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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.1 Minutes of a Regular Meeting DRAFT Town of Los Altos Hills PLANNING COMMISSION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005, 7:00 p.m. Council Chambers, 26379 Fremont Road cc: Cassettes ( 1 )#10-05 1. ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The regular meeting of the Planning Commission was called to order at 7:00 p.m.- in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. Present: Chairman Cottrell, Commissioners Carey, Kerns, Collins & Clow Staff: Carl Cahill, Planning Director; Brian Froelich, Assistant Planner; Lani Smith, Planning Secretary 2. PRESENTATIONS FROM THE FLOOR-none 3. PUBLIC HEARINGS 3.1 LANDS OF DIGIOVANNI & SANDER, 12380 Hilltop Drive (104-05-ZP- SD-VAR-CDP); A request for a Conditional Development Permit for a.4,647 square foot two-story new residence (maximum height 27'), and a variance to allow the house to encroach up to.10' in the side yard setbacks, and to allow surface parking to encroach up to 26' in the front and side yard setbacks. The lot area is 0.49 acre and an existing legal-nonconforming swimming pool encroaches up to 17.5' in the side and rear yard setbacks (continued from September 8, 2005) (staff-Debbie Pedro). The Planning Director introduced this item by stating that the application for a Conditional Development Permit for a new residence and setback variances was continued from the Planning Commission hearing of September 8, 2005 to October 13, 2005 at the request of the applicants. The continuance was requested by the applicant after a majority of the Commission indicated that the variance for building setbacks could not be approved. On October 5, 2005, the applicant submitted an email to staff requesting additional time to consider their options and to continue the project to an indefinite date. The project will be re- noticed when it is ready to be rescheduled for a public hearing. MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED BY CONSENSUS: Motion by Commissioner Carey, seconded by Commissioner Clow and passed by consensus to accept the applicant's request to continue the application to a date uncertain but no later than the first Planning Commission meeting in April, 2006, Lands of Digiovanni and Sander, 12380 Hilltop Drive. Planning Commission Minutes DRAFT October 13, 2005 Page 2 3.2 LANDS OF LOS ALTOS HILLS (WESTWIND BARN), 27210 Altamont Road (177-05-ZP-SD-CUP-VAR); Verizon Wireless requests a Conditional Use Permit for a wireless communications facility consisting of six (6) antennae mounted on a 65' monopole and a setback variance for a 289 square foot equipment shed at the Westwind Barn site (staff-Brian Froelich). Commissioner Clow stepped down from the hearing due to the proximity of his residence to the project site. Planner Froelich introduced this item by summarizing the staff report and providing overhead views of the proposed area for a 65' tall, 12" diameter telecommunications pole to the rear of the barn structure. The pole is supported by a 289 square foot equipment shed that houses the ground cabinets and was designed to be architecturally compatible with the barn. These structures are located approximately 300 feet away from the nearest residential building. This application requires a setback variance because the equipment shed is proposed along an interior property line between the barn site and Byrne Preserve. Verizon has presented the Town with two design options; a slim-line pole or a mono-pine that resembles a tree with artificial branches to screen the antennas. Technically, the difference between these two designs is related to the potential for co-location. The slim-line pole has potential for two additional carriers while the mono-pine is limited to one additional carrier because the branches cause difficulties with transmission and therefore mounting possibilities. Verizon did explore alternative locations for this target service area. The Town's Wireless Communications Policy notes that Town owned properties are priorities when it comes to this type of installation and the nearest Town owned property not designated as Open Space is the Little League fields which are over a mile away from the proposed site. With the exception of Foothill College, the Town has only two wireless facilities west of the I-280 and those are also located directly adjacent to the freeway. Froelich further discussed the Initial Study, Notice of Intent and the Telecommunications Act which restricts the Town's authority with respect to radio frequency impacts on the environment and human exposure. Only the FCC can regulate this and the Town can only request documentation that the proposed installations comply. Planning Director Cahill stated that it has been the Council's expressed desire to improve cellular communication service in the Town. The Town regularly receives complaints by residents of poor cellular service. Verizon has been invited by the Town to make this application. He felt the proposed location for the monopole complies with the Wireless