Please let me know if you have any questions, or need anything from me.
Thank you,
JOshorue
2527 Camino Ramon, suite 305
San Ramon, Ca 94583
415-559-2121
Jason.osboroeAmsawireless.com
Attachment 3
TOWN OF LOS ALTOS BILLS
Policy Re: Wireless Communications Facilities
Code Sections and Design Guidelines:
Section 10-1.703(h)(2) of the Zoning Ordinance allows service uses, including
"communications facilities", to be permitted in the Town if a Conditional Use Permit is
granted by the Planning Commission and City Council. Section 10-1.1107(1) of the
Code outlines findings which most be made to approve a use permit, including the proper
location of the use or facility relative to others in the vicinity, the adequacy of the site to
accommodate the use, and that the facility or use will not have an adverse effect on
adjacent properties. The Design Guidelines do not address such uses, but do suggest (on
pages 29-31) that ancillary facilities, such as lights, pool equipment, and satellite dishes,
be located so m to minimiimpacts on neighbors.
Intent:
The purpose of this policy is to outline the desired criteria for siting of wireless
communications facilities, generally , including monopoles, related antennas, and
equipment shelters. As the Towns land use is virtually entirely residential, wireless
communication facilities will be most appropriately located on public or institutional sites
existing within the Town. Collocation, location on or near existing buildings, and
landscape screening will be desired to minimise the visual impacts of the facilities on
neighbors and the public.
Policies:
1. Priorities for Siting. Wireless communication facilities shall generally be
located on properties with priority as follows: a) Town -owned properties; b)
Foothill College; c) water tanks; d) other public or quasi -public facilities,
such as schools or churches; and e) residential properties of at least ten (10)
acres.
2. Siting on Residential Parcels. Wireless communication facilities may be
permitted on properties used for residential purposes or vacant parcels
intended for residential use if the residential property owner provides
written consent and significant visual impacts are mitigated.
3. Collocation. Collocation of wireless communication facilities with other
facilities is encouraged to the maximum extent feasible, as long as the
collocation is technologically compatible and does not substantially increase
visual impacts. The Town will generally require as a condition of approval
for any conditional use permit that the applicant permit collocation of other
facilities, subject to technological constraints and Town review.
Policy Re: Wireless Communications Facilities
page 2
4. Landscape Screening and Color. Landscape screening shall be required by
the Town to minimise the visual impacts of wireless communication facilities.
Poles, antennas, and equipment buildings should be painted to blend with the
surrounding environment and/or buildings to further minimize visual
impacts.
5. Environmental Review. A Negative Declaration will typically be prepared
for review of proposed wireless communication facilities, with special
attention to the visual impacts of the facilities. Categorical exemptions may
be used where facilities are collocated with or would be minimal additions to
existing structures, with negligible additional visual impact.
6. Antenna Master Plans. Any applicant for a wireless communication facility
site shall submit applications, to the best of their knowledge, for all sites
anticipated to be required by the carrier for a three (3) to five (5) year
period, and the requests shall be reviewed by the Planning Commission and
City Council as a master plan application.
7. Term of Permits and Abandonment of Sites. Conditional use permits for
wireless communication facilities shall be established for periods not to
exceed five (5) years, at which time renewal of the permit must be requested
by the applicant. More frequent review of the operation of the permit may
be made a condition of approval. Approval will also require a written
agreement from the applicant that, should the use be discontinued by the
carrier, all facilities will be removed not later than ninety (90) days after
discontinuance of the use or abandonment. Such a provision shall also be
included in any lease with the Town for we of Town lands for wireless
communications facilities. The Town may require bonding or other surety
to assure the removal of such facilities.
8. Wireless communication firms shall, at the time of application for permits,
demonstrate efforts which have been made to inform neighboring residents
of the proposed facilities, such as conducting meetings, or mailing fact sheets
and/or letters, etc. to neighbors.
9. The Planning Director is authorized to reduce or waive permit fees for any
wireless communications facility that is proven to expand wireless coverage
in the Town and is structurally capable of co -location.
10. The Planning Director is authorized to administratively approve portable
wireless communications facilities also ]mown as cell on wheels or COWS on
certain properties as specified in Policy Hl on a temporary basis.
Approved by City Council: August 21, 1996, amended September 15, 2005
Attachment 4
Sprint Nextel • Base Station No. FS04xc112A/CA0832
12345 EI Monte Road • Los Altos Hills, California
Statement of Hammett & Edison, Inc., Consulting Engineers
The firm of Hammett & Edison, Inc., Consulting Engineers, has been retained on behalf of Sprint
Nextel, a wireless telecommunications carrier, to evaluate its existing base station (Site
No. FSO4xcll2A/CA0832) located at 12345 EI Monte Road in Los Altos Hills, California, for
compliance with appropriate guidelines limiting human exposure to radio frequency ("RF")
electromagnetic fields.