Communication Policy. The cell phone antenna will provide a public service for this area. The Friends of the Barn were notified of the application. Further discussion ensued regarding the location of the proposed equipment shed. OPENED PUBLIC HEARING Planning Commission Minutes DRAFT October 13, 2005 Page 3 Jason Smith, Verizon Wireless representative, indicated that he had read the staff report and findings voicing concurrence with both. He discussed the two design options; mono-pine and slimline pole explaining that the slimline pole allows two potential co-location elevations. He also addressed the height of the tower (65 feet) and the potential color of a mono-pine pole. They could submit a color to the Town for approval. The fake tree does cost more to build so from a business stand point, they would prefer to build a slimline mono-pole. Russ Bentson, Radio Engineer for Verizon Wireless for San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties provided an overview of the project. The whole project started about seven years ago with a resident living close to Westwind Barn asking why he did not have good coverage in parts of his house. The company then started looking for locations on the west side of I-280 (i.e. golf course, fire station, and residential properties). Approximately a year ago, the Town came to them with a request to locate on Town owned property. Now they are here with a proposal for either a mono-pole or a mono-pine on the barn site to expand the coverage on the west side of I-280. With the use of an overhead view of Los Altos Hills, he reviewed the coverage areas which indicate low coverage in the Westwind Barn area. He felt the proposal will fill in a major hole to improve their coverage particularly going up Page Mill Road and the area by the barn. He felt it was a very good location to balance out the network. He further discussed the "Tower Compliance Matrix" which was made up by their national maintenance engineering department that compares the height of a tower or the antennas on the tower, the frequency of which they are broadcasting and the amount of power they run and RF safety studies. This chart for RF safety determines if they need an independent RF safety study done. The chart does not have anything to do with the coverage or how the coverage will perform. Commissioner Kerns asked if they were restricted to 40 to 50 feet in height, would it affect coverage. Mr. Bentson replied that a lower height would reduce coverage. The minimum height Verizon would build a tower at the Westwind Barn location would be 10 feet above the height of the barn. They do need two sets of antennas and they are mandated by the National Organization and the FCC to provide both frequencies (voice and data). Brian Hollins, 27260 Altamont Road, was not in favor of having a 65 foot pole in site of his property as it does not maintain the natural beauty of this area and conflicts with the under grounding of utilities. He was also concerned with personal long term safety (he will be the closest resident to this pole). He asked for a postponement until he can obtain more information and for the proposal to be rejected on aesthetic grounds. He suggested putting the tower on top of the hill on the Byrne Preserve. Steve Kirsch, La Paloma Road, a Verizon customer, indicated that even though this proposal will not help him, the Town needs more poles. It is the right thing to do especially in an emergency (public safety issue), business and personal usage. If they are going to do it, he asked that they do it right. There are no restrictions on natural tree height so the mono-pine can be the same height as the other trees. Planning Commission Minutes DRAFT October 13, 2005 Page 4 Eric Clow, Central Drive, stated that the tower would be visible from his property. He asked how to mitigate this proposal so that the suffering of the surrounding people is reasonable. The tree is mandatory as they cannot do a naked mono-pole in Byrne Preserve. He felt the tree would work. He felt a 50 foot tree pole would be reasonable even with less co-location. He discussed the storage shed location suggesting moving it a few feet, making it more of a vault, down low enough to be below.ground level. He did not feel the equipment in the shed would need more than 8 feet in height (make shed lower and unobtrusive). Nick Dunckel, Cortez Lane, as a regular user of the barn, he was 100% against this proposal whether it looks like a weird tree or a weird pole, it will be ugly. He noted that his cell phone works fine from his house. He stated that this was not a solution for all of the cell phone problems as it has a rather limited area and the actual neighbors who will benefit from this is small. He suggested setting up a committee of residents, working with Verizon, to see where limited high towers will work. He felt Los Altos Hills would be better served with a larger number of smaller towers given its very hilly nature. He would encourage the Commission to reject the proposal and to have a more thorough look at all of the antennas that would be needed to provide a reasonable amount of coverage in Los Altos Hills and set up a group to identify those areas. Barry Smith, 25835 Estacada Drive, felt cell phone coverage in the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills was poor. He sees this as a utility service like garbage, reliable electricity and water. As a Town, they should be pro-active with the cell phone providers for a level of service and making it competitive with a number of providers. They should come up with a plan for greatly improved service. He was not bothered with the proposed height of the tower with co- location and he prefers the mono-pine design. He clarified that he does not have a view of this property. Harry Baldwin, Central Drive, a Director of Westwind Barn, stated that they were more than happy with improved cell phone coverage at the barn but unhappy with the idea of the 65 foot pole or the location of the shed. It is a large shed and at one point the Directors discussed building a similar shed for a small meeting room for the kids. It would be great if the shed could be under grounded (a vault). They would be happy to work with Verizon and the Town on other options however at this point they are asking that the proposal be rejected. Dru Anderson Saddle Court, felt if a 65 foot pole was necessary with the ability co-locate, it merits some consideration. A mono-pine does have the advantage of having other trees around. She discussed a future need to have a ham radio antenna on the same tower. She could support the opportunity for high speed communication (personal safety). Sandy Humphries, Environmental Design Committee, discussed the potential tree pole and the previous attempts to make the pole look like a tree that were unsuccessful. The Committee felt that the slimline pole would be better as it would be the least noticeable. Planning Commission Minutes DRAFT October 13, 2005 Page 5 Jason Smith, with Verizon, attempted to answer concerns raised by the previous speakers. He explained that the cell sites need to be accessible and locating the tower in Byrne Preserve would not be accessible for routine monthly service. Also, running utilities under ground to a hill top is very expensive. Also, being an open space preserve, he was not convinced it would be an appropriate use. Brian Hollins did not expect that the tower would be moved 3000 feet up Black Mountain but a few 100 yards away on Byrne Park Preserve which is right next door to the barn. Jason Smith responded that the suggested location would be a more visible hilltop with an exposed structure without coverage. Russ Bentson, discussing public safety, stated that this site meets all of the requirements of the FCC and OSHA as well as the technical committees who analyzed this proposal. The level of the antennas produces less than 2% of the maximum allowed-radiation levels that are specified by the U.S. Government. He will provide Mr. Hollins,with the FCC web site for frequently asked questions. Jason Smith continued by discussing the shed stating it is not completely enclosed on all sides. There is a concrete pad, cabinets and concrete walls with a pitched roof to resemble the barn. They could remove enough dirt to lower the height. Planning Director Cahill noted that the shed could be a little larger to provide room for Westwin.d barn use/storage. Mr. Smith was receptive to the suggestion. A question regarding whether they could have a ham radio antenna on the same tower was answered by Mr. Bentson who is also a ham radio operator. He stated that there will be no interference from the Verizon wireless system to any amateur radio equipment that is currently manufactured either here, Japan or Europe. Verizon Wireless supports a group called the Civil Emergency Radio Response Team (CERRT) and they have installed throughout northern California 12 repeater sites on various monopoles. They do make arrangements to allow them to put a couple of antennas on their monopoles. The Verizon Wireless antennas for the commercial use are one foot wide four foot high and 6 to 8 inches deep weighing approximately 25 pounds apiece. The CERRT antennas are a little different and similar to the antennas on the building next door to the Council Chambers. CLOSED PUBLIC BEARING Commissioner Carey noted that there will be some negative impact on views and the rural character. He does not like encouraging this but the tower is consistent with the Town's wireless policy. There are convenience and safety issues with regard to continuing to provide coverage. He was happy to hear that there appears to be a relatively limited number of extra cell sites needed to provide excellent coverage in Town. With some reluctance he voiced support of this application. The 65 foot height is a concern but he did agree with the thought that if they are going to do it, they should do it right and support the scientific judgment that the tower should be 55 feet. He was not sure if this should be a mono-pole or a mono-pine. Planning Commission Minutes DRAFT October 13, 2005 Page 6 The Environmental Design Committee supports the mono-pole and he would lean towards their