Prevailing Exposure Standards
The U.S. Congress requires that the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") evaluate its
actions for possible significant impact on the environment In Docket 93-62, effective October 15,
1997, the FCC adopted the human exposure limits for field strength and power density recommended
in Report No. 86, "Biological Effects and Exposure Criteria for Radiofrequency Electromagnetic
Fields," published in 1986 by the Congressionally chartered National Council on Radiation Protection
and Measurements ("NCRP"). Separate limits apply for occupational and public exposure conditions,
with the latter limits generally five times more restrictive. The more recent Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers ("IEEE") Standard C95.1-2005, "Safety Levels with Respect to Human
Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to 300 GHz," includes similar exposure
limits. A summary of the FCC's exposure limits is shown in Figure 1. These limits apply for
continuous exposures and are intended to provide a prudent margin of safety for all persons, regardless
of age, gender, size, or health.
The limit for exposures of unlimited duration to radio frequency energy from SMR transmissions at
855 MHz is 0.57 mW/cm2 and from PCS transmissions at 1950 MHz is 1.0 mW/cm2 applying in areas
for which access by the general public is uncontrolled. The most restrictive limit at any frequency is
0.20 mW/cm2, also applying in areas for which access by the general public is uncontrolled.
General Facility Requirements
Antennas for base station use are designed to concentrate their energy toward the horizon, with very
little energy wasted toward the sky or the ground. Along with the low power of such facilities, this
means that it is generally not possible for exposure conditions to approach the FCC limits without
being physically very near the antennas. \
Site Description
The site was visited by Mr. Weston Lane, a qualified engineer employed by Hammett & Edison, Inc.,
during normal business hours on August 24, 2006, a non -holiday weekday. Sprint Nextel had
HAMMEIT & EDISON, INC SP112A596M
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Sprint Nextel • Base Station No. FS04xc112AICA0832
12345 EI Monte Road • Los Altos Hills, California
mounted three directional panel PCS antennas, oriented in different directions, and one group of three
directional SMR antennas, on the roofs of two buildings on the campus of Foothill College. Access to
the antennas was restricted by their mounting locations on sloped shingle roofs. According to
photographs provided by Sprint Nextel, explanatory warning signs` bad been posted on the inside of
the rooftop parapets, behind the antennas. There were observed in similar configurations twelve
antennas for another wireless telecommunications carrier.
Measurement Results
The measurement equipment used was a Wandel & Goltermann Type EMR -300 Radiation Meter with
Type 18 Isotropic Electric Field Probes (Serial No. F-0034). The meter and probe were under current
calibration by the manufacturer. The maximum power density level measured at ground level was
0.011 mW/cm2, which is 5.5% of the most restrictive public exposure limit The three-dimensional
perimeter of RF power density equal to the FCC standard for uncontrolled areas did not extend into
any uncontrolled areas.
Conclusion
Based on the information and analysis above, it is the undersigned's professional opinion that the base
station installed by Sprint Nextel at 12345 EI Monte Road in Los Altos Hills, California, as installed
and operating at the time of the visit, complies with the FCC guidelines limiting public exposure to
radio frequency energy and, therefore, does not for this reason cause a significant impact on the
environment
Authorship
The undersigned author of this statement is a qualified Professional Engineer, holding California
Registration Nos. E-13026 and M-20676, which expire on June 30, 2009. This work has been carried
out by him or under his direction, and all statements are true and correct of his own knowledge except,
where noted, when data has been supplied by others, which data be believes to be correct.
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June 28, 2007 pW.\ EW "I'M
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Contact information was provided in English to arrange for access to restricted
wen (the choice of language(s) is
not an engineering matter).
FIAMMETT & EDtsoN, INC.
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SP112A596M
Page 2 of 2
FCC Radio Frequency Protection Guide
The U.S. Congress required (1996 Telecom Act) the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC")
to adopt a nationwide human exposure standard to ensure that its licensees do not, cumulatively, have
a significant impact on the environment. The FCC adopted the Inuits from Report No. 86, "Biological
Effects and Exposure Criteria for Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Fields," published in 1986 by the
Congressionally chartered National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, which are
similar to the more recent Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard C95.1-2005,
"Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Radio Frequency Electromagnetic Fields, 3 kHz to
300 GHz" These limits apply for continuous exposures from all sources and are intended to provide a
prudent margin of safety for all persons, regardless of age, gender, size, or health.
As shown in the table and chart below, separate limits apply for occupational and public exposure
conditions, with the latter limits (in italics and/or dashed) up to five times more restrictive:
Frequency
Applicable
Range
(M11z)
0.3— 134
1.34— 3.0
3.0— 30
30— 300
300— 1,500
1,500— 100,000
Electromagnetic Fields (f is frequency
of emission in MHz)
Electric
Magnetic
Equivalent Far -Field
Field Strength
Field Strength
Power Density
(v/m)
(A/m)
(mw/em')
614 614
1.63 1.63
100 100
614 813.8/f
1.63 2.191f
100 18011
1842/ f 823.8/f
4.89/ f 2.191f
900/ f, 18011
61A 27.5
0.163 0.0729
1.0 0.1
3.54-Tf 1.594f
-Tf/106 ff1238
6300 f/1500
137 61.4
0.364 0.163
5.0 1.0
Occupational Exposure
♦ PCS
♦ FM Cell
Public Exposure
0.1 1 10 100 103 ] 04 105
Frequency (Iv41z)
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 limits, 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.
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Attachment 5
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