recommendation. In general,he supports the project Commissioner Kerns also supports the project as they need more cell coverage in Town. If they go with the mono-pine (if material looks like a tree) he would support the 65 foot height. If they go with anything else they should lower the height. He was not sure that this was the best location but given it is Town owned property and it appears to provide good coverage it's probably okay. He felt Verizon should continue to look at other sites and continue to improve service in Town. Commissioner Collins was not convinced that this was the right site for the proposed pole so she cannot support the project. She has reread the General Plan indicating "maintain the rural character of the community" and she makes ever attempt to do so. In this case, the pole is inconsistent in maintaining the rural character especially adjacent to the barn. If the people at the barn do not want the pole there, she would have to support them. Chairman Cottrell stated that everyone wants cell phones, no one wants an antenna. He felt Verizon has done their homework voicing support of the project. He preferred the mono-pole over a fake tree. He would like this conditioned to prevent any other poles on this site. Commissioners Kern and Carey felt future Planning Commissioners should make that decision. Planning Director Cahill reviewed the ability for co-location with the mono-pole. MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Commissioner Kerns and seconded by Commissioner Carey to recommend to the City Council to approve the requested Site Development Permit, Conditional Use Permit and Variance with the recommended conditions and findings 'in attachments 1, 2, and 3 and forward a recommendation to the City Council with the following additions: the applicant shall work with Westwind Barn to provide additional storage space up to the additional 250 square feet; the applicant shall work with the emergency communication committee to allow co-location of a CERRT antenna. AYES': Chairman Cottrell, Commissioners Carey &Kerns NOES: Commissioner Collins ABSTAIN: Commissioner Clow (stepped down) MOTION SECONDED AND PASSED: Motion by Commissioner Kerns and seconded by Commissioner Carey to allow the applicant to use the mono-pole design. AYES: Chairman Cottrell, Commissioners Kerns, Collins& Carey NOES: None ABSTAIN: Commissioner Clow (stepped down) This item will be scheduled for a future City Council agenda. Planning Commission Minutes DRAFT October 13, 2005 Page 7 4. OLD BUSINESS-none 5. NEW BUSINESS-none 6. REPORT FROM THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING 6.1 Planning Commission Representative for September 15th, no report. 6.2 Planning Commission Representative for October 6th, Commissioner Kerns, reported on the following: Westwind Barn future arena proposal; General Plan update; report on Purissima Hills Water District old building; request from Bullis Charter School for permission to place "Open Enrollment Period" banner/signs at various locations in Los Altos Hills; wildlife survey; 50th anniversary dinner party; several items relating to Bullis Charter School site/location; and request for use of amplified sound for Bullis Charter School Walkathon Fundraiser. 6.3 Planning Commission Representative for October 20th-Commissioner Carey 6.4 Planning Commission Representative for November 3rd -Commissioner Cottrell 7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 7.1 Approval of September 8, 2005 minutes PASSED BY CONSENSUS: To approval the September 8, 2005 minutes. 8. REPORT FROM FAST TRACK MEETING-SEPTEMBER 20 &27, 2005 8.1 LANDS OF ZAMANI, 13241 BURKE ROAD (65-05-ZP-SD-GD); A request for a Site Development Permit for a 4,982 square foot new residence with a 3,206 square foot basement and a secondary dwelling unit (maximum height 25'6") (staff-Debbie Pedro). Approved with conditions. 8.2 LANDS OF SETHURAM, 27860 Fawn Creek Court (142-05-ZP-SD-GD); A request for a Site Development Permit for a 2,261 square foot basement under an existing 6,155 square foot residence (staff-Debbie Pedro). Approved with conditions. 9. REPORT FROM SITE DEVELOPMENT MEETING- SEPTEMBER 13, 27, AND OCTOBER 11, 2005 9.1 LANDS OF FERRARI, 12100 Old Snakey Road (151-05-ZP-SD); A request for a Site Development Permit for a landscape screening and erosion control plan for the new 4,944 square foot, two-story residence approved August 20, 2002 (staff-Brian Froelich). Approved with conditions. Planning Commission Minutes DRAFT October 13, 2005 Page 8 9.2 LANDS OF ARORA, 12670 Corte Madera Lane (115-05-ZP-SD); A request for a Site Development Permit for a remodel and a 640 square foot addition to the existing single story residence (maximum height 17' 6") (staff-Brian Froelich). Approved with conditions. 9.3 LANDS OF JOHNSTON, 12740 Dianne Drive (170-05-ZP-SD); A request for a Site Development Permit for a landscape screening plan (staff-Debbie Pedro). Approved with conditions. 10. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned by consensus at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Lani Smith Planning Secretary